Nanofibers for Sound Absorption—A Preliminary Investigation

ABSTRACT Noise reduction is included in the main tasks to deal with when working in the field of automotive and aerospace industries. When trying to improve comfort, it is crucial to research and enhance acoustic properties. Nanofibers can be a viable solution to address sustainability and noise absorption while ensuring material savings through lightweight nonwoven mats. They are also very intriguing for potentially improving the acoustic properties of conventional materials even in combination with them. The process and connection between improved noise absorption and nanofibrous membranes are still not fully known or confirmed. For this reason, in this preliminary study different nanofibrous morphologies are obtained via electrospinning, leading to the possibility to correlate acoustic absorption with nanoscale morphologies, mainly focusing on nanofibers’ diameter, which is easily tailorable. For this reason, an impedance tube was used to draw a first measurement method approach.