Sound absorption coefficient and sound transmission loss of rice hull mat

The sound absorption coefficient and transmission loss of several types of rice hull mats with varying apparent densities and thicknesses are estimated in this paper using the transfer function and matrix methods, respectively, to evaluate the possibility of using rice hull as an acoustic construction material. The mean sound absorption rates of 10-cm-thick rice hull mats with target densities of 0.10 g/cm³, 0.12 g/cm³, and 0.14 g/cm³ were 0.91, 0.92, and 0.95, respectively, while those of the 1-cm-thick plywood attached to the back of the rice hulls were 0.90, 0.92, and 0.92, respectively. The means of the sound transmission loss of the 10 cm-thick rice hull mats with the target densities of 0.10 g/cm³, 0.12 g/cm³, and 0.14 g/cm³ were 7.66 dB, 10.49 dB, and 14.14 dB, respectively, while those of the 1 cm-thick plywood attached to the back of the rice hulls were 33.34 dB, 36.72 dB, and 38.95 dB, respectively. In conclusion, a rice hull mat could be used as acoustic construction materials because of its high sound absorption coefficient and sound transmission loss.