An Analytical and Experimental Evaluation of the Damping Capacity of Sandwich Beams With Viscoelastic Cores

Abstract

A study is made of the free vibrations of sandwich beams with viscoelastic cores. The study, which is a generalization of a previous investigation by the authors [1] includes the equations of motion and natural boundary conditions, derivation of expressions for the modal distribution of damping based upon “small damping” assumptions, numerical examples, and a supporting test program. The generally high values calculated for beams of various materials indicate that this type of construction is efficient for vibration damping applications. It was found, however, that the calculated and test values were not in accord. This lack of agreement signifies the necessity for greater refinement in both analytical methods and test procedures.