Damped joints for thin-plate structures

Jem A. Rongong; Geoffrey R. Tomlinson

doi:10.1117/12.349793

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2 June 1999 Damped joints for thin-plate structures

Jem A. Rongong, Geoffrey R. Tomlinson

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Proceedings Volume 3672, Smart Structures and Materials 1999: Passive Damping and Isolation; (1999) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.349793
Event: 1999 Symposium on Smart Structures and Materials, 1999, Newport Beach, CA, United States

Abstract

The use of damping materials for joints in thin plate structures is seen as a cheaper and lighter alternative to surface coating technologies. This paper assesses the ability of such joints to damp thin plates over a wide frequency range. Finite element models of several joints are validated experimentally both for static strength and stiffness and for frequency response behavior. The static strength and stiffness of such joints are found to be significantly weaker than jointless plate only under extensional loads. The damping achieved by using these joints is found to depend on the joint flexibility. Typical joints involving less than 1/30th of the size of the structure were found to yield average loss factors of around 2% over a wide frequency range. The addition of simple fasteners such bolts was found to be a practical way of improving the static performance without dramatically reducing the damping.

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Jem A. Rongong and Geoffrey R. Tomlinson "Damped joints for thin-plate structures", Proc. SPIE 3672, Smart Structures and Materials 1999: Passive Damping and Isolation, (2 June 1999); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.349793

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