Polymer concrete periodic meta-structure to enhance damping for vibration reduction

Polymer concrete is a mixture of polymeric resin and aggregates, which is superior in strength, durability and dynamic characteristics compared with general cement concrete. This study presents a complex periodic structure composed of the cement concrete embedded with periodic arrangement of polymer concrete. The experiments and vibration analysis were carried out to determine the dynamic properties and flexural strength of the complex concrete according to embedment structure of polymer concrete. The specimens of the complex concrete beam were fabricated of cylindrical and wave-pattern polymer concrete embedment with small volume fraction. The dynamic properties of the complex concrete specimens were measured by the vibration experiments in the audio frequency. The flexural strength of each specimen was measured by the three-point bending test to confirm structural safety. The analytical model was presented to describe the vibration response and modal damping ratio of the complex concrete beam. The effects of periodic structure on the complex concrete beam were identified as an efficient methodology resulting in large vibration reduction with small polymer volume fraction.