Acoustic and aesthetics: The effect of paint on fabric backed by a sound absorber

This project investigates the effects of paint on the acoustic properties of the cotton and canvas fabrics. Polyurethane foam was used to back the fabric, and the dependencies on the type of paint, painted area, area distribution, and the type of fabric were analysed. One hundred and nine samples of cotton and canvas fabrics were used for this investigation. The impedance tube method, which is performed via the transfer function method, was employed to determine the acoustic properties. It is shown that the absorption of the samples is affected by the type of paint and fabric, and painted percentage area, and establishing an effective set of these parameters will result in the acoustic transparency of the fabric.