Inorganic polymeric foam as a sound absorbing and insulating material

A mixture of 70% metakaolin and 30% blast furnace slag powders is used as the raw material in the production of inorganic polymeric foams (IPF) with various densities ranging from 0.4 to 1.0 g/cm(3) and different thicknesses of 6, 10 and 14 cm using a mechanical foaming method. The water absorptions, sound absorption coefficients and sound transmission losses of the IPF specimens were measured and then compared with each other to evaluate the effects of their density and thickness. It was found that the variation of water absorption with respect to density was similar to that of the noise reduction coefficient. In addition, the sound transmission losses of sandwich panels with different-thickness and various-density IPF cores were measured to determine if two faces of calcium silicate boards can enhance their noise reducing effects. As a result, the feasibility of using inorganic polymeric foam as a sound absorption and insulation material can be evaluated. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.