Transverse vibration of elastic-viscoelastic-elastic sandwich beams: Compression - Experimental and analytical study

Experimental and analytical results are presented from an investigation into the compressional vibration of an elastic-viscoelastic-elastic three-layer sandwich beam. Most analytical models make the fundamental assumption that shear deformation in the viscoelastic core yields the largest damping and compressional deformation is negligible. Experimental results from a cantilever beam with a constrained layer viscoelastic damping treatment driven with a sinusoidal input are given which show compressional deformation over a relatively wide driving frequency range. A new analytical model for compressional damping is presented and compared with experimental results, with the Mead and Markus shear damping model, and with the Douglas and Yang compressional damping model. These results indicate that the proposed compressional model is a better predictor of resonance frequencies for the cantilever beams tested and that all models show deficiencies in predicting damping. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd.