More on finite element modeling of damped composite systems

Finite element procedures are developed and verified for layered beams and rings having either continuously or discontinuously constrained viscoelastic damping layers. The two configurations considered are (1) a three-layered sandwich beam or ring (closed curved beam) consisting of two thin elastic layers with a viscoelastic core in between, and (2) a damped composite made of a thin-walled elastic structure having a finite number of mass segments or elastic segments adhered to it by a viscoelastic material. Viscoelastic material dependence on frequency and temperature is accounted for. Numerical predictions of transverse driving point impedances agree very well with available experimental data.