Development of a Panel with Recycled Rubber to Improve Acoustic Absorption

Abstract

Traditional methods to reduce noise, specifically in construction, focus on the use of prefabricated materials and elements with acoustic properties to isolate or condition a room. This article presents the acoustic performance of two panels, the first one was made from polymers coming from the recycling of tires that are rubber crumbs of sizes between 1 to 3 mm, mixed with a binding agent, both components were dosed and mixed completely in a ratio of 70% rubber and 30% resin; For the design, packaging cardboard was used as a base with 28 equidistant perforations, where the rubber-resin mixture that was the core or sound-absorbing material was emptied and confined. The second acoustic panel was made with packaging cardboard of similar dimensions with the difference that it uses a traditional sound-absorbing material at its core, which is sponge or acoustic foam. Both panels were placed in an acoustic box; subsequently, its acoustic properties were measured using a sound level meter. Test results indicated that the absorption properties were improved by 17.5% with the rubber panel compared to the acoustic foam panel, representing approximately 10 decibels (dB) more absorption.