Vibration and damping analysis of annular plates with constrained damping layer treatments

The natural frequencies and modal loss factors of annular plates with fully and partially constrained damping treatments are considered. The equations of free vibration of the plate including the transverse shear effects are derived by a discrete layer annular finite element method. The extensional and shear moduli of the viscoelastic material layer are described by the complex quantities. Complex eigenvalues are then found numerically, and from these, both frequencies and loss factors are extracted. The effects of viscoelastic layer stiffness and thickness, constraining layer stiffness and thickness, and treatment size on natural frequencies and modal loss factors are presented. Numerical results also show that the longer constrained damping treatment in radial length does not always provide better damping than the shorter ones.     

Dynamic stability of a rotating beam with a constrained damping layer

The dynamic behavior and dynamic instability of the rotating sandwich beam with a constrained damping layer subjected to axial periodic loads are studied by the finite element method. The influences of rotating speed, thickness ratio, setting angle and hub radius ratio on the resonant frequencies and modal system loss factors are presented. The regions of instability for simple and combination resonant frequencies are determined from the Mathieu equation that is obtained from the parametric excitation of the rotating sandwich beam. The regions of dynamic instability for various parameters are presented.     

Dynamic stability of a sandwich plate with a constraining layer and electrorheological fluid core

The dynamic stability problems of a sandwich plate with a constraining layer and an electrorheological (ER) fluid core subjected to an axial dynamic force are investigated. The rectangular plate is covered in an ER fluid core and a constraining layer to improve the stability of the system. Effects of the natural frequencies, static buckling loads, and loss factors on the dynamic stability behavior of the sandwich plate are studied in the paper. Rheological property of an ER material, such as viscosity, plasticity, and elasticity may be changed when applying an electric field. The modal damper and the natural frequencies for the sandwich plate are calculated for various electric fields. When an electric field is applied, the damping of the system is more effective. In this study, finite element method and the harmonic balance method are used to calculate the instability regions of the sandwich plate. The ER fluid core is found to have a significant effect on the dynamic stability regions.     

Dynamic characterization of high damping viscoelastic materials from vibration test data

The numerical analysis and design of structural systems involving viscoelastic damping materials require knowledge of material properties and proper mathematical models. A new inverse method for the dynamic characterization of high damping and strong frequency-dependent viscoelastic materials from vibration test data measured by forced vibration tests with resonance is presented. Classical material parameter extraction methods are reviewed; their accuracy for characterizing high damping materials is discussed; and the bases of the new analysis method are detailed. The proposed inverse method minimizes the residue between the experimental and theoretical dynamic response at certain discrete frequencies selected by the user in order to identify the parameters of the material constitutive model. Thus, the material properties are identified in the whole bandwidth under study and not just at resonances. Moreover, the use of control frequencies makes the method insensitive to experimental noise and the efficiency is notably enhanced. Therefore, the number of tests required is drastically reduced and the overall process is carried out faster and more accurately. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated with the characterization of a CLD (constrained layer damping) cantilever beam. First, the elastic properties of the constraining layers are identified from the dynamic response of a metallic cantilever beam. Then, the viscoelastic properties of the core, represented by a four-parameter fractional derivative model, are identified from the dynamic response of a CLD cantilever beam.     

VIBRATION ATTENUATION VIA CONSTRAINED LAYER DAMPING AND DASHPOT ON A SPRING-MASS-PLATE SYSTEM

The vibrations and damping characteristics of an annular plate with constrained layer damping (CLD) treatment subject to a traveling spring-mass-damper (SMD) are investigated. The equations of the CLD-treated plate are first derived from the energy principle. These equations are simplified via the Donnell-Mushtari-Vlasov assumptions. The response equations are eventually uncoupled for each mode and are in terms of a single-degree-of-freedom (s.d.o.f.) linear oscillator with hysteretic damping. The receptance method follows to joint the plate and the SMD, and the resulting change of natural frequencies and damping ratios are investigated. Individual effects due to the inertia and the stiffness are illustrated as well. The results shows that the damping ratios resulted from the viscoelastic core are more significant than that from the viscous damper. In addition, there exists a best design on the thickness of the viscoelastic material core to have the maximum damping ratios. The results also show that the attachment of SMD bifurcated the plate's natural frequencies for every mode but n = 0. The bifurcation becomes more obvious with the rotational speed. These results provide useful information for vibration suppression in engineering design.     

TRANSVERSE VIBRATION OF ELASTIC-VISCOELASTIC-ELASTIC SANDWICH BEAMS: COMPRESSION-EXPERIMENTAL AND ANALYTICAL STUDY

Experimental and analytical results are presented from an investigation into the compressional vibration of an elastic-viscoelastic-elastic three-layer sandwich beam. Most analytical models make the fundamental assumption that shear deformation in the viscoelastic core yields the largest damping and compressional deformation is negligible. Experimental results from a cantilever beam with a constrained layer viscoelastic damping treatment driven with a sinusoidal input are given which show compressional deformation over a relatively wide driving frequency range. A new analytical model for compressional damping is presented and compared with experimental results, with the Mead and Markus shear damping model, and with the Douglas and Yang compressional damping model. These results indicate that the proposed compressional model is a better predictor of resonance frequencies for the cantilever beams tested and that all models show deficiencies in predicting damping     

Free vibration of thin walled open section beams with constrained damping treatment

Free vibration characteristics of a thin walled, open cross-section beam, with constrained damping layers at the flanges, are investigated. Both uncoupled transverse vibration and the coupled bending-torsion oscillations, of a beam of a top-hat section, are considered. Numerical results are presented for natural frequencies and modal loss factors in the first two modes of simply supported and clamped-clamped beams. For the uncoupled mode the constrained damping treatment is more effective than an unconstrained one, but for the coupled mode the effect is just the opposite.     

A new method for the determination of damping in cocured composite laminates with embedded viscoelastic layer

A new method for the determination of damping in cocured composite laminates with embedded viscoelastic layer is developed based on mode superposition and modal strain energy method. The calculated damping value is not modal loss factor but a combination of damping from the contributing modes. The dynamic mechanical properties of the viscoelastic material cocured with composites were investigated and were substituted in the present method for calculating the damping in cocured composites. The analytical results were compared with the experimental results by dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA). The results demonstrate a good agreement between analytical and experimental results. This work provides a means for the study of damping in this structure with different environment temperature and excited frequency.     

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.     

An integral equation analysis of the harmonic response of three-layer beams

The integral equations of harmonic motion have been derived and solved for three-layer sandwich beams with a constrained linear viscoelastic core. The method of solution required first the construction of the Green's vector for a beam in analytical form. Following this, the integral equations were derived and readily approximated by matrix equations which were finally solved numerically. In addition to this analysis, the corresponding eigenvalue problem has been solved so that the modal frequencies and the beam loss factor could be calculated directly. The integral equation analysis offers a fast and efficient alternative to the traditional methods based on the solution of the differential equations of motion. The method has been verified by comparison with experimental results for three-layer cantilevers and simply supported beams.     

Structural synthesis of sandwich beams with outer layers of box-section

It is proved by model measurements that, for sandwich beams constructed from two rectangular tubes and a damping layer glued between them, the following calculation methods can be applied. Static bending and shear stresses as well as deflections of simply supported beams may be calculated by Allen's formulae for sandwich beams with flexurally stiff faces. The first eigenfrequency and the loss factor can be determined by using the diagrams given in reference [1]. For the loss factors Ungar's formula gives a suitable approximation. A minimum cost design procedure is presented for a sandwich beam with constant cross-section. The unknown dimensions of the cross-section are determined which satisfy the design constraints and minimize the material costs. In a numerical example, constraints relating to the maximal dynamic stresses and deflection as well as local buckling of plate elements are considered. In the optimization the backtrack combinatorial discrete programming method is applied. A numerical comparison shows that the material costs of a sandwich beam are lower than those of a homogeneous box one.     

Mechanics and finite elements for the damped dynamic characteristics of curvilinear laminates and composite shell structures

Integrated mechanics and a finite element method are presented for predicting the damping of doubly curved laminates and laminated shell composite structures. Damping mechanics are formulated in curvilinear co-ordinates from ply to structural level and the structural modal loss factors are calculated using the energy dissipation method. The modelling of damping at the laminate level is based on first order shear shell theory. An eight-node shell damping finite element is developed. Comparisons of the present model with classical and discrete layer laminate damping theory predictions are shown. Modal damping and natural frequencies of composite plates and open cylindrical shells were measured and correlated with predicted results. Parametric studies illustrate the effect of curvature and lamination on modal damping and natural frequency.     

A damping mechanics model and a beam finite element for the free-vibration of laminated composite strips under in-plane loading

A theoretical framework is presented for predicting the nonlinear damping and damped vibration of laminated composite strips due to large in-plane forces. Nonlinear Green-Lagrange axial strains are introduced in the governing equations of a viscoelastic composite and new nonlinear damping and stiffness matrices are formulated including initial stress effects. Building upon the nonlinear laminate mechanics, a damped beam finite element is developed. Finite element stiffness and damping matrices are synthesized and the static equilibrium is predicted using a Newton-Raphson solver. The corresponding linearized damped free-vibration response is predicted and modal frequencies and damping of the in-plane deflected strip are calculated. Numerical results quantify the nonlinear effect of in-plane loads on structural modal damping of various laminated composite strips. The modal loss-factors and natural frequencies of cross-ply Glass/Epoxy beams subject to in-plane loading are measured and correlated with numerical results.     

An enhanced beam model for constrained layer damping and a parameter study of damping contribution

An enhanced analytical model is presented based on an extension of previous models for constrained layer damping (CLD) in beam-like structures. Most existing CLD models are based on the assumption that shear deformation in the core layer is the only source of damping in the structure. However, previous research has shown that other types of deformation in the core layer, such as deformations from longitudinal extension and transverse compression, can also be important. In the enhanced analytical model developed here, shear, extension, and compression deformations are all included. This model can be used to predict the natural frequencies and modal loss factors. The numerical study shows that compared to other models, this enhanced model is accurate in predicting the dynamic characteristics. As a result, the model can be accepted as a general computation model. With all three types of damping included and the formulation used here, it is possible to study the impact of the structure's geometry and boundary conditions on the relative contribution of each type of damping. To that end, the relative contributions in the frequency domain for a few sample cases are presented.     

Damping of stiffened plates by multiple layer treatments

It is shown in this paper that the modal damping and resonant frequencies of a stiffened plate structure, with a multiple layer constrained damping treatment attached to the surface, can be predicted from a knowledge of the equivalent complex modulus properties of the treatment. The equations used represent a simple extension of the classical equations of Oberst for a free layer treatment applied to an unstiffened beam or plate, with terms accounting for the effect of the stiffeners. The equivalent complex modulus properties of the treatment depend on a shear parameter, a geometrical parameter, the stiffness of the constraining layer and the loss factor of the adhesive. Experimental results are discussed.     

Dynamic characteristics of traveling waves for a rotating laminated circular plate with viscoelastic core layer

The dynamic governing equations and the corresponding boundary conditions for a rotating thin laminated circular plate with a viscoelastic core layer are derived in this paper based on the Hamilton principle. The analysis on dynamic features of the forward and Backward Traveling Waves for the rotating laminated plate is performed by means of Galerkin's method. The frequency-dependent complex modulus model for describing the constitutive behavior of the viscoelastic core layer is employed. The dynamic characteristics of frequencies and dampings of traveling waves for the rotating plate are obtained numerically. The effects of geometrical and material parameters on the critical speed of the rotating laminated plate with viscoelastic core are discussed in detail.     

FINITE ELEMENT FORMULATION AND ACTIVE VIBRATION CONTROL STUDY ON BEAMS USING SMART CONSTRAINED LAYER DAMPING (SCLD) TREATMENT

This work deals with the active vibration control of beams with smart constrained layer damping (SCLD) treatment. SCLD design consists of viscoelastic shear layer sandwiched between two layers of piezoelectric sensors and actuator. This composite SCLD when bonded to a vibrating structure acts as a smart treatment. The sensor piezoelectric layer measures the vibration response of the structure and a feedback controller is provided which regulates the axial deformation of the piezoelectric actuator (constraining layer), thereby providing adjustable and significant damping in the structure. The damping offered by SCLD treatment has two components, active action and passive action. The active action is transmitted from the piezoelectric actuator to the host structure through the viscoelastic layer. The passive action is through the shear deformation in the viscoelastic layer. The active action apart from providing direct active control also adjusts the passive action by regulating the shear deformation in the structure. The passive damping component of this design eliminates spillover, reduces power consumption, improves robustness and reliability of the system, and reduces vibration response at high-frequency ranges where active damping is difficult to implement. A beam finite element model has been developed based on Timoshenko's beam theory with partially covered SCLD. The Golla-Hughes-McTavish (GHM) method has been used to model the viscoelastic layer. The dissipation co-ordinates, defined using GHM approach, describe the frequency-dependent viscoelastic material properties. Models of PCLD and purely active systems could be obtained as a special case of SCLD. Using linear quadratic regulator (LQR) optimal control, the effects of the SCLD on vibration suppression performance and control effort requirements are investigated. The effects of the viscoelastic layer thickness and material properties on the vibration control performance are investigated.     

Vibration characteristics of a rotating flexible arm with ACLD treatment

In this paper, the vibration behavior and control of a clamped–free rotating flexible cantilever arm with fully covered active constrained layer damping (ACLD) treatment are investigated. The arm is rotating in a horizontal plane in which the gravitational effect and rotary inertia are neglected. The stress–strain relationship for the viscoelastic material (VEM) is described by a complex shear modulus while the shear deformations in the two piezoelectric layers are neglected. Hamilton's principle in conjunction with finite element method (FEM) is used to derive the non-linear coupled differential equations of motion and the associated boundary conditions that describe the rigid hub angle rotation, the arm transverse displacement and the axial deformations of the three-layer composite. This refined model takes into account the effects of centrifugal stiffening due to the rotation of the beam and the potential energies of the VEM due to extension and bending. Active controllers are designed with PD for the piezosensor and actuator. The vibration frequencies and damping factors of the closed-loop beam/ACLD system are obtained after solving the characteristic complex eigenvalue problem numerically. The effects of different rotating speed, thickness ratio and loss factor of the VEM as well as different controller gain on the damped frequency and damping ratio are presented. The results of this study will be useful in the design of adaptive and smart structures for vibration suppression and control in rotating structures such as rotorcraft blades or robotic arms.     

Finite element analysis and experimental study on dynamic properties of a composite beam with viscoelastic damping

This paper investigates the frequency dependent viscoelastic dynamics of a multifunctional composite structure from finite element analysis and experimental validation. The frequency-dependent behavior of the stiffness and damping of a viscoelastic material directly affects the system's modal frequencies and damping, and results in complex vibration modes and differences in the relative phase of vibration. A second order three parameter Golla–Hughes–McTavish (GHM) method and a second order three fields Anelastic Displacement Fields (ADF) approach are used to implement the viscoelastic material model, enabling the straightforward development of time domain and frequency domain finite elements, and describing the frequency dependent viscoelastic behavior. Considering the parameter identification a strategy to estimate the fractional order of the time derivative and the relaxation time is outlined. Agreement between the curve fits using both the GHM and ADF and experiment is within 0.001 percent error. Continuing efforts are addressing the material modulus comparison of the GHM and the ADF model. There may be a theoretical difference between viscoelastic degrees of freedom at nodes and elements, but their numerical results are very close to each other in the specific frequency range of interest. With identified model parameters, numerical simulation is carried out to predict the damping behavior in its first two vibration modes. The experimental testing on the layered composite beam validates the numerical predication. Experimental results also show that elastic modulus measured from dynamic response yields more accurate results than static measurement, such as tensile testing, especially for elastomers.     

Measurement of viscoelastic properties from the vibration of a compliantly supported beam

A laboratory method is presented by which the viscoelastic properties of compliant materials are measured over a wide frequency range. The test setup utilizes a flexible beam clamped at one end and excited by a shaker at the free end. A small specimen of a compliant material is positioned to support the beam near its midpoint. The deformation from gravity is minimized since the specimen is not loaded by an attached mass. Forced vibration responses measured at two locations along the beam are used to derive a transfer function from which the dynamic properties of compliant materials are directly determined by use of a theoretical procedure investigating the effects of specimen stiffness on the propagation of flexural waves. Sensitivity of the measured properties to experimental uncertainties is investigated. Young's moduli and associated loss factors are determined for compliant materials ranging from low-density closed-cell foams to high-density damping materials. The method is validated by comparing the measured viscoelastic properties to those from an alternative dynamic test method.