Damping behavior of commonly used reinforcement powders – An experimental approach

With the advancement of composite technology, the selection of proper reinforcement in the matrix becomes vital, especially to enhance the damping capacity in metal matrix composites. The overall damping capacity of the composites greatly depends on the reinforcement used and is proportional to the individual damping capacities of the reinforcement. This paper is concerned with the measurement of damping behavior in elemental rice husk ash (RHA), fly ash (FA), silicon carbide (SiC) and graphite (Gr) powders. The damping measurements were carried on dynamic mechanical analyzer (DMA) at different frequencies of 0.1, 1 and 10 Hz over a continuous heating temperature from room temperature to 150 °C. The storage modulus and damping capacity were analyzed. The related mechanisms were discussed and presented.