Smart damping of fuzzy fiber reinforced composite plates using 1--3 piezoelectric composites

This article is concerned with the investigation of active constrained layer damping (ACLD) of smart laminated fuzzy fiber reinforced composite (FFRC) plates. The distinctive feature of the construction of this novel FFRC is that the uniformly spaced short carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are radially grown on the circumferential surfaces of carbon fibers. The effect of CNT waviness on the damping characteristics of the laminated FFRC plates is investigated when wavy CNTs are coplanar with either of the two mutually orthogonal planes. The constraining layer of the ACLD treatment is made of vertically/obliquely reinforced 1-3 piezoelectric composite material. A finite element model is developed for the laminated FFRC plates integrated with the patches of ACLD treatment. The effects of different boundary conditions of the FFRC plates and orientation angle of piezoelectric fibers on the damping characteristics of the laminated FFRC plates have also been investigated. Results reveal that if the plane of radially grown wavy CNTs on the circumferential surface of carbon fiber is coplanar with the plane of carbon fiber axis then the attenuation of amplitude of vibrations and the natural frequencies of the laminated FFRC plates are significantly improved over those of the FFRC containing straight CNTs or wavy CNTs being coplanar with the transverse plane of carbon fiber.