Seven-hole hollow polyester fibers as reinforcement in sound absorption chlorinated polyethylene composites

A series of thin, lightweight and low-cost sound absorption composites consisting of chlorinated polyethylene (CPE) and seven-hole hollow polyester fibers (SHPF) were fabricated. The sound absorption property of the fiber composites was tested in an impedance tube, the morphology was characterized by a scanning electron micrographs (SEM) and the mechanical property of fiber composites was measured by strength tester. The effect of fiber content, composite thickness, and cavity depth on the sound absorption property, and the effect of fiber content on mechanical property and micro-structure were investigated. The results demonstrated that acoustical characteristics of porous materials were exhibited by mixing with SHPF. Acoustical absorption of materials increased significantly with increasing SHPF content. Furthermore, the acoustic property of composite with 20% SHPF concentration and 3 mm thickness was noted in the low frequency range, giving a sound absorption coefficient peak, 0.695 at 2500 Hz. Composite with air back cavity had resonance characteristics of a lamella with an absorption peak only occurring at a specific frequency. Compared with pure CPE of similar thickness, mechanically CPE/SHPF composite at the 1 mm thickness and 20% SHPF exhibited 228% higher tensile stress and 96% lower breaking strain. It appears from these results that CPE/SHPF composites have potential for engineering applications especially as sound absorbers.