Acoustic and Thermal Analysis of Composite Fibre Boards Fabricated Using Areca Catechu & Areca Husk Fibers

The present study aims to develop composite fibre boards by utilising areca catechu and areca husk fibres to study their thermal and acoustic properties. Two sets of Particle boards were fabricated through wet layup technique using areca pulp and areca husk fibres for different densities. Acoustic pulse tester that operates through standing wave method was used to determine the sound absorption coefficient of the sample. Sound absorption coefficient is calculated for different densities of the samples and it was found that the fabricated material show good acoustic property and it is in comparable with the samples with different densities. The sound absorption coefficient has been increased  when density decreases and vice versa. Thermal conductivity of the fabricated composite material was also determined. Thermal conductivity of the developed particle board was explored better for their use in thermal insulation applications as the usage of sole areca sheath compressed board reports lower value of thermal conductivity than the hybrid constituents. Additionally thermal stability test has been done using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) to assess the thermal response of prepared composite boards. Minimal mass loss is observed for lower temperature range from 30–150 °C and the severe mass loss is reported for the temperature range from 150–400 °C. Microscopic examination has been done to understand the morphology of developed composite boards.