Sustainable Materials of Marine Origin: Experimental Investigation on Sound-Absorbing Properties and Possible Applications

The sea represents 70% of the earth's surface and the possible use of sound-absorbing materials with this origin is little investigated. The purpose of this article is to investigate the possible use of two materials of marine origin whose presence in the sea and on the coasts creates considerable environmental and economic problems: it is a marine plant (Posidonia Oceanica) very common in the Mediterranean and a seaweed float (Pelagic Sargassum) very common in the Atlantic Ocean, especially in the Caribbean area. For both materials, an experimental investigation was carried out aimed at modeling the acoustic propagation in the two media with the Johnson-Champoux-Allard equivalent dissipative fluid model. The study was conducted with variable apparent density in order to optimize the acoustic performance of the materials as a function of density and thickness.