Investigating the acoustical properties of carbon fiber-, glass fiber-, and hemp fiber-reinforced polyester composites

TL;DR

This study compares the acoustical properties of fiber-reinforced polyester composites with traditional woods used in musical instruments, revealing that certain composites can serve as effective, durable alternatives to wood.

Contribution

It provides a comparative analysis of acoustical and water absorption properties of fiber-reinforced composites versus traditional woods for musical instrument applications.

Findings

Carbon fiber composites show exceptional acoustical properties.

Glass fiber composites are suitable alternatives for some wood types.

Water absorption of composites is lower than that of wood.

Abstract

Wood is one of the main materials used for making musical instruments due to its outstanding acoustical properties. Despite such unique properties, its inferior mechanical properties, moisture sensitivity, and time- and cost-consuming procedure for making instruments in comparison with other materials (e.g., composites) are always considered as its disadvantages in making musical instruments. In this study, the acoustic parameters of three different polyester composites separately reinforced by carbon fiber, glass fiber, and hemp fiber are investigated and are also compared with those obtained for three different types of wood specimens called poplar, walnut, and beech wood, which have been extensively used in making Iranian traditional musical instruments. The acoustical properties such as acoustic coefficient, sound quality factor, and acoustic conversion factor were examined using some non-destructive tests based on longitudinal and flexural free vibration and also forced vibration methods. Furthermore, the water absorption of these polymeric composites was compared with that of the wood samples. The results reveal that the glass fiber-reinforced composites could be used as a suitable alternative for some types of wood in musical applications while the carbon fiber-reinforced composites are high performance materials to be substituted with wood in making musical instruments showing exceptional acoustical properties.