Similitude of a Damped Vibrating Composite Plate

Abstract

The concept of similitude is now widely applied in the engineering vibroacoustics applications since it is particularly useful when applied to the testing of models with increasing complexity. The similitude schemes allow predicting the dynamic response of an original system by using the information obtained from a similar one (defined as avatar or replica according to the partial or complete degree of similitude). In addition to geometric similarity, the focus on damping similitude has increased in recent years: this because the damping represents a highly relevant property during the design phase of any structure. Every material has an intrinsic damping: for example, generally, the damping in metal structures, as aluminum alloys, is lower and this results in high resonances of vibrations. Moreover, the damping evaluation for composite structures is even more complicated because it depends on concomitant factors: lay-up sequence, the type of fibres and resin and the manufacturing process. In this view, it could be helpful to develop a criterion of design evaluating the damping variation from a structure to another and verifying if this relative damping variation can validate with experimental tests.