Applied Acoustics 164 (2020) 107222

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Applied Acoustics
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/apacoust

Numerical study on the influence of fiber cross-sectional shapes on the

sound absorption efficiency of fibrous porous materials
Kunikazu Hirosawa
IDAJ Co., LTD., Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Numerical fluid analyses were performed to investigate the influence of the fiber cross-sectional shapes
Received 21 April 2019 over the sound absorption efficiency of fibrous porous materials. The acoustic properties of the porous
Received in revised form 13 January 2020 materials were simulated with the Johnson–Champoux–Allard (JCA) model, and the parameters were
Accepted 14 January 2020
applied in a two-dimensional steady flow. Four types of fiber cross-sectional shapes were considered: cir-
Available online 10 February 2020
cle, ellipse, three arrows, and six arrows. Each cross-sectional type had the same area as the circle for a
given radius. First, the parameters for the porosity were predicted with formulas that were previously
Keywords:
developed by the author, and compared to the values calculated in a numerical fluid analysis. Next,
Fiber cross-sectional shape
Fibrous porous material
the sound absorption characteristics of the porous materials with four types of fiber cross-sectional
Sound absorption efficiency shapes were evaluated with the JCA model. The results demonstrated that the formulas were applicable
Numerical fluid analyses for various fiber cross-sections, and that the sound absorption coefficient of the fibrous porous materials
Johnson-Champoux-Allard model changed with the fiber cross-sectional shapes. This indicates that the sound absorption efficiency of
fibrous porous materials can be improved by simply changing the fiber cross-sectional shape without
changing the fiber radius.
Ó 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction In this study, the sound-absorbing characteristics of fibrous por-

Various fibrous porous materials have recently been developed,
owing to improvements in material processing techniques and
market growth. Due to these developments, many studies have
examined the sound absorption characteristics of fibrous porous
materials.
To date, most studies on these porous materials have used cir-
cular cross-sectional shapes for the fibers. However, current pro-
cessing technology allows for arbitrary cross-sectional shapes [1–
3]. The manufacturers of fibrous porous materials are also able to
control the fiber diameter over a wide range. Recently, researchers
have developed materials with fiber diameters at the nanometer
scale [4,5]. Although fibrous porous materials with complex fiber
cross-sectional shapes can be fabricated, few studies have focused
on the cross-sectional shape when investigating the sound-
absorbing characteristics of fibrous porous materials. Craggs and
Hildebrandt investigated the influence of the cross-sectional shape
of cylinders on non-acoustic parameters, such as the flow resistiv-
ity for a model of porous material, where the assembly of cylinders
had arbitrary cross-sectional shapes [6].
ous materials with various cross-sectional shapes were investi-
gated. The bulk densities of the materials were assumed to be
equal, and the thickness and weight were also equal. Formulas pre-
viously developed by the author, to predict the non-acoustic
parameters of deformed fibrous porous materials [7], were exam-
ined for their applicability to arbitrary fiber cross-sectional shapes.
2. Numerical analysis technique
In this study, the flow and sound fields were considered as two-
dimensional spaces. Therefore, all fibers of porous materials were
assumed to be oriented in the same direction, perpendicular to
the sound incidence and flow direction.
The numerical experiments were performed as follows:
(i) Computational fluid dynamics was used to evaluate the
values of non-acoustic parameters, such as the flow resistivity,
tortuosity, and characteristic length.
(ii) These parameter values were applied to the Johnson–Cham
poux–Allard (JCA) model [8,9], and the effective density and
bulk modulus of the porous materials were calculated.

E-mail address: hirosawa.kunikazu@idaj.co.jp

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apacoust.2020.107222
0003-682X/Ó 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
2 K. Hirosawa / Applied Acoustics 164 (2020) 107222
(iii) The normal sound absorption coefficient was estimated
from the density and bulk modulus, under the assumption that
the material had a constant thickness and was on a rigid wall.
2.1. Fiber cross-sectional shapes and distributions
Four types of fiber cross-sectional shapes were investigated, as
shown in Fig. 1: circle, ellipse, three arrows, and six arrows. Cross-
sectional shapes simpler than these four types, such as a triangle,
square, and a cross, can be considered. However, these have already
been investigated by the author [10]. Additionally, the sound
absorption efficiencies of the convex shapes (circle, ellipse, triangle,
and square) were found to be almost equal to one other. This was
also the case with the absorption efficiencies of the three arrows
and cross. Therefore, in this study, four very distinct shapes were
intentionally adopted. Incidentally, complicated cross-sectional
shapes, such as the three and six arrows, have been widely applied
to air filters owing to their large surface areas. Each cross-sectional
shape has the same area as the circle, for a given radius. Thus, if
the material and porosity are the same, then the bulk density
remains the same regardless of the cross-sectional shape. The fol-
lowing radii of the circular fibers were considered: r ¼ 1:5;
5:0; 15:0 lm (i.e., the three diameters were 3:0; 10:0; 30:0 lm). All
of these cross-sectional types had areas equal to pr2 [m2].
In one case study, only one type of fiber cross-sectional shape
was considered, as shown in Fig. 2. All cross-sectional areas of
the fibers were set as equal, to investigate the influence of the
shape on the sound absorption efficiency. The center coordinates
of the fibers were random and did not overlap with each other.
The fiber distributions were regenerated for each analysis, and
the same distributions could not occur in other analyses. 100 anal-
ysis cases were considered for all individual shapes with different
distributions. The prediction methods for estimating the parameter
proposed in several studies were used to obtain the desired param-
eters; this was done by representing a very small portion of a
Fig. 1. Four types of cross-sectional shapes for fibrous porous materials.
distribution as the representative element volume, and calculating
the mean values among the 100 analysis cases.
2.2. Flow resistivity
The flow field for calculating the flow resistivity was assumed to
be an incompressible viscous fluid, in a two-dimensional steady
flow. The flow resistivity is defined for a very slow laminar flow
with a flow velocity of 0.5 mm/s [11]. Given that this flow field
can be approximated by a linearized Navier–Stokes equation, the
Oseen approximation was adopted to express the flow field. As
shown in Fig. 3, a laminar flow with a velocity of 0.5 mm/s entered
the left side of the analysis area, flowed through 200 fibers with a
no-slip surface boundary condition, and exited through the right
side of the area. To ensure that the pressure loss was affected only
by the fibers, the upper and lower boundaries of the analysis area
were set to the free-slip condition.
The velocity and pressure of the two-dimensional steady Oseen
flow field were calculated using the finite element method [7]. The
equation of motion for the steady Oseen flow is given by
1
ðU  grad Þu ¼  grad p þ mDu: ð1Þ
q
The continuity equation is
divu ¼ 0; ð2Þ
where jUj ¼ U; u ¼ ðu; v Þ is the orthogonal coordinate system, q is
the density of air, p is the pressure, m ¼ g=q is the kinetic viscosity
of air, and g is the viscosity of air. The Galerkin method was applied
to Eqs. (1) and (2), and the obtained weak form was discretized as
the triangle Taylor–Hood elements. The sizes of these finite ele-
ments were determined by the division numbers of the perimeters
of each cross-sectional shape: 45 for the circle and ellipse; 51 for
the three arrows; and 72 for the six arrows. As the element division
algorithm was applied, complex parts such as the arrow ends were
 K. Hirosawa / Applied Acoustics 164 (2020) 107222 3

Fig. 2. Illustrations of fiber distributions for each cross-sectional shape. Porosity: / ¼ 0:90; equivalent diameter: 10 lm.

Fig. 3. Finite element analysis area for the two-dimensional steady Oseen flow used to calculate the flow resistivity.

more finely divided than other straight-line edges, where the divi-
sion numbers for the three and six arrows were actually larger than
51 and 72.
The spatially averaged pressure P1 was evaluated from the pres-
sure on the finite element nodes in the inflow region, and the spa-
tially averaged pressure P2 was similarly evaluated from the
pressure on the nodes in the outflow region. The flow resistivity
r [N s/m4] was obtained from the differential pressure
Dp ¼ P1  P2 , the inflow velocity U ¼ 0:5 mm/s, and the material
thickness L [m], as follows:
Dp
r¼ : ð3Þ
UL
According to the literature [12,13], the flow resistivity of fibrous
porous materials is overestimated under the two-dimensional field
condition. Consequently, the flow resistivity obtained with the
above procedure was halved in value [7].
2.3. Porosity
As shown in Fig. 3, 200 fibers with the same cross-sectional
shape were within the L  L [m2] area. The porosity / was given by
200pr 2
/¼1 : ð4Þ
L2
2.4. Tortuosity and characteristic lengths
The flow field for calculating the tortuosity and the viscous
characteristic length was assumed to be an incompressible inviscid
fluid in a two-dimensional steady flow, because these parameters
are defined in the potential flow [8]. As shown in Fig. 4, a uniform
flow with velocity U c [m/s] entered from the left side of the analy-
sis area, flowed through the 200 fibers, and exited at the right side
of the area with the same velocity U c [m/s]. The inflow and outflow
boundary conditions were given by the stream function WðfÞ ¼ fU c
because of the uniform flow velocity U c , where f is the coordinate
on the boundary and the complex plane. The upper and lower
boundaries of the area, and the surface of the fibers, were imper-
meable. Thus, the normal derivative of the velocity potential is
@ UðfÞ=@n ¼ 0, where n is the normal vector.
The complex velocity and stream function in the analysis area
were calculated with the complex variable boundary element
method [14–16]. All boundaries were discretized as linear
4 K. Hirosawa / Applied Acoustics 164 (2020) 107222

Fig. 4. Complex variable boundary element analysis area for the two-dimensional
steady potential flow used to predict the tortuosity and viscous characteristic
length.

Fig. 5. Illustration of the streamlines around fibers. A two-dimensional potential

elements, and the complex velocity potentials XðfÞ at the nodes f flow field was discretized into triangular linear elements.
of the boundaries C were calculated. Next, the complex velocity
potential XðzÞ at an arbitrary point z in the analysis area H was
obtained from the following boundary integral: fibers to the line integration of the squared velocity jwðfw Þj2 at a
I point fw on the fiber circumference:
1 XðfÞ
XðzÞ ¼ df: ð5Þ Z Z
2pi C fz
K¼2 jwðzÞj2 dA jwðfw Þj2 dL; ð7Þ
A L
However, the analysis area was limited to H (L  L [m2]) to ensure
R
continuity of the fiber distribution. where A dA indicates the area integration over the gap of the por-
R
The sizes of these boundary elements were determined by the ous material, and L dL indicates the line integration of the fiber cir-
division numbers of the perimeters of each cross-sectional shape, cumference. The velocity distribution was required to calculate K,
as with the finite elements: 45 for the circle and ellipse, 51 for thus, the flow field was discretized into N triangular linear elements
the three arrows, and 72 for the six arrows. Dn ðn ¼ 1;    ; NÞ in the same manner in which the tortuosity was
obtained. The velocities at the element nodes zn;i ði ¼ 1; 2; 3Þ were
2.4.1. Tortuosity calculated with the following boundary integral:
The tortuosity a1 was defined as the squared ratio of the path I
1 XðfÞ
length in the porous material Le to the distance in free length L0 : wðzn;i Þ ¼  df; ð8Þ
2pi C ðf  zn;i Þ2
 2
L
a1 ¼ e ð6Þ where f is a point on the boundary C. Fig. 6 shows an example of the
L0
velocity vector distribution obtained from Eq. (8).
where L0 is equal to L, as shown in Fig. 4. Le can be obtained from The velocity wðzn Þ, at an arbitrary point zn on the element Dn
the length of the streamline that connects equal values of the was expressed by a linear interpolation with three velocities at
stream function. For Le , only the coordinates at which the values three element nodes. The velocity wðzn Þ in the gaps between fibers
of the stream function were equal needed to be evaluated; the vec-
tors of the streamline were not required. Therefore, we only
searched for these coordinates.
To find the coordinates, the gap between fibers in the analysis
area was discretized into triangular linear elements, as shown in
Fig. 5. The coordinates were searched for from left to right in the
analysis area along the potential flow. In accordance with these
assumptions, the complex velocity potential
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
Xðz0 Þ ¼ Uðz0 Þ þ iWðz0 Þ; ði ¼ 1Þ at a point z0 on the left edge of
the analysis area was given by Eq. (5). Next, a point on an edge
of the concerned element, where the value of the stream function
was equal to Wðz0 Þ, was determined. The target element was
moved to the right to search for the next point on the edge of
the element. This procedure was repeated until the searched point
arrived at the right edge of the analysis area. The path length Le
was evaluated according to these search points, and a1 was
obtained from Eq. (6).

2.4.2. Viscous characteristic length

For the two-dimensional steady potential flow, the viscous
characteristic length K was defined by the ratio of the area integra-
2
tion of the squared velocity jwðzÞj at a point z in the gap between
Fig. 6. Illustration of velocity vector field around fibers calculated with the complex
variable boundary element method. The two-dimensional potential flow field was
discretized into triangular linear elements.
 K. Hirosawa / Applied Acoustics 164 (2020) 107222 5

was integrated over the element Dn , and the area integration of the 3. Results and discussion
definition in Eq. (7) was approximated as the summation overall N
elements: 3.1. Parameters for the JCA model
Z N Z
X
jwðzÞj2 dA  jwðzn Þj2 dS; ð9Þ The formulas previously proposed by the author [7] were eval-
A n¼1 Dn uated for their applicability to fibrous porous materials with vari-
ous fiber cross-sectional shapes.
where dS is an infinitesimal area on Dn . To evaluate the velocity
The formulas are given below. The porosity after deformation is
wðfw Þ on the circumference of fibers, the circumference was like-
given by
wise discretized into M linear elements Cm ðm ¼ 1;    ; MÞ. Given
that the velocity wðfw;m Þ on the element Cm was expressed by a lin- 1  /ð1Þ
ear interpolation with two velocities wðfw;m;j Þ ðj ¼ 1; 2Þ at two ele- /ðPÞ ¼ 1  : ð17Þ
P
ment nodes, the velocity wðfw;m Þ was integrated over the element
where P is the compression ratio and the original porosity is
Cm . The linear integration of the definition in Eq. (7) was approxi-
mated as the following summation overall M elements: expressed as /ð1Þ .
The flow resistivity after deformation is given by
Z M Z
X
jwðfw Þj2 dL  jwðfw;m Þj2 dl; ð10Þ /ð1Þ
L m¼1 Cm rðPÞ ¼ ðPÞ 3=2
rð1Þ : ð18Þ
/ P
where dl is an infinitesimal length on Cm .
where the original flow resistivity is expressed as rð1Þ .
2.4.3. Thermal characteristic length Then, the tortuosity after deformation is given by
The thermal characteristic length K0 is defined as the ratio of the 1  a1
ð1Þ
area integral in the gaps between fibers to the line integral on the a1
ðPÞ
¼1 : ð19Þ
P
circumference of fibers in the two-dimensional space:
Z Z where the original tortuosity is expressed as a1
ð1Þ
.
0
K ¼2 dA dL: ð11Þ The viscous characteristic length after deformation is given by
A L  
1P
KðPÞ ¼ 1  ð1Þ Kð1Þ : ð20Þ
/
2.5. Normal absorption coefficient
where the original viscous characteristic length is expressed as Kð1Þ .
The acoustic properties of the fibrous porous materials with The thermal characteristic length after deformation is given by
various cross-sectional shapes were simulated with the JCA model.  
According to Johnson et al. [8], the effective density of air in porous 1P
K0ðPÞ ¼ 1  ð1Þ K0ð1Þ : ð21Þ
materials is given by /
2 !1=2 3
r/ 4ixq0 a21 g where the original thermal characteristic length is expressed as
qe ¼ a1 q0 41 þ 1þ 5; ð12Þ K0ð1Þ .
ixq0 a1 r2 K2 /2
Fig. 7 shows the flow resistivities of the fibrous porous materi-
where q0 is the density of air in free space, and x is the angular fre- als for the four types of fiber cross-sectional shapes and three fiber
quency, which is related to the frequency f such that x ¼ 2pf . radii. The original flow resistivities were the standard values when
According to Champoux and Allard [9], the dynamic bulk modulus the porosity was 0.94. The error bars in the figure represent the
of air in porous materials is given by range between the minimum and maximum values. The flow resis-
tivity generally increased by one order of magnitude for all poros-
cP 0 ity values as the fiber radius decreased for all fiber cross-sectional
Ke ¼   1 ; ð13Þ
2 1=2 shapes (r ¼ 15:0; 5:0; 1:5 lm). The changes in the porosity, accord-
8g ixq0 B2 K0
c  ðc  1Þ 1 þ ixq0 B2 K 02
1 þ 16g ing to the finite element method, tended to agree with the values
predicted by Eq. (18). Although the curves of the circular fiber
where P0 is the atmospheric pressure, c is the specific heat ratio of
cross-section mostly agreed with the markers, there was some dis-
air, and B2 is the Prandtl number. The fibrous porous materials were crepancy for the three arrows fiber cross-section, and the differ-
assumed to be isotropic, and the complex wavenumber k and char- ence increased as the porosity decreased. For the derivation of
acteristic impedance Z c of the materials were evaluated according the relationship between the flow resistivity and porosity, each
to the effective density qe and bulk modulus K e [17]: fiber was assumed to be independent. However, when the porosity
rffiffiffiffiffiffi pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi and mutual distance between fibers decreased, independence was
qe qe K e
k¼x ; Zc ¼ : ð14Þ no longer valid because the medium was a viscous fluid. Thus,
Ke / some fibers could be expected to become an obstacle in the fluid
field. This is one of the reasons why the values predicted by the for-
The surface impedance Z s of the porous materials on a rigid wall
mula differed from those of the finite element method. Neverthe-
with normal sound incidence was evaluated with k; Z c in Eq. (14),
less, the differences were not large. Thus, the formula was still
and the material thickness d as follows:
applicable regardless of the fiber cross-sectional shape when the
Z s ¼ iZ c cotðkdÞ: ð15Þ porosity was greater than or equal to 0.90.
Fig. 8 shows the tortuosity of the fibrous porous materials for
Therefore, the normal absorption coefficient a0 of the materials was the four fiber cross-sectional shapes and three fiber radii. The orig-
given by inal tortuosity was the standard values when the porosity was


0.94. The tortuosity remained the same for a given porosity regard-

Z s  q0 c0
2
a0 ¼ 1 

: ð16Þ less of the fiber radius and cross-sectional shape. The ranges of the
Z s þ q c0

0 upper and lower limits of the tortuosity were very large compared
6 K. Hirosawa / Applied Acoustics 164 (2020) 107222

Fig. 7. Flow resistivity versus porosity. The markers show the flow resistivity calculated by the finite element method. The various lines show the flow resistivity predicted by
Eq. (18). Fiber cross-sectional shapes: (a) circle, (b) ellipse, (c) three arrows, and (d) six arrows.

Fig. 8. Tortuosity versus porosity. The markers show the tortuosity calculated with the boundary element method. The various lines show the tortuosity predicted with Eq.
(19). Fiber cross-sectional shapes: (a) circle, (b) ellipse, (c) three arrows, and (d) six arrows.

to other parameters, and are depicted by error bars. This is
expected to be why the vertical axis representing tortuosity is an
antilog. The tortuosity values varied widely because the lengths
of the streamlines differed depending on the paths through gaps
between fibers. For the circular and elliptical cross-sectional
shapes, the markers evaluated by the boundary element method
were on the lines predicted by Eq. (19); thus, the predicted and cal-
culated values agreed with each other. For the three and six arrows
cross-sectional shapes, the markers were higher than the lines
when the porosity was 0.92. This indicates that the change in
 K. Hirosawa / Applied Acoustics 164 (2020) 107222
tortuosity with porosity is not linear, regardless of the cross-
sectional shape, as was assumed. Thus, Eq. (19) may underestimate
the tortuosity for complex cross-sectional shapes below a porosity
of 0.92.
Fig. 9 shows the viscous characteristic length and Fig. 10 shows
the thermal characteristic length of the fibrous porous material, for
four fiber cross-sectional shapes and three fiber radii. The original
characteristic lengths for the curves were the standard values
when the porosity was 0.94. The viscous and thermal characteristic
lengths, according to the numerical fluid analyses (i.e., markers),
closely agreed with the values predicted by Eqs. (20) and (21). This
is because there was no inconsistency or difference between the
definitions of the characteristic lengths, assumptions of the numer-
ical fluid analyses, and derivation of the formulas. Therefore, these
formulas can be used to predict the characteristic lengths for var-
ious fibrous porous materials, regardless of the fiber diameter or
cross-sectional shape.
Fig. 11 shows the ratio of the thermal characteristic length to
the viscous characteristic length for four fiber cross-sectional
shapes and three fiber radii. The ratios of the circular, elliptical,
three arrows, and six arrows cross-sections were approximately
1.9, 1.8, 1.4, and 1.1, respectively. The ratio decreased as the
perimeter of the fiber cross-section increased. Moreover, the ratio
did not change with porosity; therefore, it can be considered a
unique characteristic of a fiber cross-sectional shape. Allard and
Champoux [18] showed that the ratio is 2 if the fiber cross-
section is a circle and only one fiber exists in the two-
dimensional space. This result has been widely applied to various
fibrous porous materials. However, the results of this study indi-
cate that the ratio differs from 2 depending on the fiber cross-
sectional shape.
3.2. Variability of evaluated parameters
As previously mentioned, the parameters were evaluated pro-
vided that there were 100 cases with different fiber distributions,
Fig. 9. Viscous characteristic length versus porosity. The markers show the viscous characteristic length calculated by the boundary element method. The various lines show
the viscous characteristic length predicted by Eq. (20). Fiber cross-sectional shapes: (a) circle, (b) ellipse, (c) three arrows, and (d) six arrows.
7
which consisted of 200 fibers of the same cross-sectional shape.
Therefore, the parameter variability represented by the error bars
can be considered due to the different fiber distributions in Figs. 7–
11. These variabilities may also be affected by the number of fibers.
When the parameters are evaluated with a smaller number of
fibers, the variability is larger and requires a larger number of anal-
ysis cases, and vice versa. The 200 fibers were determined purely
by the limitation of computational times and computer resources
in this study. However, the number of fibers in real materials is
so large that the parameter variability caused by the fiber distribu-
tions can be expected to be statistically small. From this discussion,
the normal absorption coefficient shown in the next section is pre-
dicted by the mean values for each parameter.
3.3. Normal absorption coefficient
The normal absorption coefficients of fibrous porous materials,
with a thickness of 25 mm on a rigid wall, for each fiber cross-
sectional shape and fiber radii r ¼ 1:5 lm, 5:0 lm, and 15:0 lm
are shown in Figs. 12–14, respectively. These graphs were drawn
separately for porosity values of 0.88, 0.90, 0.92, 0.94, 0.96, 0.98,
and 0.99.
Fig. 12 shows that the circular fiber cross-section had the high-
est absorption coefficient for most of the porosities, while the three
arrows fiber cross-section had the lowest. The flow resistivity at a
fiber radius of 1.5 lm was higher than 106 [N s/m4] for most poros-
ity values. If the flow resistivity is higher than the current values, it
is too high and not a good influence on the sound absorption char-
acteristics. Consequently, changing the fiber cross-section from a
circle to a shape with a higher flow resistivity does not improve
the sound absorption characteristics of fibrous porous materials
with a fiber radius of 1.5 lm. However, the normal absorption
coefficient is improved as the porosity increases regardless of the
fiber cross-sectional shape. Because increasing the porosity
decreases the flow resistivity, Fig. 12 indicates that the sound
absorption characteristics of fibrous porous materials can be
8 K. Hirosawa / Applied Acoustics 164 (2020) 107222

Fig. 10. Thermal characteristic length versus porosity. The markers show the thermal characteristic length calculated by the boundary element method. The various lines
show the thermal characteristic length predicted by Eq. (21). Fiber cross-sectional shapes: (a) circle, (b) ellipse, (c) three arrows, and (d) six arrows.

Fig. 11. Ratio of the thermal characteristic length to viscous characteristic length versus porosity for each fiber diameter. Fiber cross-sectional shapes: (a) circle, (b) ellipse, (c)
three arrows, and (d) six arrows.

improved by decreasing the flow resistivity, which is extremely
high. Moreover, in terms of the degree of improvement of the
sound absorption characteristics due to increasing porosity, the
improvement from other shapes is greater than that of the circle.
Fig. 13 shows the normal absorption coefficient of the fibrous
porous materials with a fiber radius of 5.0 lm. The circular fiber
cross-section had a higher absorption coefficient than the other
cross-sectional shapes when the porosity was less than 0.96. How-
ever, the relationship between the fiber cross-sectional shape and
absorption coefficient reversed when the porosity was greater than
0.96, with the three arrows fiber cross-section having the highest
coefficient when the porosity was / ¼ 0:98 and 0.99.
 K. Hirosawa / Applied Acoustics 164 (2020) 107222 9

Fig. 12. Normal absorption coefficients of porous materials with a thickness of 25 mm and fiber radius of 1:5 lm for porosities / ¼ 0:88, 0.90, 0.92, 0.94, 0.96, 0.98, and 0.99.

Fig. 14 shows that the circular fiber cross-section had the lowest
absorption coefficient when / ¼ 0:92, while the three arrows fiber
cross-section had the highest when the porosity was greater than
0.94. However, the absorption coefficient decreased as the porosity
increased because the thick fiber diameter and large gap between
the fibers overly reduced the flow resistivity. This fiber radius, of
approximately r ¼ 15:0 lm, is widely found in fibrous porous
materials made from polyurethane or polyethylene. Consequently,
the sound absorption efficiency can be improved by changing the
fiber cross-sectional shape and adjusting the porosity, instead of
thinning the fibers. This is preferable because thinning fibers gen-
erally increases the difficulty of the fiber manufacturing process.
4. Conclusions
The influence of the fiber cross-sectional shape on the sound
absorption efficiency of fibrous porous materials was investigated
through numerical fluid analyses. The acoustic properties of the
porous materials were simulated with the JCA model to consider
a rigid frame and ignore elasticity. The model parameters were
calculated in a two-dimensional steady flow, so that all fibers were
assumed to be oriented in the same direction: perpendicular to the
incident sound and flow direction. The flow resistivity was
calculated with the finite element method for a two-dimensional
steady Oseen flow. The tortuosity and viscous characteristic
lengths were calculated with the complex variable boundary
element method for a two-dimensional steady potential flow.
Four types of fiber cross-sectional shapes were considered:
circle, ellipse, three arrows, and six arrows. Each cross-sectional
type had the same area as the corresponding circle. All
processes were conducted according to previous numerical exper-
iments performed by the author. Numerical experiments were per-
formed because the author had no method for fabricating and
collecting samples of porous materials. In addition, it would be
10 K. Hirosawa / Applied Acoustics 164 (2020) 107222

Fig. 13. Normal absorption coefficients of porous materials with a thickness of 25 mm and fiber radius of 5:0 lm for porosities / ¼ 0:88, 0.90, 0.92, 0.94, 0.96, 0.98, and 0.99.

almost impossible to manage the shapes and diameters
of the fibers exactly as they are in a realistic manufacturing
process.
Based on the results, the following conclusions can be made:
1. The formulas proposed in the previous work for predicting the
non-acoustic parameters of deformed fibrous porous materials
are also applicable to various fiber cross-sectional shapes. The
formulas for the flow resistivity and tortuosity are applicable
when the porosity is greater than 0.9.
2. The sound absorption coefficient of the fibrous porous materials
changes with the fiber cross-sectional shape.
-When fibers are thin (e.g., fiber radius of 1.5 lm), the cross-
sectional shape does not affect the sound absorption
efficiency much.
-When fibers are thick (e.g., fiber radius of 15.0 lm), the
cross-sectional shape affects the sound absorption effi-
ciency. More complex cross-sectional shapes, such as the
three arrows, can improve the sound absorption efficiency.
3. The above results indicate that the sound absorption efficiency
of fibrous porous materials can be improved by simply chang-
ing the fiber cross-sectional shape rather than the fiber radius.
In other words, the sound absorption efficiency can be
improved without changing the weight or thickness, provided
that the porous materials are made from the same components.
This study was performed only using computer simulations and
not by manufacturing and measuring real materials. This made it
possible to find the optimal cross-sectional shape and design for
high performance fibrous porous materials.
 K. Hirosawa / Applied Acoustics 164 (2020) 107222 11

Fig. 14. Normal absorption coefficients of the porous materials with a thickness 25 mm and fiber radius 15:0 lm for porosities / ¼ 0:88, 0.90, 0.92, 0.94, 0.96, 0.98, and 0.99.

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