TECHNICAL FABRICS

NONWOVEN TECHNICAL FABRIC FOR SOUND ABSORPTION & VIBRATION DAMPENING

SOUND DAMPENING AND NOISE CONTROL

The modern world is increasingly noisy. From vehicle transportation to generators, heavy equipment, wind turbines, and more, the effects of noise on people and the environment are harmful. Scientists have linked human cardiovascular and mental disorders to elevated noise levels. In wildlife, scientists have found that our noisy world affects everything from animal reproduction to disorganizing their predator-prey instincts and communication ability. Noise disruption, in turn, affects our entire ecosystem.

High noise levels have led regulators, planners, and engineers to implement laws, processes, and engineering controls to diminish overexposure to noise. These controls have also led to innovations in noise dampening and insulation products, requiring nonwoven technical textiles to help filter, diffuse, or absorb noise in buildings, vehicles, machinery, and equipment. Additionally, architectural sound insulation has become well-known for private home use and public buildings for their aesthetics and functional sound absorption properties. Some applications involve high temperatures and elevated vibrations, requiring fabrics that withstand heat while protecting people from the sound’s energy impacts.

Fabric performance is directly related to the chosen fiber properties and treatments. Polyester and PET offer excellent tensile strength and abrasion resistance but operate at lower temperatures. Polypropylene has good tensile strength but withstands higher temperatures and has excellent resistance to chemicals like acid and alkalis, which works better in applications with high temperatures and high humidity environments.

Albarrie partners with acoustic panel manufacturers to design and produce nonwoven technical fabrics used to create acoustic products for sound absorption, diffusion, and vibration dampening. Once approved, we create a customizable but repeatable process to ensure your quality standards are met, make it simple to reorder on demand, and create a trusting partnership you can rely on to get your products to market.

Sound Damping and Noise Control | Albarrie
 

Key Benefits

Excellent Tensile Strength

Albarrie’s fabrics offer high tensile strength and resistance to abrasion.

High-Temperature Resistance

Supports applications with operating temperatures up to 480°F.

Manageable Minimums

Although we require a minimum order, we can accommodate smaller volumes.

Chemical Resistance

Albarrie’s fabrics support applications requiring resistance to chemicals.

Product Details

Acoustic Baghouse Filter bags | Albarrie
MUFFLE THE NOISY WORLD

The properties that make nonwoven technical fabrics ideal for air filtration are the same for sound. Their porous and web-like structure decreases amplitude as sound waves move through the textile. Noise-absorbing fabrics trap and convert sound waves into heat, softening noise and reducing echo in confined spaces.

Nonwoven technical textiles are lightweight, strong, flexible, moldable, economical, and highly resistant to chemicals and high temperatures for sound and thermal insulation applications.

  • Air Permeability – an essential characteristic of sound-absorbing fabric is airflow resistance or permeability. The material should be open enough to be acoustically transparent but not so open for excessive airflow. An ideal acoustic performance provides a balanced sound pressure level.
  • Porosity – refers to how much air there is between fibers. If a fabric has many air pockets, it will absorb more sound. However, if the material has no holes or is hard, it will block sound instead.
  • Density – is the number of fibers within the material’s area. Needlepunched nonwovens are made from fiber and air. The more fibers within the fabric, the less air space is in between for the same thickness, increasing density. If sound waves aren’t transmitted into or through the fabric, they won’t be absorbed. A material’s density will affect how much sound it absorbs.
  • Tortuosity – the sound becomes muted and distorted as it passes through materials with a higher tortuosity. The more bends in the material’s cell arrangement, the more momentum it loses, which results in a muffled sound.
  • Cells – cell size and arrangement are essential to sound-absorbing performance. The cell size of the fabric must be smaller than the wavelength of the sound it absorbs. The pore size in closed cell materials can impede sound transmission if it’s too large, as some sound can penetrate through them. Open-cell arrangements generally make better absorbers, while closed-cell arrangements make better blockers.
FABRICS FOR ACOUSTIC ABSORPTION

Polyester, Polyester Bicomponent, and Polypropylene fabrics are the most common sound absorbers. However, different fabrics produce different results and accommodate various application needs, whether sound dampening and absorption in heavy equipment or fire-rated material for architectural requirements.

  • Polyester – economic, high strength, and high-density fiber in which sound absorption increases with sound frequency, making it the most effective at high frequencies.
  • Polyester Bicomponent – thermoformable plastic composite fiber from the polyester family is a highly flexible fabric that can be molded and shaped, making it an excellent choice for architectural sound absorption.
  • Polypropylene – acoustic and thermal insulation properties can also help reduce energy consumption.

FABRIC PROPERTIES
Polyester & Polyester Bicomponent Polypropylene
Tensile Strength Excellent Good
Abrasion Resistance Good Good
Acid Resistance Moderate Excellent
Alkali Resistance Moderate Excellent
Oxidation Resistance Moderate Poor
Operating Temperature 300°F (150°C) 195°F (90 °C)
Temperature Surges 340°F (170°C) 210°F (100 °C)
Manufactured Weight Range 5.90 – 120.92 oz/yd² (200-4100 g/m²) 5.9 – 59 oz/yd² (200-2000 g/m²)
Manufactured Thickness Range 0.039 – 0.47 in
(1-12 mm)
0.039 -0.47 in
(1-12mm)
Investment $ $
Information provided by Albarrie on this website (the "Site") is for general information purposes only. All information on the Site is provided in good faith, however Albarrie makes no representation or warranty of any kind, express or implied, regarding the accuracy, adequacy, validity, reliability, availability or completeness of any information on the Site. Products may not work as advertised or perform differently based on application, operating conditions, and depend on chemical, thermal, and humidity and other factors.

Options

Polyester Fabric
Polyester Bicomponent
Polypropylene
Water Repellent Treatment
Oil Repellent Treatment
PTFE Finish
ePTFE Membrane
Heat Setting
Calendering
Singeing
Anti-Static Treatment
Fire Retardant

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Applications

Acoustic Panels Fabrics | Albarrie
Acoustic Panels
Acoustic Ceiling Tiles Fabrics | Albarrie
Ceiling Tiles
s Acoustic Heavy Equipment Fabric | Albarrie
Heavy Equipment Acoustic Insulation
Acoustic Office Dividers Fabrics | Albarrie
Office Dividers