Reduction of Noise in the Vehicle Cabin by Using Natural Fibres with Polyurethane and Comparison with Other acoustic Materials

Abstract

As natural fibres are noise-absorbing materials, biodegradable and renewable by using natural fibres such as betel nut, sugarcane fibres are combing with polyurethane for the automobile application to reduce cabinet noise of the vehicle, which currently contains traditional materials such as foams, glass, metals and plastics that are difficult to recycle. Four samples of natural fibres were prepared with different quantities of betel nut & sugarcane ratios of 35: 35, 50: 20, 55: 15, 60: 10. Polyurethane is common with 30% of all samples. The sound absorption coefficient (SAC) in the material was tested by using impedance tube and compared with other acoustic material like nitrile rubber, nonwoven polyester fabric and glass wool. It was observed that betel nut & sugarcane showing better SAC than other acoustic materials mainly at lower and higher frequency 60% betel, 10% sugarcane & 30% polyurethane showing better sound absorption level.