Research on the indoor environmental properties of Calamus manna rattan cane

Abstract

In this paper, properties, such as colour and gloss, temperature and humidity conditioning and sound absorption of rattan cane were investigated to evaluate suitability of the material for use in interior decoration and furniture applications. The results showed that the chromatic index in both L* a* b* and Munsell colour space range was narrow, producing a colour space that was smaller than for timber. The surface gloss values were found to be bigger in the axial than in the radial direction, with ranges of 3.31–4.33% and 3.01–3.53%, respectively. The logarithm of humidity was represented by a linear equation of temperature T, and the slope of the curve also changed with differing sizes of decorative area. The sound absorption coefficients increased with increasing frequency and material thickness. Rattan showed excellent absorption properties. Therefore, rattan cane is ideally suited for use in interior decoration.