Evaluation of acoustical and non-acoustical properties of sound absorbing materials made of polyester fibres of various cross-sectional shapes

Four types of fibrous material samples made of polyester fibres of various cross-sections, i.e. circle, hollow, flat and triangle, have been prepared. The surface impedance and the non-acoustical parameters of them have been measured. The effect of the variation in the cross-sections on the acoustical properties and the non-acoustical parameters of the polyester fibre samples have been examined. The effects of the 'circle' and the 'hollow' samples are almost the same. However, for the 'flat' and the 'triangle' samples, the effects different from the 'circle' sample are found in the measured flow resistivity and the two characteristic lengths. This paper also discusses the equivalent diameters of the materials made of non-circular cross-sections. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.