Loss behavior of viscoelastic sandwich structures: A statistical-continuum multi-scale approach

This work presents a multi-scale model of viscoelastic constrained layer damping treatments for vibrating plates/beams. The approach integrates a finite element (FE) model of macro-scale vibrations and a statistical-continuum homogenization model to include effects of micro-scale structure and properties. The statistical-continuum homogenization model makes the micro- to macro-scale transition to approximate the effective behavior of the heterogeneous core by using n-point probability functions. A simple sound transmission model is used to show the effect of material microstructure on the sound transmission loss of the sandwich structure. The damping behavior resulting from the presence of voids and negative stiffness regions in the core material is modeled. This study clearly shows that, it is of high interest to research either material structures or processing techniques which lead to negative stiffness behavior. The results also poignantly show that the proposed multi-scale model yields insight on heterogeneous material behavior leading to increased damping properties and ultimately enhances the ability to design sandwich beam/plates.

► Statistical homogenization of viscoelastic particulate composite materials. ► Integrated FE/micromechanics multi-scale modeling approach. ► Design of high loss viscoelastic core sandwich beam/plates. ► Material by design approach for viscoelastic core sandwich structures.