Development of polymer-based nanocomposites for underwater sound absorption

Underwater sound can have a detrimental effect on marine animals due to the ever-increasing noise levels in their pristine habitat. It has also been commonly used to detect underwater floating objects via a sonar system. To absorb unwanted underwater sound, polymers (e.g., rubber), which have similar impedance to that of water, are widely used for sound absorption in water. Nanocomposites have attracted considerable attention due to their ability to improve sound absorption properties of polymer-based sound absorption materials. This project aims to develop a thin-layer nanocomposite with high underwater sound absorption at low frequency and high pressure.A water-filled impedance tube, an essential facility to test new materials developed in this PhD thesis, was designed and constructed. The established research facility consists of four main components: a stainless steel tube and its supporting devices, a sound source (a projector) and its associated electronics, an underwater sound pressure measurement system, and a water pressurized system. Subsequent calibrations and measurements showedthat the established apparatus could be used to measure the underwater sound absorption coefficient in a frequency range of 1500 Hz to 7000 Hz and under hydrostatic pressure in a range of 0 to 1.5 MPa.Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) reinforced polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) nanocomposites were designed, fabricated, and tested. This development comprised of two stages. In the first stage, PDMS was selected as the material matrix, surfactant and carboxyl functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT-COOH) as inclusions, and a new nanocomposite, namely PSM (PDMS/surfactant/MWCNT-COOH), was then developed. Effects of the added surfactant and MWCNT-COOH on the mechanical properties, chemical properties, and morphology were investigated, which indicated the nanocomposite’s potential for sound absorption improvement. Underwater acoustic tests showed high underwater sound absorption coefficien