Indian Journal of Pure & Applied Physics

Vol. 60, May 2022, pp. 422-429

Influences of Various Parameters on Sound Absorption Properties of Vetiver

Grass Fiber-based Developed Composite Material
Kuldeep Meenaa,b, Mahavir Singha,b, Kirti Sonib,c* & Anjali S Naira,b
a
CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, Dr. K. S. Krishnan Marg, New Delhi- 110 012, India
b
Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad- 201 002, India
c
CSIR-Advanced Materials and Processes Research Institute (AMPRI), Bhopal- 462 026, India

Received 13 December 2021; accepted 18 April 2022

Recently, the trend of natural fibers based eco-friendly materials utilization in the field of acoustic application has been
growing rapidly in place of traditional synthetic materials to counter environmental issues, due to their cheap processing cost
and other several advantages. In this work, sound absorption and thermal insulation properties of the vetiver grass
(Chrysopogon zizanioides) based material have been investigated. Efforts have been carried out in developing porous
vetiver grass fibers based composite material. The developed samples tested for the sound absorption coefficient (alpha)
over a wide range of frequencies (100 Hz – 4000 Hz) by the reverberation chamber method as per IS 8225-1987/ISO 354-
2003/ASTM 423-909-19 and noise reduction coefficient (NRC) also been calculated. The experimental outcome proved that
vetiver grass-based manufactured material has comparable sound absorption to already developed traditional synthetic
materials. Further, two different bulk densities, thickness and fibre lengths-based samples were developed and their sound
absorption acoustic performances were evaluated to see the influences of these parameters on sound absorption
characteristics. Apart from these, some required physical properties as per application requirements were also discussed.
However, in this study major focus has been done on acoustical properties.

Keywords: Noise reduction coefficient; Reverberation chamber; Sound absorption coefficient; Vetiver grass fibers

1 Introduction techniques of noise control that can be achieved first is

Sound is a form of energy which is produced and active noise control and the second is passive noise
transmitted by a vibrating matter i.e. sound needs a control; used by engineers. In passive noise control noise
medium to travel. Sound is a pressure wave which is level is reduced by employing a different type of
travel via compression (area of high pressure) and material like sound-absorbing tiles while in active noise
rarefaction (areas of low pressure) produced in the control undesired sound is prevented by the application
medium as the sound wave travels through matter for of an additional designed device e.g. power source.
example a wave travels through the springs is like a Passive noise control is becoming more popular in
sound wave travels through the air and the places where designs and materials while active noise control is used
the springs are close together are like compressions in in mobile telephones etc. because the former is a less
the air. It travels faster through solids than liquids or expensive technique.
gases. Beyond a certain limit sound became unpleasant; One of the popular accepted techniques under
termed noise which makes us uncomfortable and we passive noise control is by employing different kinds
lose concentration on our work. Rapid industrialization of sound-absorbing composite materials in the
makes this noise problem even more serious. Due to this direction of sound propagation has been used in
problem, we lost concentration on work and a study practice by materials scientists to mitigate undesired
suggests that a continuous high-intensity sound can sound. When sound waves pass through the porous
disturb our hearing power which can’t be recovered 1-3. material, some part of sound wave energy is absorbed by
Therefore, this problem is faced almost everywhere in the material, causing a reduction in sound energy due to the
daily life routine and it makes us irritated. Therefore, the friction with the pore walls and thermal exchange. This
prevention of noise pollution is a major task for sound absorption depends on certain factors like materials
thickness, bulk density, air cavity, fiber size, airflow
researchers in the field of acoustic design. There are two
resistivity, porosity, temperature etc.
——————— Glass wool, rock wool, foams material (i.e.,
*Corresponding author: (E-mail: [email protected]) polystyrene and polyurethane) etc. are traditionally
 MEENA et al.: VETIVER GRASS FIBER-BASED DEVELOPED COMPOSITE MATERIAL 423

used synthetic materials commercially for sound utilized in manufacturing composite fibre-based
absorption and thermal insulation purpose at various materials. Othmani et al.,13 worked on sugar cane and
construction sites and in buildings due to their good resign together and founds that sugar cane has good
acoustical performances. Still, these materials are sound absorption at medium to higher frequency
hazardous to human health as well as to the ranges. A study has been done on paddy straw and its
environment due to their toxic nature and CO2 results suggest that this can be used as an acoustic
emission during their processing4. Studies suggest that panel due to its porosity and elasticity14. Various
there are chances of human health problems due to studies on natural fibers suggest that the larger the
skin irritation caused by inhaling fibers and particles5-6. pores, the better the acoustic insulation. In another
These shortcomings set the limitation on the uses of study, it has been observed that the higher density
traditional synthetic materials. Therefore, researchers material of oil palm fiber has good sound
interest moved towards finding new alternative eco- absorption15-16. Among natural fibers kenaf fiber got
friendly, sustainable materials which have comparable more attention because of its excellent acoustic results
acoustic properties. This becomes possible by the as well as its good fiber quality especially outer
discovery of acoustical properties of natural fibers- fibers, lower bulk density, mechanical strength, cheap
based materials. Sound absorption properties of cost, biodegradability and recyclable properties17.
natural fiber-based materials e.g. bamboo, jute, sisal, Therefore, researchers suggest that kenaf can be
banana and kenaf etc. have been investigated by the utilized for the medium density particle boards and
researchers. Agricultural wastes like wheat straw, rice sound barriers18-22.
straw etc. also has been studied for noise absorption In the literature survey of natural fibers based on
and it has been reported that these materials can porous structured materials, it was found that these
become alternative to the traditional synthetic material gives good sound-absorbing results over a wide
materials. These materials absorb the incident sound range of frequency especially at medium to higher
wave energy as the wave travels through the material frequency but are less effective in absorbing sound at
and this energy is dissipated in the form of heat lower frequency range generally below 2000 Hz. This
energy by interacting with the materials fiber and problem can be addressed by creating a certain air cavity
some part trapped in the porous structure i.e. due to behind the sample. Sound absorption is also influenced
frictional and viscous effects, due to interaction effected by material's bulk density, thickness etc. In this
between fibers, incident wave, fibers vibration7. These reported work, vetiver grass-based composite material
natural fibers and agriculture waste materials are eco- has been developed, its acoustic and mechanical
friendly in nature, raw material availability, cheap properties have been investigated experimentally. The
processing cost, safe in handling and comparable selection of this fiber is due to its some unique features
acoustic performances make them favourable in place as fibers are flat, sustainable in adverse temperature
of synthetic materials and remove the shortcomings of conditions, high tensile strength and fire resistance etc.
synthetic materials8-9.
Its roots have been used for making perfumes and
In a research study of natural fiber assembly sound
cosmetics widely. In the medical sector, it is used to cool
absorbers, it was reported that by taking care of
down the body temperature and for skin disease care. It
density and air cavity behind specimen of pineapple-
is also grown by the farmers to prevent soil erosion
leaf fibers sound absorption coefficient reached up to
0.9 on average above 1000 Hz frequency10. Berardi because deep penetration strength of its roots. However,
and Iannace11 worked on wood fiber material and the to the best of our knowledge, no research work has been
results suggest that the 6 cm thickness specimen done on vetiver grass-based material for sound
showed high alpha at 500 Hz and 1650 Hz. Similarly, absorption. Therefore, the major focus of this study has
attempts have been done on Natural Fiber Composite been done in investigating the sound absorption
sound-absorbing materials, Samaei et al.12 reported properties of the vetiver grass fibrous assemblies, the
that kenaf fiber and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) mixed effect of various parameters e.g. density, thickness and
under certain pressure and kenaf fiber treated with fiber length has been studied.
NaOH reduces diameter; gives a good appearance 2 Materials & methods
and improved sound absorption characteristics as
compared to without NaOH treated fiber. It has been Materials preparatory process
also noted that physical and mechanical properties Vetiver is a climate-friendly crop and can stand in
were improved when chemical treated fiber was adverse climates. Its fibres were obtained from
424 INDIAN J PURE APPL PHYS, VOL. 60, MAY 2022

northern Indian farm fields and Magnesium Oxide This treatment also improved the mechanical
(MgO) cement was used as a binding agent for the properties and improve the interaction with the
fibers. Harvesting has been done after planting and binder. These fibers were then dried in an oven at
fibers were extracted. The vetiver bunchgrass having ± 70 °C temperature for 2-3 hours to reduce the
clumps grows straight high parallel has typically moisture content (MC) by around 3-5 %. Both of
height of 15-200 cm and it can be separated into small these vetiver fibers and MgO with 30% fibre-loaded
pieces. Initially, the obtained fibers were washed in mixed in a salt solution (Ammonium chloride, NaCl)
distilled water as shown in Fig. 1(a) to remove for providing hardness to the composite material.
impurities and sunlight is given for 1-2 days for Further, 1-2% (wt.) of wax is added to prevent
drying up. The sundried fibers are shown in Fig. 1(b). material from environmental moisture from the
Vetiver fibers of an average length of 40-50 mm and surroundings. The binding agent is used in less
width of 3-4 mm have been taken {see Fig. 1(c)}. quantity to make final material in the porous structure.
Alkaline treatment of vetiver grass fibers has been A simple hand lay-up and compression moulding
done with 5% Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution in method are used in forming the composite material.
distilled water for cleaning the surface of the vetiver The final finished grass-based composite material has
fibers for about 40 minutes {see Fig. 1(d)}. The been shown in Fig. 1(f). Before the mechanical and
alkaline treated fibers have been shown in Fig. 1(e). acoustic testing, the samples were kept at a
temperature of 20 ± 2 °C and 65 ± 5% RH for 3 days.
3 Methodology
The reverberation chamber is the most accurate and
standard method for the sound absorption coefficient
(alpha) and noise reduction coefficient (NRC)
measurement23. A reverberation chamber is a large room
with very hard exposed surfaces designed to create a
diffuse field. Adequate diffusion has been created in the
chamber. It is used to calculate the values of alpha, NRC
and sound transmission loss (STL) of a material. It is
also used for the measurement of the sound power of a
source and the calibration of a microphone. The
experiments for the sound absorption coefficient (Alpha)
have been carried out in a reverberation chamber which
is constructed using concrete and solid bricks at CSIR-
National Physical Laboratory (NPL), New Delhi as
shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 1 — (a) Vetiver grass fibers in digital water for purification (b)
Fibers in sunlight after washing (c) 30-40 mm length fibers used for
material preparation (d) Chemical (NaOH) treatment of fibers (e) Fig. 2 — Reverberation chamber facility at CSIR-National Physical
Fibers after chemical treatment (f) Final finished composite material. Laboratory, New Delhi.
 MEENA et al.: VETIVER GRASS FIBER-BASED DEVELOPED COMPOSITE MATERIAL 425

The various equipment used in the testing process evaluated uncertainty in measurement is ± 5% which is
is traceable to the primary standards maintained at at a coverage factor k = 2 and corresponds to a coverage
CSIR-NPL, a National Metrology Institute (NMI) probability of approximately 95% for normal
of India. The accuracy of these primary standards is distribution. For each measurement, temperature and the
verified periodically by participation in key– relative humidity of the chamber were recorded by the
comparison exercises with leading NMIs in the world. temperature-humidity sensor as shown in Fig. 3 (e).
The microphones used in the testing were calibrated The sound absorption coefficient (α) is defined as
by absolute method on the Reciprocity Calibration the ratio between the energy of a sound wave which is
System (B&K Type 9699) in the frequency range 31.5 absorbed by the surface of the material to the incident
Hz to 25.0 kHz using plane-wave couplers. Vetiver sound wave energy24.
grass fibers based composite material panels were For Alpha measurement, the material is mounted at
tested for their sound absorption coefficient by a rigid surface inside the chamber of volume 257 m3
reverberation method as per IS: 8225 – 1987(R2005) to get an exposed specimen area of 12 m2. A
under existing environmental conditions in a loudspeaker, which emits uniform spherical radiation
reverberation chamber of volume 257 m3, surface area in all directions, has been used as a sound source, the
240 m2. The designed chamber has dimensions of sound is induced by a signal generator from 100 Hz to
6 m (L) х 6.5 (W) m х 7 m (H), yielding a total volume 4000 Hz frequencies, fixed at one of the corners of the
of 257 m3 and having a cut off frequency of 80 Hz. chamber at a certain height. A standard working
The frequency range for testing was taken from microphone (associated uncertainty ± 0.2 dB, as per
100 Hz to 4000 Hz. The chamber was of irregular national standards) has been placed at different corner
shape, and adequate diffusion was obtained by using positions inside the chamber with a minimum of
suspended stationary diffusers. A loudspeaker with 1 m away from any surface. The microphone was
uniform spherical radiation was used as the source of calibrated with an acoustic calibrator (Bruel & Kjaer
sound suspended at the height of 2.5 m above the 4231) before placing for the experiment. After placing
floor in one corner while the microphone was kept in the specimen, for the alpha and NRC, a measurement
different locations near the other corners of the room of the reverberation time has been done in the empty
and at least 1 m away from any surface. chamber (which is defined as the time taken by the
Measurements were made by using 1/3-octave bands sound to decay by 60 dB after the sound source
of the random noise signal, the signal was amplified by ceased in closed space)25 and again with the sample
using a preamplifier {see Fig. 3(b)} and several decay placed in the chamber. This difference in the
rates were determined for each of the loudspeaker and reverberation times gives the alpha of the material
microphone positions using Bruel and Kjaer type 2270 using the below formula.
sound level meter. The used sound source, preamplifier,
.
sound level meter, and the microphone has been shown α #(2)
.
in Fig. 3(a-d). The sound absorption coefficient by
Reverberation Chamber Method is measured as per IS Where, Tw and Ts are reverberation time of chamber
8225-1987/ISO 354-2003/ASTM 423-909-19, and the without a sample (s) and with sample (s) placed inside
correction for boundary absorption was applied. The the reverberation chamber respectively, V = volume

Fig. 3 — (a-e) Used equipment for the measurement of Alpha and NRC.
426 INDIAN J PURE APPL PHYS, VOL. 60, MAY 2022

of the chamber (m3), S and t are temperature (°C) of 4 Results and discussions
the chamber and sample area (m2) respectively. The
formula in equation 2 is derived empirically by Physical and mechanical properties of the material
Sabine27. The NRC is calculated by taking the mean The prepared specimen was placed in constant
value of alpha at four different frequencies: 250 Hz, temperature (25 °C) and humidity (64% relative
500 Hz, 1000 Hz and 2000 Hz and it is widely used humidity) conditions for about 15 days before testing
commercially for rating the materials26. its properties. It is necessary to check some required
mechanical and thermal properties before developing
𝛼 𝛼 𝛼 𝛼 any composite material as per applications. Physical
𝑁𝑅𝐶 # 3
4 and mechanical properties like density, thickness, fire
class, climate conditions, and thermal conductivity are
Where αn is the sound absorption coefficient at
different frequencies. The measurement has been taken desired as per building requirement applications.
using 1/3-octave bands of random noise, and the Therefore, these parameters of the developed vetiver
evaluated uncertainty in the measurement is ± 5%. This grass material have been evaluated in this reported
work. C. zizanioides - based composite material has a
experiment has been carried out in the reverberation
bulk density of 400 kg/m3 and thickness of 20 mm. It
chamber by placing the material under existing
has been checked for fire resistance and It was found
environmental conditions, and the temperature and
humidity of the chamber were measured by the sensor that this material is of fire Class 1 rated (lowest
placed inside the reverberation chamber. Several flame spread) which is the highest rating. Generally,
Class 1 fire rated materials are applied for building
measurements were done by placing a microphone at the
constructions. It can adopt Climate conditions of
different locations inside the chamber for each test, and
temperature up to 50 °C ± 2 and relative humidity
the average value of the measurements was taken for the
accurate result. This whole methodology is summarised (RH) 95 ± 2%. Thermal conductivity of a material
in the flowchart given in Fig 4. tells the rate at which heat is transferred by
conduction via a unit cross-sectional area i.e. it tells
about the material's ability to conduct heat. Higher the
thermal conductivity higher the flow of heat occurs
and vice versa. The measured thermal conductivity
value of developed vetiver grass-based composite
material was 0.07 W/m k which is measured by LFA
(Laser flash analysis) technique. 0.07 W/m k is a low
value which means vetiver grass-based material
provides good thermal insulation.

Acoustical result of the composite material at rigid backing

Vetiver grass fibers based composite material were
tested for alpha and NRC by reverberation chamber
method. The prepared composite panels of 400 kg/m3
density and 20 mm thickness was installed inside the
reverberation chamber as shown in Fig. 5. Experiments
have been done at the existing environmental condition
of a temperature of 21°C and relative humidity of
54 %. Results are shown in Fig. 6, it can be noted that
alpha kept increasing its value in the lower frequency
ranges from 100 Hz to 2000 Hz and after that it
reached the optimum maximum alpha of 0.72 at
2 kHz frequency and become nearly constant in the
frequency range of 2000 Hz to 3000 Hz and later
alpha slightly decreased and in the range of 3000 Hz –
4000 Hz27. This follows the basic trend of porous
Fig. 4 — Flow chart of the measurement of Alpha and NRC. natural fibers based materials. Thus, this material
 MEENA et al.: VETIVER GRASS FIBER-BASED DEVELOPED COMPOSITE MATERIAL 427

Fig. 5 — Vetiver grass panel of density 400 kg/m3 and thickness

20 mm installed in a reverberation chamber at rigid surface backing at Fig. 7 — Frequency Vs Alpha at two different densities 400 kg/m3
CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi. and 600 kg/m3; and a constant Thickness of 20 mm.

composite of the same volume17. Therefore, more

number of fiber means the sound wave interacts with
more fibers and it travels through a more tortuous
path hence more sound get dissipated in form of heat
via viscous and frictional losses.
Influence of density on Alpha
The bulk density of the material affects sound
absorption properties largely because it has a relation
with the porosity of the material. Therefore, it is the
most important parameter which influences the sound
absorption coefficient of the material. The porosity, σ,
of vetiver grass fibrous assembly is calculated by
using the formula29:

Fig. 6 — Frequency Vs Alpha graph of Vetiver fibre-based composite

ρ1
σ 1 х 100# 3
sample of Density 400 kg/m3 & Thickness 20 mm. ρ2
absorbs a good amount of sound effectively at a Where, ρ1 = bulk density of vetiver grasses fibrous
medium to a higher frequency range. The NRC value assembly (kg/m3) and ρ2 = is the density of vetiver
calculated at four frequencies is 0.33 is comparable to fiber (kg/m3). Wool fiber material was investigated by
some already commercially used developed materials28. ballagh et. al. and it was observed that higher density
It is evident from Fig. 6 that alkaline treated fibers material absorbs a larger amount of sound at high and
based composite material show enhanced absorption medium frequency ranges (maximum absorption
properties at almost all frequencies. The Maximum occurred above 500 Hz) as compared to lower density
absorption peak of untreated fibers based composite material.
was observed at 0.72 at a frequency of 2 kHz while To observe the effect of bulk density on sound
for treated fibers based peak was observed at a higher absorption properties; two different bulk density of
0.76 at the same frequency. This might be due to the 400 kg/m3 and 600 kg/m3 vetiver grass fiber assemblies-
removal of impurities from the surface of the fibers based panel has been tested in a reverberation chamber
which increases the roughness of the fibers and this for sound absorption coefficient starting from 100 Hz to
increases the adhesion with the binder16. From 4 kHz at one third octave band frequencies.
previous studies, it was also established that chemical The results shown in Fig. 7, Show that the average
treatment of fiber reduces the diameter of fiber and Alpha increased from 0.33 to 0.39 when the bulk density
this causes more fibers to be reinforced in the increased from 400 kg/m3 to 600 kg/m3 while thickness
428 INDIAN J PURE APPL PHYS, VOL. 60, MAY 2022

has fixed at a value of 20 mm. Alpha initially increased has good sound absorption. A previous study suggests
with an increase in density but only up to a certain limit that at lower frequency ranges the alpha and NRC
after a further increase in density leads to a decrease in increase with an increase in thickness i.e. thicker the
alpha; this can be understood because a very dense material better the sound absorption at lower
arrangement of fiber assemblies results in the decrease frequencies31. For the constant bulk density of
of porosity and sound wave reflects more instead of 400 kg/m3, the experiment has been performed at two
absorption also each fiber acoustic material has an different thicknesses of 15 mm and 20 mm of the
optimal range for better absorption results, also vetiver grass panels in the reverberation chamber.
increased density material have more fiber per unit area From Fig. 8; it can be concluded that alpha improved
which increase surface friction and more sound energy significantly at lower frequencies below 2000 Hz and
get dissipated in form of heat30. Therefore, results of not much effect was observed at higher frequency
both densities have proved that the 600 kg/m3 density ranges. This behaviour can be understood; as the
panel is more efficient at a higher frequency range in sound waves in the lower frequency ranges travel
absorbing sound. Thus, vetiver grass fibrous assemblies mostly through thicker materials and are absorbed
are more efficient acoustical damping materials with an along the air path and through the materials32.
optimal bulk density of 600 kg/m3.
Influence of fiber length on Alpha
Influence of thickness on Alpha Vetiver grass fibers which are obtained are cut into
Materials thickness is an important parameter two different lengths of 30-40 mm and 60-70 mm to
which affects sound absorption significantly. study and analyze the effect of fiber length on sound
Coates et. al. observed that when the thickness of the absorption properties. The used grass fibers of two
material is one-quarter of the incident sound wave different lengths have been shown in Fig. 10 (a-c).
then effective sound absorption occurs and peak Fig. 9, shows the alpha of both fiber length
absorption occurs. Taban et al. worked on the palm- assemblies’ panel and it can be seen that both fiber
fruit-fibre-based composites material and observed length has similar absorption at all frequencies except
that sound absorption of a higher thickness material

Fig. 9 — Frequency Vs Alpha at two different fiber lengths with long

Fig. 8 — Frequency Vs Alpha at two different thicknesses 15 mm and 60-70 mm and short 30-40mm fibers; with a constant thickness of 20
20 mm; and a constant density of 400 kg/m3. mm and Bulk density of 400 Kg/m3.

Fig. 10 — (a) Vetiver grass fiber of length 30-40 mm (b) Vetiver grass fiber of length 60-70 mm (c) Vetiver grass fiber of length 30-40 mm and 60-70 mm.
 MEENA et al.: VETIVER GRASS FIBER-BASED DEVELOPED COMPOSITE MATERIAL 429

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