Microstructural characteristics of sound absorbable porous cement-based materials by incorporating natural fibers and aluminum powder

Abstract As transportation on roads and railways has become an essential means enabling the development of cities, residents living near roads and railways face undesirable noise pollution. To reduce this noise pollution, sound absorbable porous cement-based materials have great potential in terms of high sound absorption ability at a wide frequency range. Because sound absorption performance is primarily related to pore characteristics, this study mainly focuses on the development and evaluation of highly porous structures in cement-based materials by incorporating natural fibers and aluminum powder. The fresh and hardened properties of porous cement-based materials are investigated with respect to workability, compressive strength, and water absorption capacity. Furthermore, the porous network in the materials is characterized by microstructural observation using an optical microscope and X-ray computed tomography. A sound absorption test is also conducted to highlight the influences of the material porosity on sound absorption performance. Experimental results indicate that a combination of natural fibers and aluminum powder has a synergistic effect for forming highly porous structures that improve sound absorption performance.