Waste Durian Husk Fibers as Natural Sound Absorber: Performance and Acoustic Characterization

The paper presents the sound absorption coefficient of acoustic absorbers fabricated from natural durian husk fibers, which are currently still considered as agricultural wastes, especially in Malaysia. Samples were fabricated with different fiber densities and thicknesses and the sound absorption performance was measured using the impedance tube method. The results reveal that the durian husk fibers can have absorption coefficient of more than 0.5 above 1 kHz for a minimum thick sample of 20 mm and with minimum density of 160 kg/m(3). The optimised macroscopic parameters for various densities were calculated using the inverse method employing the well-known Johnson-Champoux-Allard (JCA) model for porous material.