Applied Acoustics 126 (2017) 58–67

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Applied Acoustics
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/apacoust

Acoustic absorption of fibro-granular composite with cylindrical grains

Hasina Mamtaz a, Mohammad Hosseini Fouladi a,⇑, Mohd Zaki Nuawi b, Satesh Narayana Namasivayam a,
Masomeh Ghassem c, Mushtak Al-Atabi d
a
School of Engineering, Taylor’s University, Subang Jaya, Selangor 47500, Malaysia
b
Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
c
Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia
d
Heriot-Watt University, 62200 Putrajaya, Wilayah Persekutuan Putrajaya, Malaysia

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This paper reports the influence of cylindrical granular materials on the acoustic absorption performance
Received 25 December 2016 of a natural fiber composite. The acoustic absorption behavior of an innovative fibro-granular composite
Received in revised form 10 May 2017 composed of natural fibers combined with granular materials was investigated. The fibrous part of this
Accepted 11 May 2017
new composite is fabricated using coconut coir fiber and the granular part by cylindrical rice husk grain.
This study was motivated by a desire to improve the acoustical performance of materials made from nat-
ural (coir) fibers. The amount of binder additive added during composite preparation was considered by
Keywords:
reconstructing the equation using fiber diameter as a new parameter. The acoustic properties of the novel
Natural fiber
Natural grain
composite were investigated based on the well-known Johnson-Champoux-Allard model by varying dif-
Acoustic absorption ferent physical parameters. The experimental analysis was performed in impedance tube to validate the
Fibro-granular composite analytical outcome. The developed analytical model employing Johnson-Champoux-Allard model was
Cylindrical grain found to give predictions in good agreement with absorption coefficient data for the composite material
samples with four different thicknesses. The effect of varying the different factors, such as sample thick-
ness, fiber–grain size and fiber-grain ratio, on the acoustic absorption performance and the effect of the
binder additive were also investigated. Results confirmed the potential of the new material as a promis-
ing acoustic absorber in the low-frequency region (less than 1 kHz).
Ó 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Traditional acoustic materials, which have provided acceptable
absorption rates for nearly all frequency bands, cannot satisfy all
issues in environmental pollution and waste management. Acous-
tic materials from natural waste materials have received attention
to address the dominant use of expensive and non-biodegradable
materials. The natural substance has a high potential for sound
absorption because of its light weight, natural abundance, cost effi-
ciency, biodegradability, and eco-friendliness. Thus, natural and
recycled acoustic materials are valid alternatives to conventional
synthetic materials [1].
Recycled and natural granular materials are highly sustainable,
non-combustible, and moisture-resistant acoustic absorption
materials. Most granular absorbents contain air-filled pores, where
sound absorption takes place due to viscous boundary layer effect.
The viscous loss occurs in the boundary layer of air adjacent to
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: mfoolady@gmail.com (M. Hosseini Fouladi).
pore walls by means of friction between the air molecules and
the pore walls. This phenomenon causes the sound energy to be
dissipated as heat [2].
Coir fiber is an important natural waste material because of its
outstanding potential to replace conventional fibers, such as glass
fibers or rock wool, for noise absorption. The fibrous structure of
an individual fiber cell is hollow, and this hollow cavity decreases
the bulk density and makes the coir fiber light and delicate to serve
as a reliable acoustic and thermal insulator [3].
Rice husk is a great resource as a natural waste material, which
comes from a commonly cultivated crop paddy and is abundant
worldwide. It is highly resistant to moisture, noncombustible,
and presents antifungal quality. Rice husk waste, together with
polyurethane binder, has been investigated as a potential low-
frequency acoustic absorber [4].
Several researchers have successfully developed sound absor-
bers by combining fiber and plastic or rubber-based granular mate-
rials [5,6]. Berardi and Innace [7] reported the effectiveness of a
composite consisting of cork and canes (bark and wood) as poten-
tial acoustic absorbers in terms of the Delany-Bazley model. Mean-

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apacoust.2017.05.012
0003-682X/Ó 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 H. Mamtaz et al. / Applied Acoustics 126 (2017) 58–67 59

while, Mahzan et al. [8] investigated the effectiveness of the coir where the numerator denotes the velocity of a fluid over the pore
fiber-recycled rubber composite as a potential acoustic absorber. surface area A, and the denominator denotes the velocity inside
In their study, the composite with optimum composition of 40% the pore volume V.
coir fiber and 60% recycled rubber granulates was identified as a Moreover, Johnson et al. [14] described the relation between
promising sound absorption material. the viscous characteristic length and flow resistivity (rÞ as follows:
Koizumi et al. [9] reported that high tortuosity, high surface sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi!
area, high flow resistivity, and low porosity at optimal values are 1 8ga1
K¼ ð2Þ
the key factors for effective sound absorption performance of any c ru
material.
Despite their great availability and biodegradability, fresh natu- where a1 is the tortuosity, u is the porosity, and c is a constant,
ral fibers cannot be extensively applied industrially because of which is close to one.
their moisture content, thick diameter, and low antifungal quality. Johnson et al. [13] proposed the following expression of the
In addition, industrially treated natural fiber with lower moisture effective density qðxÞ of rigid-framed porous materials:
content compared with fresh natural fiber lead to lower acoustic " sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi#
ru 4a2 gq x
absorption performance [10]. The current study reports, that this qðxÞ ¼ a1 qo 1 þ 1þ 1 2 o : ð3Þ
acoustic attribute can be improved by incorporating granular jxqo a1 r 2 K x2
materials in fibers to modify moisture content.
The authors have previously highlighted the limitations of nat- where K is the viscous characteristic length.
ural fibers in achieving the desired acoustic absorption perfor- As long as the material is air-filled, then thermal exchange
mance at the desired frequency range, which is below 1 kHz [11]. between pore-borne sound wave compressions and rarefactions
Hence, the current study named and investigated the acoustic per- and the pore walls is significant as well. This is why, the
formance of a new composite which is fibro-granular composite. Johnson-Champoux-Allard model includes a thermal characteristic
Usually, it consists of natural, rubber, or plastic granulates and nat- length and thermal exchange is responsible for the thermal losses.
ural or synthetic fibrous materials. Hence, according to Allard and Champoux [12], the thermal char-
The purpose of this study is to investigate the acoustic absorp- acteristic length K0 , which characterizes the high-frequency behav-
tion characteristics of a natural fibro-granular composite to over- ior of the bulk modulus KðxÞ; is given as follows:
come the drawbacks of a single natural fiber composite. The Rd
A A
acoustic absorption performance of 30 mm thick composite sam- K0 ¼ 2 R d ¼ 2 ð4Þ
ple was plotted through analytical and experimental methods. V V
Subsequently, the possible effects of sample thickness, fiber-grain
For fibrous materials with porosity close to one, K and K0 can be
size, binder additive and fiber–grain ratio were analytically inves-
stated as Eqs. (5) and (6), respectively [15], as follows:
tigated for the enhancement of acoustic absorption of this newly
developed composite at the low-frequency region (f < 1000 Hz). K ¼ 1=2prl ð5Þ
Coir fiber and rice husk grain are the acoustic materials which
were used in this study. The well-known rigid frame Johnson- K0 ¼ 1=prl ¼ 2K ð6Þ
Champoux-Allard model was employed for analytical analysis.
Impedance tube measurement was performed for experimental The total length of fiber l per unit volume can be expressed as
analysis and the results were compared with analytical results to follows:
validate the findings. This innovative material can be applied in 1
l¼ ð7Þ
the automotive industry, buildings, and indoor and outdoor sound pr2
control.
where r is the cross-sectional radius of the fiber.
Allard and Champoux [12,15], proposed the following expres-
2. Methodology
sion of the bulk modulus KðxÞ of rigid-framed porous materials:
2.1. Theoretical measurement: Johnson-Champoux-Allard model cPo
KðxÞ ¼  qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi1 ð8Þ
02
p qo x
Various techniques are used to predict the acoustic absorption c  ðc  1Þ 1  j K02 N8gq x 1 þ j K N16k
p o
mechanism in porous media. Almost all these techniques describe
the acoustic parameters, such as characteristic impedance and The characteristic impedance Z c ðxÞ, complex wave number
propagation constants of porous materials. The Johnson- kc ðxÞ, and surface acoustic impedance Z can be estimated as fol-
Champoux-Allard model is a rigid-frame model, in which the solid lows [15,16]:
phase of the frame remains motionless. The model was developed
1 pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
by Allard and Champoux [12], according to the previous work by Z c ð xÞ ¼ qðxÞ  KðxÞ ð9Þ
Johnson et al. [13]. Five non-acoustic parameters, namely, flow
/
resistivity, porosity, tortuosity, viscous characteristic length, and pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
thermal characteristic length, are considered in this model to pre- kc ðxÞ ¼ x qðxÞ=KðxÞ ð10Þ
dict the acoustical parameters. Viscous characteristic length and
thermal characteristic length are the shape factors related to vis- Z ¼ Z c ðxÞ  cothðkc ðxÞÞ ð11Þ
cous and thermal loss, respectively.
With the surface acoustic impedance Z, the absorption coeffi-
Considering the effects of viscosity, Johnson et al. [14] defined
cient a, at a normal incidence of the porous layer while backed
the frame geometry-dependent parameter of viscous characteristic
with a rigid wall can be calculated as follows:
length (K) as follows:
R  
Z  Z0 2
v 2 dA a ¼ 1    ð12Þ
K ¼ 2 R 2fluid : ð1Þ Z þ Z0 
v fluid dV
where Z 0 ¼ q0 c0 is the impedance of air.
60 H. Mamtaz et al. / Applied Acoustics 126 (2017) 58–67
The effectiveness of any porous material depends on its sound
absorption coefficient which should be close to one over a large
frequency range.
The acoustic behavior of a composite structure made from
cylindrical natural fiber and grain was investigated to predict the
sound absorption coefficient of a fibro-granular composite mate-
rial. The effect of varying the other parameters on the acoustic
absorption performance of these materials was also investigated.
MatlabR 7.0 editor was used to plot the sound absorption coeffi-
cients in the frequency range from 0 kHz to 5 kHz.
2.2. Experimental measurement
The acoustic absorption test was performed on a set of two
impedance tubes SCS9020B/K, which was manufactured according
to ISO 10534-2 and ASTM E1050-98 standards [17]. The set con-
sisted of one high- frequency and one low-frequency impedance
tubes with diameters of 28 and 100 mm, respectively, two channel
data acquisition system 01 dB Symphonie, two 1/200 microphone
types GRAS-40BP in each tube and a random G10 noise generator.
Calibration of the microphones’ sensitivity was performed, by uti-
lizing the calibrator type GRAS-42AB at 114 dB level and 1 kHz. The
acoustic absorption coefficients were determined independently in
the low-frequency range (0–1600 Hz) and high-frequency range
(1600–5000 Hz), and the results are presented by a combined plot
in Figs. 4–10. Both frequency ranges were linked by the user-
friendly SCS8100 software to measure the acoustic absorption
coefficient through the overall frequency pattern.
The air flow resistance of each sample was measured using the
ASTM C522 air flow resistance test system [18]. The test system
package consisted of a sample holder, data acquisition system with
vacuum pump and software package C522.
The average value of flow resistivity from three repeated tests
was considered for every sample. The materials and the equipment
used are shown in Figs. 1–3.
The fibrous component coir fiber and granular component rice
husk grain for the new composite were collected from the local
market. Both components were cleaned by spraying water and
dried in open sunlight for one week. To measure the physical char-
acteristics such as, average diameter, length, volume, and density
of fiber and grain, 20 samples were randomly chosen from each
collected material. The measured values of the physical character-
istics of both fibrous and granular components are fabricated in
Tables 1 and 2 at the latter part of the study.
The granular and fibrous components were mixed randomly
and the ratio of the two was fixed at 50:50 to prepare the compos-
ite samples with different thicknesses. The necessary cohesion
between the components was facilitated by a spray binder adhe-
sive purchased from a hardware shop. Plastic molds with four dif-
ferent thicknesses were prepared to shape the composite samples.
Fig. 1. (a) Plastic molds, (b) shaping samples in molds, and (c) prepared samples.
Thereafter, the composite samples with 20, 30, 40, and 50 mm
thicknesses were prepared using the collected materials and plas-
tic molds shown in Fig. 1. Two samples of 28 and 100 mm diame-
ters were prepared for each thickness to test the acoustic
properties using the impedance tube. The masses of 100 mm diam-
eter fibro-granular composite samples with 20, 30, 40, and 50 mm
thicknesses were measured as 30.15, 46.29, 61.68, and 95.87 g,
respectively. Acoustic absorption was measured within the fre-
quency range from 0 kHz to 5 kHz.
3. Results and discussion
The basic properties of any material are its bulk density, average
density, length and diameter. These properties are needed to eval-
uate the five geometrical parameters, namely, flow resistivity,
porosity, tortuosity, viscous characteristic length, and thermal
characteristic length. The sound absorption coefficient of a mate-
rial is determined by these five parameters. The acoustic absorp-
tion coefficient of the fibro-granular composite was evaluated in
this study in terms of a well-known analytical approach, for the
normal incidence of sound waves.
The flow resistivities of the 20, 30, 40, and 50 mm thick samples
were measured experimentally using the ASTM C522 airflow resis-
tance test system [18], which is shown in Fig. 2. Following the idea
of Kino et al. [16], the porosity u, of new fibro-granular material
was implemented for the current study as follows:
qbulkðsÞ
u¼1 ð13Þ
qf þ qg
where qf is the average density of the fiber, qg is the average den-
sity of the grain, and qbulkðsÞ is the bulk density of the fibro-granular
composite sample.
The tortuosity a1 varies typically in the range of 1–1.06 for
fibrous materials (e.g., rock wool) and 1.1–1.8 for granular materi-
als. An empirical formula for tortuosity of the acoustic material
(coir fiber), can be expressed as follows [10,19]:
1
a1 ¼ pffiffiffiffi ð14Þ
u
A noticeable amount of binder is always needed when prepar-
ing any composite. This binder additive has an undoubted effect
on the sound absorption performance of the composite. Swift
et al. [20] showed that the small pores inside a rubber granular
composite, become filled with binder causing the formation of
bridges between the grains. This phenomenon resulted in enlarged
surface area, reduced overall porosity, and increased tortuosity and
flow resistivity of the material.
In the current study, the influence of sample thickness, fiber–
grain ratio, fiber-grain size, and amount of binder per unit volume
of the composite material on the acoustic properties of the new
 H. Mamtaz et al. / Applied Acoustics 126 (2017) 58–67 61

Fig. 2. (a) Equipment and experimental set up for flow resistivity measurement. The equipment is composed of data acquisition system including vacuum pump, software
package C522 and sample holder. (b) Fibro-granular composite sample holder.

Fig. 3. Experimental set up of fibro-granular acoustic absorption measurement. The equipment is composed of two tubes, a noise generator and two channel data acquisition
system 01 dB.

Fig. 4. Sound absorption coefficient of fibro-granular composite to validate the analytical outcome through impedance tube measurement.

composite were investigated. The effect of the amount of binder dfiber = diameter of natural fiber,
was compensated by reconstructing the fiber diameter as a new qbulkðbinderÞ ¼ mass of binder additive
volume of the sample
= density of binder additive.
parameter in the following equation:
qbulkðbinderÞ Consequently, the total length of the fiber per unit volume of
dfiberðmixÞ ¼ dfiber þ dfiber ð15Þ
qbulkðsÞ the material was developed into the following equation-
qf
where lmix ¼ ð1=pr 2mix Þ ð16Þ
dfiberðmixÞ = diameter of fiber with binder additive,
qbulkðsÞ
62 H. Mamtaz et al. / Applied Acoustics 126 (2017) 58–67

Fig. 5. Analytical results of the acoustic absorption coefficients at different sample thickness.

Fig. 6. Experimental results of the acoustic absorption coefficients at different sample thickness.

where, interaction of air molecules with the material surface, resulting

dfiberðmixÞ
rmix ¼ 2
= radius of fiber with binder additive,
qf
qbulkðsÞ = fraction of fiber existing in the composite material.
The viscous characteristic length and thermal characteristic
length are the two shape factors which describe the acoustic
absorption mechanism of porous materials. The former is related
to the viscous losses in the smaller pores, while the latter is related
to the thermal losses in the larger pores of the porous materials
[21]. Champoux and Stinson [22] stated that effective density
and bulk modulus are the two most important acoustical parame-
ters which can be determined by the pores with small and large
cross-sectional areas, respectively. The main parameter influencing
the sound absorption of a porous material is the flow resistivity
which depends on the pore size distribution, porosity, pore shape
and tortuosity. The viscous and thermal effects, which are respon-
sible for the dissipation of incident sound wave energy, are con-
trolled by pore size. Higher energy dissipation is due to higher
in higher sound absorption of the material.
The pore size in a fibro-granular composite is controlled by the
binder additive, fiber and grain size and amount of the grains.
Some compensation was considered in the Johnson-Champoux-
Allard model due to the introduction of rice husk granular material
and the binder additive in the new composite. It was assumed that
binder became the part of the fiber and grain and filled the porosity
between them. Hence, Eq. (5) is amended accordingly, to obtain the
new viscous characteristic length as below:
K ¼ ð1=2pr mix lmix Þ  u ð17Þ
Allard and Champoux [12] and Allard [15] showed that, at nor-
mal incidence of sound waves, the thermal characteristic length of
the material with porosity close to one is twice as much as its vis-
cous characteristic length. The porosity of the new composite
ranges between 70% and 80% for all samples. Hence, the thermal
characteristic length of the new composite can be evaluated by uti-
lizing Allard’s [15] expression, as stated in Eq. (6).
 H. Mamtaz et al. / Applied Acoustics 126 (2017) 58–67 63

Fig. 7. The acoustic absorption coefficients at different percentages of binder additive.

Fig. 8. The acoustic absorption coefficients at different fiber sizes.

The rice husk particles are roughly in cylindrical shape with
large aspect ratios [23]. Hence, the coir fiber and the rice husk
are considered as natural cylindrical acoustic materials. The phys-
ical characteristics of the coir fiber and rice husk are shown in
Tables 1 and 2, respectively.
The calculated values of four non-acoustic geometrical parame-
ters namely, porosity u, tortuosity /1 , viscous characteristic
length K and thermal characteristic length K0 are listed in Table 3
at the specific fiber–grain ratio of 50:50 for all composite samples.
The experimental values of flow resistivity are also provided in
Table 3 to evaluate the sound absorption coefficient of the fibro-
granular composites with different thicknesses.
The acoustic properties of the coir fiber and rice husk composite
were determined in an impedance tube to validate the analytical
outcome of the Johnson-Champoux-Allard model. MatlabR 7.0 edi-
tor was used to plot the sound absorption coefficients in the fre-
quency range from 0 kHz to 5 kHz. The analytical and
experimental results are shown in Fig. 4. for the 30 mm thick
sample.
The accurate resonance prediction, including complete absorp-
tion pattern, was estimated using the Johnson-Champoux-Allard
model. According to Johnson-Champoux-Allard model the peak
values of the acoustic absorption coefficient were found 0.8730
at 777 Hz for the 30 mm thick sample. By contrast, the sound
absorption coefficients from the impedance tube measurement
were 0.9000 at 741 Hz for the 30 mm thick sample. Therefore, a
promising agreement of the acoustic absorption performances
was observed between the experimental and analytical outcomes.
The effect of sample thickness, binder additive, fiber-grain size
and fiber-grain ratio on sound absorption was investigated. For
investigating the effect of sample thickness, fiber–grain composite
sample ratio was maintained at 50:50. Table 4 shows the analytical
and experimental results of the acoustic absorption coefficients for
different thicknesses of the fibro-granular composite samples. For
both analytical and experimental methods, the acoustic absorption
performance at the low-frequency region was observed to increase
with a increase in sample thickness. The results are shown in Figs. 5
and 6, by the plot of the sound absorption coefficient.
64 H. Mamtaz et al. / Applied Acoustics 126 (2017) 58–67

Fig. 9. The acoustic absorption coefficients at different grain sizes .

Fig. 10. The acoustic absorption coefficients at different ratios of fiber-grain.

Similar to other composites, a direct relationship between sam-
ple thickness and sound absorption coefficient was observed for
the fibro-granular composite at the low-frequency region. The coir
fiber–rice husk fibro-granular composite shows improved result at
increased thickness compared with single natural coir fiber com-
posite. Natural coir fiber showed an average absorption of 0.8 for
frequencies (Hz) of >1360, >940, and >578 at sample thicknesses
of 20, 30, and 45 mm, respectively. Unlike natural fiber, industrial
fiber with less moisture contents showed an average absorption
0.8 for frequencies (Hz) of >3190 and >1300 at sample thicknesses
of 20 and 50 mm, respectively [10,24]. However, average absorp-
tion of 0.8 for the fibro-granular composite was found in the cur-
rent study for frequencies (Hz) <1321, <777, <578, and <449 at
thicknesses of 20, 30, 40, and 50 mm, respectively. The variation
in the frequency of the absorption coefficient peaks with thickness
is the consequence of the change in the quarter wavelength layer
resonance.
In order to reveal the binder effect on the acoustic absorption
properties of the composite, three samples with different percent-
ages of binder were prepared for analytical investigation. The
acoustic absorption coefficients of the fibro-granular composite
samples is fabricated in Table 5, together with flow resistivity data.
An enhancement at the low frequency region was observed due to
the increase in binder amount, which is shown in Fig. 7, by the plot
of the sound absorption coefficients using the Johnson-Champox-
Allard model.
A less significant effect of the binder additive on the acoustic
performance of fibro-granular composite materials was observed.
An optimal increase in the binder amount within the range of
10%–40% of the total weight of the sample contributes to higher
flow resistivity and a slightly better absorption performance at
the low-frequency region. However, over a range of the optimal
amount of binder additive, the composite sample becomes stiff,
and the peaks shift toward the higher frequency region because
of the increase in structural damping as stated by Wassilieff [25].
Following the previous researchers [9,24], an investigation was
performed in order to highlight the influence of the fiber size on
the acoustic absorption of the new composite. Three composite
 H. Mamtaz et al. / Applied Acoustics 126 (2017) 58–67 65

Table 1
Physical characteristics of the natural coir fiber collected from local market.

Sample no. Diameter of fiber (mm) Weight of fiber (mg) Length of fiber (mm) Volume of fiber (mm3) Density of fiber (kg/m3)
1 0.101 100 0.60 0.801 749
2 0.108 96 0.55 0.879 626
3 0.109 90 0.65 0.839 775
4 0.111 74 0.60 0.716 838
5 0.120 80 0.70 0.904 774
6 0.135 94 0.81 1.345 602
7 0.136 87 0.88 1.263 697
8 0.140 80 0.78 1.231 634
9 0.146 80 0.80 1.339 597
10 0.160 66 0.88 1.326 664
11 0.178 56 0.90 1.393 646
12 0.187 60 0.90 1.647 546
13 0.200 60 0.93 1.884 494
14 0.200 59 1.00 1.853 540
15 0.216 73 1.95 2.674 729
16 0.250 95 3.00 4.661 644
17 0.254 93 3.00 4.710 637
18 0.350 81 3.0 7.789 385
19 0.405 85 5.9 10.945 539
20 0.501 83 8.5 16.354 520

Total average diameter of fiber = 200 mm.

Total average density of fiber = 632 kg/m3.

Table 2
Physical characteristics of natural rice husk grain collected from local market.

Sample no. Diameter of grain (mm) Weight of grain (mg) Length of grain (mm) Volume of grain (mm3) Density of grain (kg/m3)
1 0.20 0.20 10.1 0.317 631
2 0.25 0.35 9.5 0.466 751
3 0.30 0.50 9.6 0.678 737
4 0.40 0.80 10.6 1.331 601
5 0.60 2.00 10.7 3.024 661
6 0.70 2.50 10.0 3.847 650
7 0.73 2.80 10.0 4.183 669
8 0.80 2.80 9.00 4.522 619
9 0.85 3.40 10.0 5.672 599
10 0.90 4.20 11.0 6.994 601
11 0.90 3.50 10.0 6.359 550
12 1.00 4.30 10.5 8.243 522
13 1.00 4.10 10.3 8.086 507
14 1.05 4.00 9.30 8.049 497
15 1.10 4.10 9.00 8.549 480
16 1.15 4.90 10.5 10.901 450
17 1.18 4.80 10.0 10.93 439
18 1.20 5.40 10.0 11.304 478
19 1.20 5.50 10.5 11.869 463
20 1.23 5.80 10.5 12.470 465

Total average length of grain = 10 mm

Total average density of grain = 569 kg/m3

Table 3
Five geometrical parameters of fibro-granular composite.

Thickness Mass of the sample for 100 mm Flow resistivity r Porosity Tortuosity Viscous characteristics length Thermal characteristics length
(mm) diameter (g) (Nsm4) u /1 K (mm) K0 (mm)
20 30.15 2148 0.8402 1.1137 10.626 21.252
30 46.29 4042 0.8364 1.0934 10.672 21.344
40 61.68 6206 0.8356 1.0940 10.989 21.977
50 95.87 7973 0.7967 1.1203 13.292 26.584

Table 4
Measured values of the sound absorption coefficients (aÞ at different thicknesses of the coir fiber-rice husk fibro-granular composite.

Sample thickness (mm) Frequency (Hz) Analytical results of A Frequency (Hz) Experimental results of A
20 1321 0.9135 1493 0.9000
30 777 0.8730 741 0.9000
40 553 0.8535 736 0.8650
50 449 0.8414 501 0.8577
66 H. Mamtaz et al. / Applied Acoustics 126 (2017) 58–67

Table 5 Table 7
Measured values of the sound absorption coefficients at different binder percentages Measured values of the sound absorption coefficients at different grain lengths of
of 30 mm coir fiber-rice husk fibro-granular composite sample. 30 mm coir fiber-rice husk fibro-granular composite sample.

Binder additives (% of Flow Frequency Sound Grain length Flow resistivity Frequency Sound absorption
30 mm sample weight) resistivity (Hz) absorption (mm) (Nsm4) (Hz) coefficient
(Nsm4) coefficient
4.5 4411 727 0.8472
12 3616 819 0.8903 7.5 4051 764 0.8604
22 4042 777 0.8730 10 4042 777 0.8730
32 6394 739 0.8553

Table 8
samples of different fiber diameters were prepared for this investi- Measured values of the sound absorption coefficients at different ratios of the coir
gation. The average grain length was fixed at 10 mm for all three fiber–rice husk fibro-granular composite at 30 mm sample thickness.

samples. Table 6 shows the analytical results of the sound absorp-
tion coefficients for 30 mm thick samples with three different fiber
diameters of 150, 200 and 300 lm. The significant enhancement of
the acoustic absorption performance at the low-frequency region
was observed with the reduction of fiber size, which is shown in
Fig. 8.
The potential role of the grain size on the acoustic absorption
was investigated by Swift et al. [20]. Where the authors reported,
the smaller grain size leads better acoustic performance by con-
tributing larger surface area in the composite. In order to investi-
gate the effectiveness of grain size on the sound absorption of
the fibro-granular composite, three composite samples of different
grain sizes were prepared and for all three samples the average
fiber diameter was fixed at 200 lm. Like other investigations on
the factors such as, sample thickness, binder amount and fiber size,
the specific combination of fiber-grain was maintained at 50:50 for
this case too. Table 7 shows the analytical results of the sound
absorption coefficients for 30 mm thick samples with three differ-
ent grain lengths of 4.5 mm, 7.5 mm and 10 mm. Fig. 9 shows the
acoustic absorption response of the fibro-granular composite at
three different grain sizes, in terms of rigid frame Johnson-
Champoux-Allard method. The enhancement of the acoustic
absorption performance at the low-frequency region was observed
with the reduction of grain size.
In Figs. 9 and 10, the analytical outcomes of the absorption coef-
ficients are plotted for 30 mm thick fibro-granular composite sam-
ples with varying fiber and grain sizes respectively. Results show
the both agreements enhanced the acoustic absorption of the com-
posite at low frequency region. This phenomena can be explained
by the fact, that a composite with the combination of thinner fiber
and smaller grains possessed the higher surface area, more tortu-
ous path and higher airflow resistance. Hence, it leads to higher
absorption coefficient and shifts the peak towards the low fre-
quency, which follows the previous work as addressed by previous
researchers [9,20].
The acoustic absorption properties of the fibro-granular com-
posite with varying ratios of fiber–grain combination were also
evaluated in this study. Three samples with fiber–grain ratios of
75:25, 50:50, and 25:75 were prepared to predict the best acoustic
behavior at the low-frequency region. Table 8 demonstrates the
acoustic absorption behavior of these fibro-granular composite
samples. The sound absorption coefficients of these composites
Table 6
Measured values of the sound absorption coefficients at different fiber diameters of
30 mm coir fiber-rice husk fibro-granular composite sample.
Fiber diameter Flow resistivity Frequency Sound absorption
(lm) (Nsm4) (Hz) coefficient
150 5109 722 0.8418
200 4042 777 0.8730
300 3275 978 0.9345
Fiber:grain Flow resistivity Frequency Sound absorption
(Nsm4) (Hz) coefficient
75:25 3272 795 0.8808
50:50 4042 777 0.8730
25:75 5662 752 0.8617
at constant sample thickness of 30 mm are plotted in Fig. 10,
according to the Johnson-Champox-Allard model.
The fiber–grain ratio is one of the key features for good acoustic
absorption performance. Approximately equal amounts of fiber–
grain component were needed to achieve high absorption coeffi-
cient [5,26]. Khan [5] reported the best value of the sound absorp-
tion coefficient when the fiber–grain ratios were 40:60 and 60:40
for the composite with combined nylon fiber and PVC carpet grain.
In the current study, the best value of the acoustic absorption coef-
ficient of fibro-granular composite was obtained at fiber–grain
ratio of 25:75 at the low-frequency region.
Thus, the fibro-granular composite is superior to the simple
fibrous composite for commercial application, especially for low-
frequency acoustic absorbent material. This results was derived
by increasing the sample thickness, binder amount, changing the
fiber-grain sizes, fiber-grain ratio in terms of analytical and exper-
imental methods. The result can be described by the fact that the
introduction of granular materials in the fibrous composite causes
the reduction in porosity and two shape factors by filling the pores
in an optimal way which contributes to higher flow resistivity and
tortuosity and thereby higher acoustic absorption, which exactly
mimicked the simple law of the compression effect described by
Castagnede et al. [27], where they pointed out that, in a com-
pressed fibrous material, the fibers are brought nearer to each
other without experiencing any deformation in radius. Similarly,
in the current study, the granular component of the fibro-
granular composite formed bridges between the fibers by filling
the small pores within the composite without resulting in any
deformation in the fiber radius. Furthermore, a larger surface area
was created within the composite for more interaction among air
molecules within the frame. Hence, more sound energy was con-
verted into heat energy, leading to higher acoustic absorption.
4. Conclusions
The fibro-granular composite from coconut coir fiber and cylin-
drical rice husk grain can be used as an acoustic absorbent mate-
rial. The acoustic absorption of the composite was investigated
using the Johnson-Champoux-Allard model. Experimental investi-
gations using impedance tubes were performed to validate the
analytical method. The theoretical and experimental data showed
that, at low frequency <780 Hz, the sound absorption coefficient
of the 30 mm thick composite was within the range of 80%–90%.
The results provide a reliable guidance for the possible application
of the novel composite as a promising low-frequency sound-
absorbing material.
 H. Mamtaz et al. / Applied Acoustics 126 (2017) 58–67
The effect of sample thickness, fiber–grain ratio, fiber–grain size
and binder additive were also investigated. The findings indicated
that increased sample thickness, grains, and binder amount
enhanced the acoustic absorption at the low-frequency region.
Gradual shifting of the peak value of sound absorption coefficient
was observed with increased sample thickness, granular compo-
nent, binder amount and decreased fiber-grain size toward the
low-frequency region. The peak values of the sound absorption
coefficients were observed at frequencies (Hz) of 1321 (91%), 777
(87%), 543 (85%), and 449 (84%) for the 20, 30, 40 and 50 mm thick
composites, respectively. Optimal peak values of 0.86 at 752 Hz
and 0.85 at 739 Hz were found for the 30 mm thick sample with
fiber–grain ratio of 25:75 and binder amount of 32% of the total
weight, respectively. For both fiber diameter of 150 lm and grain
length 4.5 mm the peak values of the sound absorption coefficients
were found 0.84 at around 700 Hz. In the first instance, the results
were due to the reduced average pore size and increased surface
area, flow resistivity, and tortuosity.
Finally, the current investigation contributes to the green tech-
nology because of the shift from using conventional fibro-granular
composites to natural fibro-granular composites for acoustic
absorption. This study facilitates the use of agricultural waste resi-
dues as acoustic absorbent material with low manufacturing cost.
However, the influence of the optimal ratio and size of fiber–grain
components should be investigated further to achieve the acoustic
absorption performance at a desired level.
References
[1] Asdrubali F. Survey on the acoustical properties of new sustainable materials
for noise control. Euronoise 2006, Finland. 30 May–1 June, 1–10; 2006.
[2] Cox TJ, Antonio PD. In: Acoustic absorbers and diffusers: Theory, design and
application. New York, USA: Taylors & Francis; 2009.
[3] Waifielate AA, Abiola BO. Mechanical property evaluation of coconut fibre
Master of Science Thesis. Karlskrona, Sweden: Blekinge Institute of
Technology; 2008.
[4] Mahzan S, Zaidi A, Mujahid A, Ghazali MI, Yahya MN, Ismail M. Investigation
on sound absorption of rice-husk reinforced composite. In: Proceedings of
MUCEET 2009, Malaysian technical universities conference on engineering and
technology, 20–22 June, 19–22, MS Garden, Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia; 2009.
[5] Khan A. Vibro-acoustic products from re-cycled raw materials using a cold
extrusion process: a continuous cold extrusion process PhD Thesis. University
of Bradford; 2008.
[6] Benkreira H, Khan A, Horoshenkov KV. Sustainable acoustic and thermal
insulation materials from elastomeric waste residues. Chem Eng Sci 2011;66
(18):4157–71.
67
[7] Berardi U, Iannace G. Acoustic characterization of natural fibers for sound
absorption applications. Build Environ 2015;94:1–13. http://dx.doi.org/
10.1016/j.buildenv.2015.05.029.
[8] Mahzan S, Ahmad Zaidi AM, Arsat N, Hatta MNM, Ghazali MI, Rasool Mohideen
S. Study on sound absorption properties of coconut coir fibre reinforced
composite with added recycled rubber. IJIE 2010;2(1):29–34.
[9] Koizumi T, Tsujiuchi N, Adachi A. The development of sound absorbing
materials using natural bamboo fibers. In: High performance structures and
composites Book. UK: WIT Press; 2002.
[10] Fouladi MH, Ayub M, Jailani MNM. Analysis of coir fiber acoustical
characteristics. Appl Acoust 2011;72(1):35–42.
[11] Mamtaz H, Fouladi MH, Al-Atabi M, Namasivayam SN. Acoustic absorption of
natural fiber composites. J Eng 2016:1–11. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/
5836107.
[12] Champoux Y, Allard JF. Dynamic tortuosity and bulk modulus in air-saturated
porous media. J Appl Phys 1991;70(4):1975–9.
[13] Johnson DL, Koplik J, Dashen R. Theory of dynamic permeability and tortuosity
in fluid-saturated porous media. J Fluid Mech 1987;176(3):379–402.
[14] Johnson DL, Koplik J, Schwartz LM. New pore-size parameter characterizing
transport in porous media. Phys Rev Lett 1986;57(20):2564–7. http://dx.doi.
org/10.1103/PhysRevLett. 57.2564.
[15] Allard JF. Propagation of sound in Porous media. In: Modelling sound
absorbing materials. New York and London: Elsevier Applied Science; 1993.
[16] Kino N, Ueno T, Suzuki Y, Makino H. Investigation of non-acoustical
parameters of compressed melamine foam materials. Appl Acoust 2009;70
(4):595–604.
[17] Kundt tube technical notes; 1998. http://www.scs-controlsys.com/systems/
pdf/SCS-MT-PRO-KIT-ABSORPTION.pdf.
[18] ASTM C522. Standard test method for airflow resistance of acoustical
materials; 2003.
[19] Attenborough K. Models for the acoustical characteristics of air filled granular
materials. Acta Acust 1993;1:213–26.
[20] Swift MJ, Bris P, Horoshenkov KV. Acoustic absorption in re-cycled rubber
granulate. Appl Acoust 1999;57(3):203–12.
[21] Ravindran A. Investigation of inverse acoustical characterization of porous
materials used in aircraft noise control application Master of Science
Thesis. Wichita State University; 2007.
[22] Champoux Y, Stinson MR. On acoustical models for sound propagation in rigid
frame porous materials and the influence of shape factors. J Acoust Soc Am
1992;92(2):1120–31.
[23] Bharadwaj Anshu, Wang Y, Sridhar S, Arunachalam VS. Pyrolysis of rice husk -
Indian Institute of Science Bangalore. Curr Sci 2004;87(7):981–6.
[24] Nor MJM, Ayub M, Zulkifli R, Amin N, Fouladi MH. Effect of different factors on
the acoustic absorption of coir fiber. J Appl Sci 2010;10(22):2887–92.
[25] Wassilieff C. Sound absorption of wood-based materials. Appl Acoust 1996;48
(4):339–56.
[26] Maderuelo-Sanz R, Barrigón Morillas JM, Martín-Castizo M, Gómez Escobar V,
Rey Gozalo G. Acoustical performance of porous absorber made from recycled
rubber and polyurethane resin. LAJSS 2013;10(3):585–600.
[27] Castagnede B, Aknine A, Brouard B, Tarnow V. Effects of compression on the
sound absorption of fibrous materials. Appl Acoust 2000;61(2):173–82.