Damping of Composite Tubes With Embedded Viscoelastic Layers

Abstract

In this paper, the results of analytical investigation into the effects of cocuring fiber composite tubes with commercially available damping materials are presented. A comprehensive theory has been developed for studying the vibration of a composite tube with multiple viscoelastic damping layers. The effects of transverse shear deformation, transverse normal stress and strain, rotary inertia, and higher-order stiffness terms are included in the modeling along with shear correction factors. Resonance frequency and loss factor results as a function of various geometric and physical parameters are presented for composite tubes with single and double damping layers. It is demonstrated through a parametric study that in all these systems, careful selection of damping and pre-preg material is needed to optimize the damping benefits desirable and the stiffness reductions that can be tolerated.