Analysis of the Damping of Sandwich Materials ...

The purpose of the paper is to analyse the damping of sandwich composites made of foam core and laminated skins. Damping parameters are investigated in the case of the bending vibrations of clamped-free beams. Modelling of the damping of the sandwich materials is established using a finite element analysis formulated on the sandwich material theory. Damping modelling is based on the evaluation of the different energies dissipated in the material directions of the core and the layers of the skins. The results obtained in the case of the bending vibrations of beams show a good agreement with the experimental results derived from an experimental investigation. Next, a parametric study is implemented to identify the effect of the characteristics of the constituents on the damping of the sandwich composites.