Sound Absorption Characteristics of a Single Micro-Perforated Panel Backed by a Natural Fiber Absorber Material

Abstract

A micro-perforated panel (MPP) works as a Helmholtz-type resonance absorber formed by an air-gab cavity in order to minimize the reflected sound effectively at a selective resonance frequency. Furthermore, the use of natural fibers as sound absorbing materials recently has attracted more attention because it is completely biodegradable, environmental friendly and more economical. In this paper, the combination of MPP and natural fiber as sound absorptive material is investigated. The MPP is made of a transparent acrylic board with 1.5 mm thickness and backed by a coconut fiber panel. The effect of the fiber panel that inserted in the air-gab cavity to the sound absorption characteristic of a single leaf MPP is observed. Sound absorption coefficient is measured by transfer function method using two microphones-impedance tube. It is found that the sandwich model of MPP backed by a coconut fiber changes the sound absorption characteristics of MPP by shifting the maximum absorption coefficient into the lower frequency and making a wider band of frequency absorption. Moreover, the air-gab cavity between MPP and fiber panel give fewer contribution to construct the MPP frequency resonant than the natural fiber panel one.