FINITE ELEMENT MODELLING OF MAGNETIC CONSTRAINED LAYER DAMPING

The performance of a new treatment consisting of integrated arrays of constrained visco elastic damping layers passively controlled by a specially arranged network of permanent magnets is evaluated. The interaction between the magnets and the viscoelastic layers aims at enhancing the energy dissipation characteristics of the damping treatments. In this manner, it would be possible to manufacture structures that are light in weight and are capable of meeting strict constraints on structural vibration when subjected to unavoidable disturbances. In this paper, a finite element model is developed to study the interactions between the permanent magnets and their influence on the dynamic behavior of treated beams. The model is used to develop a thorough understanding of the basic phenomena governing the operation of this new class of smart magnetic constrained layer damping (MCLD) treatments. The performance characteristics of the MCLD are determined for fully treated beams and compared with the corresponding performance of conventional passive constrained layer damping (PCLD). Such a comparison is used to determine the merits and limitations of the proposed MCLD treatments.