Dynamic stability of a sandwich plate with a constraining layer and electrorheological fluid core

The dynamic stability problems of a sandwich plate with a constraining layer and an electrorheological (ER) fluid core subjected to an axial dynamic force are investigated. The rectangular plate is covered in an ER fluid core and a constraining layer to improve the stability of the system. Effects of the natural frequencies, static buckling loads, and loss factors on the dynamic stability behavior of the sandwich plate are studied in the paper. Rheological property of an ER material, such as viscosity, plasticity, and elasticity may be changed when applying an electric field. The modal damper and the natural frequencies for the sandwich plate are calculated for various electric fields. When an electric field is applied, the damping of the system is more effective. In this study, finite element method and the harmonic balance method are used to calculate the instability regions of the sandwich plate. The ER fluid core is found to have a significant effect on the dynamic stability regions.