Damping Analysis of Sandwich Composite Materials

The article presents an analysis of the damping of sandwich composites, made of PVC foam cores and laminated skins. Damping parameters are investigated using beam test specimens and an impulse technique. Damping modeling is developed using a finite element analysis which evaluated the different energies dissipated in the material directions of the core and the layers of the skins. The results obtained show that this analysis describes fairly well the experimental results. Next, finite element analysis is applied to investigate the influence of different parameters of the core and skins. The finite element analysis considered can be applied to complex shape structures.