Effects of Filler Characteristics on the Acoustic Absorption of EPDM-based Highly Filled Particulate Composite

Abstract

The acoustic properties of homogeneous isotropic viscoelastic materials are predicted by a new method for the composite materials. In this case, attenuation mechanisms of composite materials are separated in absorption and scattering mechanisms. Absorption of sound waves is obtained by using dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) data at different temperatures in order to predict the sound loss in highly filled composites. Acoustic parameters, the attenuation coefficient (α), and sound velocity (c), are obtained in the shear and dilatation modes for different particulate composites. In order to study the effect of filler characteristics on the structural and intrinsic absorption mechanisms, different composites are prepared based on highly filled EPDM elastomer. Finally, based on residence time of sound waves in the material, a new absorption factor is introduced and variation of this parameter versus temperature is studied.