Thursday, January 11, 2007 - 4:40 PM

Enviromentally Benign Accoustical Automotive Nonwoven Floor Coverings

D. V. Parikh1, Y. Chen2, A. P. S. Sawhney1, and B. Condon1. (1) SRRC-ARS-USDA, 1100 ROBERT E. LEE, NEW ORLEANS, LA 70124, (2) LSU, AGCENTER, Baton Rouge, LA 70124

Consumers demand new automobiles to be quiet, comfortable, with aesthetically pleasing interiors. We developed environmental friendly needlepunched nonwoven floor coverings from the blends of kenaf, jute, cotton, and flax with polypropylene and polyester which are aesthetically pleasing. Their acoustic properties were test evaluated by ASTM E 1050 “Impedance and Absorption of Acoustical Materials.” The measurements demonstrated that each of the floor coverings was noise absorbant. Noise absorption was significantly improved when floor covering was used along with an underpad. By using such NW floor coverings the automobiles can be made noise-free.