Development of porous composite ceramic with sugarcane fiber filler for sound absorber materials

Abstract

Porous ceramic composite materials are fabricated for sound absorber materials. The ceramic composites are made from silica (SiO2) with a filler mixture to change the pore structure. Natural fillers synthesized from sugarcane bagasse with compositions of 0.5, 0.75, and 1.0 g are considered for sound absorber fabrication. Each filler weight comes with three different fiber sizes, namely 212, 425, and 630 µm. Subsequently, a blowing agent made of Al2O3 and CaCO3 is added to create pores in the composite, while a binder made of a mixture of gypsum powder and Portland Composite Cement (PCC) is used to bind the whole ceramic composite materials. Sound absorption coefficients α of each sample are evaluated by using impedance tube measurements according to ISO 10534-2. The results suggest that adding 0.5, 0.75, and 1 g filler gives the composite an absorption coefficient of 50%–80%, 60%–90%, and 75%–90%, respectively.