Acoust. Sci. & Tech.

23, 3 (2002)

PAPER

Acoustic characteristics of unidirectionally fiber-reinforced polyurethane

foam composites for musical instrument soundboards

Teruaki Ono1; *, Souji Miyakoshi1 and Ugai Watanabe2; {

1
Department of Mechanical and Systems Engineering, Faculty of Engineering,
Gifu University, 1–1, Yanagido, Gifu, 501–1193 Japan
2
Department of Precision Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Chiba Institute of Technology,
2–17–1 Tsudanuma, Narashino, 275–0016 Japan
( Received 27 June 2001, Accepted for publication 19 November 2001 )

Abstract: Unidirectionally fiber-reinforced composites for the soundboard of musical instruments

were made using glass fiber or carbon fiber and light-weighted hard polyurethane foam. The
vibrational properties and frequency response characteristic of the composites were investigated by
changing fibers, volume fraction of fibers and fiber distribution, and the results obtained were
compared with those of Sitka spruce for soundboard. The composites, which had 5 to 6 volume percent
of carbon fiber filaments distributed uniformly, exhibited almost the same acoustic property as Sitka
spruce for soundboard. The results indicated that the acoustic characteristic of wood for soundboard in
all audible frequency range could be mostly represented using a simple wood model composed of
unidirectionally oriented fibers and porous matrix foam.

Keywords: Frequency response characteristics, Carbon fiber, Polyurethane foam, FRUF composites,
Wood model
PACS number: 43.75.De, 43.75.Gh, 43.75.Mn

microscopic and molecular levels. However, it is difficult

1. INTRODUCTION
Musical instruments such as violin family, pianos and
guitars have been made of wood. Wood species suitable for
each part in these instruments have been decided from the
experience and tradition of musical instrument makers. For
example, quarter-sawn, straight grained and clear lumber
of Sitka spruce has been recognized as the most suitable
material for the soundboard of the instruments mentioned
above. The makers have spent much labors and costs to
select the suitable wood and to keep their qualities stable.
Since the vibrational properties of wood strongly depend
on its moisture content, the makers and music players have
paid close attention to humidity control in drying wooden
parts and storing the instruments. Therefore, the most
effective way to settle these problems is considered to
develop a synthetic material that has almost the same
acoustic property as wooden soundboards and a stable
quality against humidity.
The excellent physical properties of wood result from
its complex structure ranging from macroscopic to
* moderately large internal friction. There have been some
e-mail: ono@cc.gifu-u.ac.jp
{
e-mail: ugai@pf.it-chiba.ac.jp
to reproduce synthetically all of these structures. In order to
develop effectively the substitute material for wooden
soundboard, we should ascertain the structural character-
istics of wood affecting significantly its acoustic property.
From the previous studies of wood for soundboard [1–3],
the three important properties have been clarified, that is,
its low density, large specific Young’s modulus and low
internal friction in the longitudinal direction (parallel to the
grain), and large elastic anisotropy. The low density of
wood results from its porous structure. The mechanical
properties in the longitudinal direction and the large elastic
anisotropy depend on the fiber-matrix structure in the wood
cell wall. Therefore, it is considered that the structure of
wood can be simplified to a model composed of these two
structures in terms of reproducing synthetically the
acoustic characteristics of wood in audible frequency
range.
Based on these considerations, we have developed
unidirectionally fiber-reinforced composites for sound-
boards using advanced fiber materials with a large elastic
modulus and plastic foams with low density and a
experiments in constructing synthetic materials for sound-

135

boards [4]. In comparison with them, a point of reinforcing
unidirectionally plastic foams with carbon fibers is the
feature of our study. In this study, the bending strength, the
vibrational properties and the frequency response char-
acteristics of this composite were measured and compared
with those of Sitka spruce for soundboard in order to
investigate the aptitude as the substitute material for
wooden soundboard. Furthermore, the validity of modeling
the wood structure was discussed through comparison
between the experimental results of the composites and
Sitka spruce.
2. EXPERIMENTAL
2.1. Glass Fiber (GF), Carbon Fiber (CF) and Poly-
urethane Foam (UF) for Composites and Their
Mechanical Properties
An E glass fiber (GF, Asahi Fiberglass Co.) and a
polyacrylonitrile carbon fiber (CF, Pyrofil TR50S12L-AL,
Mitsubishi Rayon Co.) were used to make fiber-reinforced
composites. CF is composed of 12,000 filaments with a
diameter of 7 m and presents a thick bundle of filaments
by sizing. The densities of these fibers (f ) were
determined by the Archimedean method. The dynamic
Young’s moduli of the fibers (Ef ) were measured by a
tensile force oscillation method using Rheovibron DDV-
25FP, Orientec Co. Six samples of GF and twenty samples
of CF were subjected to the measurement. The pre-load
forces applied were 150 gf for GF and 2,500 gf for CF. The
measuring frequency was 110 Hz and the span was 60 mm.
It was confirmed that the measuring frequency and pre-load
forces did not influence significantly the experimental
results.
A polyurethane foam (UF, HM-1102, BASF INOAC
Polyurethane Co.) was used as the matrix material. The UF
plates with eight kinds of densities (m ) were made by
controlling the volume of polyurethane liquid poured into a
mold (310
240
3 mm). Forming was conducted at
20 C. After cutting eight rectangular specimens (105

20
3 mm) from each plate, their Young’s modulus (Em )
and flexural internal friction (Qm 1 ) were measured by a
free-free flexural vibration method [5]. A square plate
specimen (105
105
3 mm) was cut from each plate and
subjected to the measurement of shear modulus (Gm ) using
a torsional vibration method [3].
2.2. Production of Fiber Reinforced Polyurethane
Foam (FRUF) Composite
After measuring the mechanical properties of GF, CF
and UF, the following three types of unidirectionally fiber-
reinforced polyurethane foam (FRUF) composites were
made:
. Glass fiber reinforced polyurethane foam composites
in which GF was uniformly oriented (GF/UF).
136
Acoust. Sci. & Tech. 23, 3 (2002)
. Carbon fiber reinforced polyurethane foam compo-
sites in which CF was uniformly oriented (CF/UF T1,
T2 and T3). Three different sets of volume fractions of
components were prepared.
. Carbon fiber reinforced polyurethane foam compo-
sites in which CF was oriented only at the surfaces
(CF/UF T5).
The fiber filaments were tensioned and the both ends
were tightly fixed in an aluminum mold (310
310

3 mm). The filaments were arranged unidirectionally and
were distributed uniformly in the mold in the productions
of GF/UF and CF/UF T1–T3 plates, and were placed only
at the surfaces in the production of CF/UF T5 plate. The
polyurethane liquid was poured in the direction perpendi-
cular to bundles to avoid the disarray of fiber orientation.
After the pouring, the mold was covered, and the liquid
was followed by foaming at 20 C.
The target values of the density, the Young’s modulus
and the flexural internal friction in the L direction (the fiber
direction) were those values of Sitka spruce for the
soundboard: s ¼ 0:38{0:47 g/cm3 , ELs ¼ 10{15 GPa and
QLs 1 ¼ 5:4{7:2
103 [5].
2.3. Bending Strength of FRUF Composites and Sitka
Spruce
The bending strength of FRUF composites in the fiber
direction was measured by a three point bending test. The
size of specimen was 100 mm by 20 mm by 3 mm. The
span and the head speed were 30 mm and 0.2 mm/min,
respectively. The same test was also conducted for Sitka
spruce with the same size.
2.4. Vibrational Properties and Frequency Response
for FRUF Composites and Sitka Spruce
Square plate specimens of 105 mm by 105 mm by 3 mm
were prepared from three types of FRUF composites and
were subjected to the measurements of the Young’s
modulus E, the flexural internal friction Q1 and the shear
modulus G in both the L direction and the R direction
(perpendicular to the fiber direction). The two plates were
cut from a portion where the fibers were uniformly
distributed and well oriented. The E and Q1 were
measured by a free-free flexural vibration method. On the
other hand, the G was measured by a torsional vibration
method [3]. The frequency response characteristics of these
square plates were measured by the forced vibration
method. The center of the plate was excited by the sine
wave sweeping the frequency range of 0.1–10 kHz, which
was generated in a FFT analyzer, and the radiation sound
detected was inputted to the analyzer [3].
The vibrational properties and frequency response of
Sitka spruce for soundboard were measured by the same
ways.
 T. ONO et al.: ACOUSTIC CHARACTERISTICS OF FRUF COMPOSITES

3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

3.1. Density and Young’s Modulus of Fibers
The average values of density f for GF and CF were
2.38 and 1.95 g/cm3 , respectively. Those of Young’s
modulus Ef for GF and CF were 70 and 228 GPa,
respectively. The standard deviations of Ef for GF and
CF were 0:4 GPa and 7:6 GPa, respectively. Because
CF bundle included a large amount of fine filaments, it was
very difficult to strain all filaments uniformly. This is a
reason for the larger deviation of Ef in CF. Although CF
was lighter than GF, the Young’s modulus of CF was quite
higher than that of GF. Accordingly, CF was considered to
be more effective reinforcement material. Fig. 2 The relationship between the shear modulus Gm
and the density m in polyurethane foam.
3.2. Density, Young’s Modulus, Flexural Internal
Friction and Shear Modulus of UF
GLR of Sitka spruce (¼ 0:421 GPa), where the GLR is
Figure 1 shows the influence of the density m on the
nearly equal to the GLT (T: thickness direction of board) in
Young’s modulus Em and flexural internal friction Qm 1 in
wood. The GLT strongly affects the acoustic characteristic
UF. The Em increased linearly with increasing m
of soundboard in the high frequency range [6]. Therefore,
(correlation coefficient r ¼ 0:967). The Qm 1 had a
the difference between Gm and GLT of Sitka spruce should
tendency to decrease with increasing m though a
be reduced by reinforcing appropriately with fiber
correlation between them was not so significant. The
materials.
Young’s modulus and the internal friction of composites in
the R direction, ER and QR 1 , strongly depend on those of
3.3. Composition, Density and Young’s Modulus in
UF, Em and Qm 1 . Therefore, they should be close to the
FRUF Composites
values of Sitka spruce, ERs (¼ 1:29 GPa) and QRs 1
The compositions, densities and calculated Young’s
(¼ 14:4
103 ). UF had the QR 1 value appropriate for
moduli of FRUF composites made were shown in Table 1.
the soundboard of musical instruments. On the other hand,
The density of FRUF composite, c , was obtained from the
the Em was smaller than the ERs . The Em can be close to the
whole weight and the whole volume V. The volume
ERs by increasing m , but this procedure makes the m
fraction of fiber, VFf , was calculated from the fiber weight,
larger than the density of Sitka spruce, s . It is expected
the fiber density (f ) and the V. The m of composite was
that the disorder of fiber filaments moderately reinforced
calculated from the weight of UF, the volume of fiber and
the R direction without the increase of m .
the V. The Em and Gm in FRUF composites were
Figure 2 shows the relationship between m and shear
determined from the regression lines in Figs. 1 and 2,
modulus Gm in UF. The Gm increased with increasing m
respectively. Using the values listed in Table 1, the
(r ¼ 0:939). The Gm was considerably smaller than the
Young’s moduli of FRUF composites, ELt and ERt , were
calculated from the rule of mixture, assuming that the
straight fibers oriented unidirectionally.
3.3.1. Uniformly reinforced GF/UF composite
The c of GF/UF composite was in the range of s ,
whereas the calculated EL value of GF/UF showed only
about the half value of ELs . In order to enhance the ELt , the
VFf should be about 15%. However, in such a high VFf , the
polyurethane liquid penetrates insufficiently between fiber
filaments. Consequently, GF/UF composite is unsuitable
for a soundboard material.
3.3.2. Uniformly reinforced CF/UF composites
T1, T2 and T3 in the Table 1 indicate the order of
increasing VFf . The m increased with increasing VFf
because CF filaments suppressed the foaming of poly-
Fig. 1 The relationships of the Young’s modulus Em
and the internal friction Qm 1 to the density m in
urethane liquid. The values of c and ELt in CF/UF T1 and
polyurethane foam. T2 were in the ranges of s and ELs , respectively, whereas

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 Acoust. Sci. & Tech. 23, 3 (2002)

Table 1 Composition of FRUF composites, and characterization of fibers, matrix and FRUF composites.

Materials Composites
Samples Fiber Matrix c ELt ERt
3 3 3
f (g/cm ) Ef (GPa) VFf (%) m (g/cm ) Em (GPa) Gm (GPa) VFm (%) g/cm GPa GPa
GF/UF 2.38 70 7.3 0.289 0.320 0.135 92.7 0.442 5.41 0.345
CF/UF T1 1.95 228 5.3 0.365 0.434 0.188 94.7 0.449 12.5 0.458
CF/UF T2 1.95 228 6.2 0.370 0.441 0.192 93.8 0.468 14.5 0.470
CF/UF T3 1.95 228 7.9 0.378 0.454 0.256 92.1 0.502 18.4 0.493
CF/UF T5 1.95 228 5.4 0.321 0.364 0.157 94.6 0.408 12.7 0.385
GF: glass fiber, CF: carbon fiber, UF: polyurethane foam, VF: volume fraction, Suffix f: fiber, Suffix m: matrix of UF, Suffix t: value
calculated by rule of mixture, Suffix L: direction along grain, Suffix R: direction across grain.

those in CF/UF T3 exceeded the upper limit values of s
and ELs . The ERt of CF/UF composite was slightly larger
than the Em , but smaller than the ERs .
3.3.3. Surface reinforced CF/UF composite
T5 indicates the CF/UF composite reinforced only at
both surfaces in order to attain higher elasticity keeping
low density. As expected, the CF/UF T5 was the lightest
among CF/UF composites, and its ELt was in the range of
ELs .
3.4. Bending Strength of CF/UF Composites
FRUF composites should have a bending strength
enough to sustain the tensile force of strings when they are
used as soundboards. GF and CF have extremely high
tensile strengths of about 2.0 GPa and 3.5 GPa, respec-
tively. Calculated using these values by the rule of mixture,
the bending strength of our CF/UF composite in the L
direction, BLt , became more than 200 MPa. However, the
experimental values of BL were 60 to 160 MPa for CF/UF
composites, while 80 to 130 MPa for Sitka spruce.
Since the BL of CF/UF composite varied wider than
that of Sitka spruce, the relationship between  and BL
was investigated. Figure 3 shows relationship between the
values of BL and  for CF/UF composites and Sitka
Fig. 3 The relationships between the bending strength
in L direction, BL , and the density  in CF/UF
composites and Sitka spruce wood, Sp.
spruce. The BL values for both materials linearly increased
with increasing  (r ¼ 0:980 for CF/UF composites and
r ¼ 0:946 for Sitka spruce). The slope of regression line of
CF/UF composites was larger than that of Sitka spruce. A
larger increase of BL for CF/UF composites is caused by
the increase of contact area between CF filaments and
polyurethane foams due to the decrease of porosity. The
BL values of CF/UF composites, which were smaller than
that of Sitka spruce in the low  range, were high enough
for practical use.
3.5. Vibrational Properties of FRUF Composites
Table 2 shows the densities  and the vibrational
properties of GF/UF and CF/UF composites as well as
those of Sitka spruce (Sp). The values of f , EL =, EL =ER
and EL /GLR were the resonant frequency, the specific
Young’s modulus, the elastic anisotropy in the LR plane
and the influence of shear deformation on the deflection in
the L direction, respectively. As described before, wood
shows large anisotropy i.e. large EL =ER and EL /GLR values,
which are important for the frequency response character-
istic of the soundboard. The values of =c indicate the
difference between the densities of plate and specimen in
FRUF composites. EL /ELt and ER =ERt are the differences
between the experimental and calculated values in Young’s
modulus.
3.5.1. Uniformly reinforced CF/UF composites
The  of CF/UF composite varied widely irrespective
of the VFf order of T1, T2, and T3. This result indicates the
difficulty of making composites uniformly. The results of
=c show that the density of measured specimen is larger
than that of composite plate except for CF/UF T1-1. The 
values of CF/UF T1-2, T2-1 and T3 exceeded the s . This
means that the CF filaments concentrate relatively high at
the central portion of composite plates, and it represents
that the VFf of measured specimens may be larger than that
of the plate, whereas their porosity may be smaller than
that of the plate.
The EL values of the CF/UF specimens were smaller
than the ELt except for CF/UF T2-1. However, they were

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 T. ONO et al.: ACOUSTIC CHARACTERISTICS OF FRUF COMPOSITES

Table 2 Vibrational properties of FRUF composite specimens.

 =c fL EL EL =ELt QL 1 fR ER ER =ERt QR 1 EL = EL =ER GLR EL =GLR

Samples
g/cm3 % Hz GPa %
103 Hz GPa %
103 (km/s)2 GPa
GF/UF 0.415 94 811.2 3.25 60 6.41 240.8 0.290 84 21.6 7.83 11.2
CF/UF T1-1 0.440 98 1,284.7 10.3 83 4.90 310.4 0.593 129 16.1 23.4 17.4 0.228 45.2
CF/UF T1-2 0.495 108 1,318.0 11.8 95 4.32 304.2 0.605 132 17.9 23.8 19.5 0.248 47.6
CF/UF T2-1 0.560 119 1,335.6 15.0 103 4.72 319.9 0.858 183 17.8 26.8 17.5 0.375 40.0
CF/UF T2-2 0.478 102 1,378.0 12.9 89 4.70 294.4 0.587 125 17.7 27.0 22.0 0.227 56.8
CF/UF T3-1 0.570 116 1,497.6 17.1 93 4.54 304.6 0.726 147 21.0 30.0 23.6 0.272 62.9
CF/UF T3-2 0.521 106 1,407.1 15.3 84 4.48 291.5 0.635 129 18.0 29.4 24.1 0.251 61.0
CF/UF T5 0.433 106 1,400.1 9.7 76 4.68 322.6 0.506 131 25.1 22.4 19.1 0.207 46.9
Sp T 0.487 1,405.4 11.8 8.82 459.4 1.29 14.4 24.2 9.15 0.421 28.0
Suffix LR: plane with edge grain.

larger than the lower limit value of ELs . Furthermore, the
EL of CF/UF T3-1 exceeded the upper limit value of ELs ,
15 GPa. These results suggest enough elasticity of the CF/
UF composites as soundboard materials. On the other hand,
the ER values of all specimens were larger than the ERt ,
which were lower than the ERs . This increase of ER except
for CF/UF T2-1 was attributed to the effects of disordered
CF filaments reinforcing the R direction. Considerably,
large value of ER =ERt for CF/UF T2-1 may be due to high
VFf , judging from a large value of =c .
The QL 1 values of all CF/UF composites were slightly
smaller than the lower limit of QLs 1 . The values of QR 1
were slightly smaller than those of Qm 1 estimated from
Fig. 2. Consequently, CF/UF composites exhibit almost the
same internal friction as Sitka spruce.
The GLR of CF/UF composites were slightly larger than
the Gm probably because of the reinforcement effect of
fibers. However, these values were still smaller than the
GLR of Sitka spruce. Therefore, the EL /GLR of this CF/UF
composite was larger than that of Sitka spruce.
Consequently, CF/UF T1 and T2-2 specimens were the
closest to Sitka spruce in the vibrational properties, except
for their higher EL =GLR values. Therefore, it was evaluated
that the appropriate values of VFf were 5–6%.
3.5.2. Surface reinforced CF/UF composite
The EL of CF/UF T5, which had almost the same VFf
as CF/UF T1, was smaller than that of T1, and no surface
reinforcement effect was observed. This fact was ascribed
to the disordered orientation of CF filaments. On the other
hand, the EL = of CF/UF T5 was comparable to that of
Sitka spruce because of its smaller . In addition, the GLR
of CF/UF T5 was the smallest among all of the CF/UF
composites because no fibers reinforced the middle layer.
Therefore, the surface reinforced CF/UF composite should
be different from wood in the response at high frequencies
due to its structure.
3.6. Frequency Response Characteristics of CF/UF
Composites
The sound power spectra and the 1/3-octave band
power spectra in CF/UF composites and Sitka spruce are
shown in Figs. 4 and 5, respectively. The dotted curve in
Fig. 5 represents the frequency response characteristic of
Sitka spruce to be standard. R1 and L1 indicate the resonant
peaks at the first mode in the R direction and in the L
direction, respectively.
The frequency response characteristics of uniformly
reinforced CF/UF composites, especially for CF/UF T1-2
and T2-2, were very similar to that of Sitka spruce. These
two specimens were considered to be the most appropriate
as materials for the soundboards.
Figure 6 shows the relationship between  and overall
power level Po for CF/UF composites. A negative linear
correlation was observed between them. The Po value of
Sitka spruce was plotted in the figure and it lay below the
regression line. The smaller QL 1 values of CF/UF
composites are responsible for their larger Po values than
the Sitka spruce. This result suggests the advantage of the
CF/UF composites in sound volume over Sitka spruce.
From these results, the following four characteristics
were observed:
(1) The frequencies at R1 peaks for CF/UF composites
were lower than that for Sitka spruce.
(2) Although almost the same frequency at the L1 peak
was detected for both CF/UF composites and Sitka
spruce, the peak level of the composites was slightly
higher.
(3) CF/UF composite had a clear peak in the frequency
range from 5 to 7 kHz.
(4) Sound pressure levels of CF/UF composites greater
reduced in high frequency range compared with Sitka
spruce.
The characteristic (1) is related to that CF/UF
composites have smaller ER or larger EL =ER compared
with Sitka spruce. The characteristic (2) is related to that
CF/UF composites have smaller QL 1 . The reason of the

139

Fig. 4 Sound power spectra of CF/UF composites and Sitka spruce wood by forced vibration.
characteristic (3) is not clear. The characteristic (4) is
concerned with larger EL =GLR of CF/UF composites
compared with Sitka spruce.
CF/UF T5 was considerably higher in the relative level
in the whole frequency range and greater in level reduction
at high frequencies, compared with Sitka spruce. These
results are related to its small QL 1 and large EL =GLR . And,
in comparison with uniformly reinforced CF/UF, CF/UF
T5 was higher in the relative level in the R direction and
differed in the characteristic of high frequency range.
Accordingly, surface reinforced CF/UF is inferior to
uniformly reinforced CF/UF as the substitute material for
soundboard.
3.7. Wood Model for Soundboards
Wood used for soundboards of musical instruments has
about 5 of cellulose microfibril angle, i.e. the angle
between longitudinal direction of crystalline cellulose and
that of wood fiber. Therefore, it is rather natural that the ER
of unidirectionally fiber-reinforced CF/UF composite is
smaller than that of Sitka spruce. An additional arrange-
ment of the fiber filaments in the R direction can increase
the ER of CF/UF composite. However, this is not a proper
way since it may be accompanied by an increase of  and a
large reduction of QR 1 in the composites. In fact,
hardwoods, which have a relatively broad ray tissue and
140
Acoust. Sci. & Tech. 23, 3 (2002)
correspond to this biaxially reinforced composite, have
never been used for the soundboard of musical instruments,
having higher  and lower EL =. Surface reinforced CF/UF
composite can be regarded as an approximate model of the
flat-sawn wood lumber having two large annual rings.
Accordingly, it is natural that the acoustic properties of this
composite are different from those of wood for soundboard,
which is the quarter-sawn wood lumber. On the other side,
in order to increase the GLR of CF/UF composite, it is
necessary to consider a more complex model, which is
closer to the structure of real wood. However, technically it
is very difficult to produce the composite based on such a
model.
From the above, uniformly reinforced CF/UF compo-
site, as a first approximation, is considered to be an
appropriate model of wood for soundboard, having the
insufficient frequency response characteristic in high
frequency range. Therefore, this composite can be expected
as the substitute for wood for musical instrument sound-
boards. The uniform arrangement of CF filaments and the
improvement of the vibrational properties in the R
direction are the subjects for a future study.
4. CONCLUSIONS
Unidirectionally fiber-reinforced composites for sound-
boards of musical instruments were developed using glass
T. ONO et al.: ACOUSTIC CHARACTERISTICS OF FRUF COMPOSITES

Fig. 5 1/3-octave band power spectra of CF/UF composites and Sitka spruce wood. Dotted line: Sitka spruce wood. Arrows
L and R show the resonance point at the first mode in the L direction and that in the R direction, respectively.

141

Fig. 6 The relationship between the overall power level,
Po , and the density  in CF/UF composites. Open
circle: Sitka spruce wood.
fiber and carbon fiber as reinforcement materials and
polyurethane foam as a matrix material. Their vibrational
properties and frequency response characteristics were
compared to those of Sitka spruce wood used for the
conventional soundboard. The following results were
obtained:
(1) In GF/UF composite, the volume fraction of GF
should be about 15% to satisfy the mechanical
properties as a soundboard material. It was impossible
to make such a composite having high volume
fraction of GF.
(2) Surface reinforced CF/UF composite had low density
and high sound pressure level. However, its frequency
response characteristic was different from that of Sitka
spruce wood because of the smaller shear modulus.
(3) In order to obtain CF/UF composites having almost
the same acoustic characteristic as Sitka spruce for
soundboard, appropriate volume fractions of CF
filaments were 5 to 6% and the filaments should be
142
Acoust. Sci. & Tech. 23, 3 (2002)
arranged uniformly.
(4) From the result (3), the acoustic characteristic of wood
for soundboard in audible frequency range could be
represented using a simplified wood model composed
of unidirectionally oriented CF filaments and porous
structure of polyurethane foam without reproducing
all of the structures of real wood.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to express my gratitude to H. Nonomura,
H. Sano and Y. Hirose of BASF INOAC Polyurethane
Chemical CO., Ltd. for making FRUF composites, and to
Prof. M. Miwa of Gifu University for his helpful advice,
and to Lect. E. Obataya of University of Tsukuba for his
measurement on fibers, and to H. Takano of Gifu
University for measurements.
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