Karimi, F, Soltani, P, Zarrebini, M et al. (1 more author) (2022) Acoustic and thermal performance of polypropylene nonwoven fabrics for insulation in buildings. Journal of Building Engineering, 50. 104125. ISSN 2352-7102
Abstract
Thermal insulation and acoustic absorption materials play a significant role in the characteristics of energy-saving and comfortable modern buildings. However, these two types of materials are generally developed independently. This study highlights the potential of lightweight polypropylene nonwoven fabrics for building applications and investigates how fabric structure affects thermal and acoustical properties. An industrial-scale melt spinning machine was used to produce polypropylene fibers at linear densities of 1.4 and 1.8 dtex. A semi-industrial needle punching line was used to fabricate nonwoven samples with three thicknesses (2, 3, and 4 cm), four porosities (0.83, 0.88, 0.93, and 0.96), and different in- and through-plane fiber orientation distributions. Totally, 31 samples were produced and their sound absorption and thermal insulation performance were assessed using impedance tube and guarded hot plate techniques. Accordingly, the thermal conductivity (Keff) and sound absorption average (SAA) of the samples could be engineered in the range of 0.0270–0.0404 W m-1K-1 and 0.270–0.675, respectively. It was found that fabrics made of finer fibers provide superior acoustic absorption and thermal insulation performance. An increase in through-plane fiber orientation adversely affected the thermal insulation properties, while its effect on acoustic properties depends on the porosity of samples and the sound frequency. The results of statistical analysis showed that in-plane fiber orientation does not have a significant effect on sound absorption behavior, except at frequencies between 4000 and 6300 Hz. It was also found that in-plane fiber orientation does not significantly affect the thermal insulation properties. The best acoustic and thermal performance were achieved by fibrous samples of layered structure made of 1.4 dtex fibers with a thickness of 3 cm ( Keff=0.0278 W m-1K-1, SAA = 0.552) and 4 cm ( Keff=0.0277 W m-1K-1, SAA = 0.675). The performance of these samples was compared with some commercial products and literature data. The results pointed to the superior acoustic and thermal properties of the designed samples.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. This is an author produced version of an article published in Journal of Building Engineering. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Polypropylene nonwoven; Acoustic properties; Thermal insulation; 3D fiber orientation; Porosity; Fabric structure |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Chemical & Process Engineering (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 07 Jun 2022 12:18 |
Last Modified: | 29 Jan 2023 01:13 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.jobe.2022.104125 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:187550 |