Performance of a graphite wafer-reinforced viscoelastic composite layer for active-passive damping of plate vibration

In this work, an actively constrained viscoelastic layer over the surface of a substrate plate is supposed to be reinforced with a rectangular array of thin graphite-wafers, and the effects of the inclusions on the active-passive damping characteristics of the overall plate are investigated. The inclusions of graphite-wafers in the viscoelastic layer result in a 0-3 viscoelastic composite (VEC) layer. Its (VEC) stiffness and damping properties are distributed in a predefined manner for improved active-passive damping through all the transverse and in-plane strains of the viscoelastic phase. A finite element (FE) model of the overall plate is developed for its static and dynamic analyses. The static analysis reveals the mechanisms of active-passive damping. In the dynamic analysis, first, the damping in the plate is quantified for different sets of values of dimensions in the arrangement of graphite-wafers. These results suggest appropriate geometric configuration of the graphite-wafers for maximum enhancement of active-passive damping. So, the geometric configuration of 0-3 VEC layer is optimized, and finally the controlled frequency responses of the overall plate are presented. The results reveal significantly improved active-passive damping in the overall plate for the inclusions of graphite-wafers within the actively constrained viscoelastic layer in an optimal manner.