Coupled flexural,longitudinal and shear wave motion in two- and three-layered damped beams

The purpose of this paper is to show how a ceramic layer attached to a two-layered (elastic/viscoelastic) beam alters the wave propagation mechanism in the beam. The ceramic layer is assumed to possess mass but not longitudinal stiffness. Shear deformation, rotatory, longitudinal and transverse inertia forces are all included in the analysis. The equations of motion of the layered beam are derived by using the virtual work principle. Relevant dispersion curves for an infinite beam are presented and discussed, and are compared with dispersion curves obtained from a number of simplified theories. The influence of the inertia coupling between different wave types, caused by the ceramic layer, has been examined. The loss factors of the different waves are found to be critically dependent upon the inertia coupling and wave-number in particular wave-number regions. This occurs when uncoupled waves of different types have close wave-speeds. Under these circumstances a coupled wave can exist which has much less damping than any of its constituent uncoupled waves.