Effect of heat treatment on the gas permeability, sound absorption coefficient, and sound transmission loss of Paulownia tomentosa wood

In this study, the gas permeability, sound absorption coefficient, and sound transmission loss of the Paulownia tomentosa wood were estimated using capillary flow porometry, transfer function method, and transfer matrix method, respectively. The longitudinal specific permeability constant of the Paulownia tomentosa wood with a thickness of 20 mm was 0.254 for the control sample and 0.279, 0.314, and 0.452 after being subjected to heat treatments at 100 °C, 160 °C, and 200 °C, respectively. The gas permeability was observed to be slightly increased by the heat treatment. The mean sound absorption coefficients of 20-mm thick Paulownia tomentosa log cross-section for the control sample and after being subjected to heat treatments at 100 °C, 160 °C, and 200 °C were 0.101, 0.109, 0.096 and 0.106, respectively. Further, the noise reduction coefficients of 20-mm thick Paulownia tomentosa log cross-section of the control sample and after being subjected to heat treatment at temperatures of 100 °C, 160 °C, and 200 °C were 0.060, 0.067, 0.062 and 0.071, respectively. The mean of sound transmission loss of the 20-mm thick Paulownia tomentosa log cross-section was approximately 36.93 dB. Furthermore, the gas permeability and sound absorption coefficient of the heat-treated Paulownia tomentosa discs slightly increased depending on the heat treatment temperature; however, the rate of increase was insignificant.