A Study of Sound Absorption Properties of Jute Felt Mattress

In recent years, natural fibres find their place as sound absorbers as the traditional synthetic absorbers have an adverse effect on the environment and human health. While considering jute, it is mostly used in packaging industries, though jute felts and composite are used in automobiles, the sound absorption aspect can be explored in many ways. In this paper, the acoustic absorption behaviour of jute sample is studied under normal incidence of sound, using the impedance tube method. The sound absorption coefficient was observed at, varying sample thickness, alkali treatment to jute (woolenization of jute), and binder concentrations in the samples. It was observed that an increase in the sample thickness improves the sound absorption. On the other hand, the binder concentration has shown a negative effect on the samples' sound absorption behaviour. Samples with 20–30–mm-thickness and 10% binder concentration have shown sound absorption coefficient 0.8 beyond 1.5 kHz frequency. It was also seen that the alkali treatment to the sample does not influence the sound-absorbing behaviour.