Vibration control of plates using magnetic constrained layer damping

A new class of surface treatment is proposed to provide effective means for attenuating undesirable structural vibrations. The proposed treatment relies in its operation on the use of smart damping treatments which consists of integrated arrays of constrained visco-elastic damping layers that are controlled passively by a specially arranged network of permanent magnets. The interaction between the magnets and the visco-elastic layers aims at enhancing the energy dissipation characteristics of the damping treatment. In this manner, it would be possible to manufacture structures that are light in weight which are capable of meeting strict constraints on structural vibration when subjected to unavoidable disturbances. This new treatment will be called Magnetic Constrained Layer Damping (MCLD) treatment. A finite element modeling of a plate treated with MCLD treatments is developed. This model describes the dynamics and the damping characteristics of this structure. The numerical results are verified experimentally using a cantilever plate fully treated with MCLD with the magnets placed at the root of the plate. Close agreement is obtained between theory and experiments. Also the performance characteristics of the MCLD is compared with the corresponding performance of the conventional Passive Constrained Layer Damping (PCLD). The effectiveness of the MCLD in attenuating structural vibration of the plate has been clearly demonstrated in the frequency domain. The developed theoretical and experimental techniques present invaluable tools for designing and predicting the performance of plates treated with MCLD.