Mid-frequency response of structures with integral compliant mechanisms: Verification and validation

Sandwich structures with designed cellular solid or truss cores are well known to possess desirable mechanical properties, including large stiffness-to-weight ratios and vibration/acoustic isolation. Practical applications include the design of lightweight vehicle structures and multi-functional structural–acoustic linings. In this paper, a novel use of compliant mechanisms as the core topology is presented to attenuate mid-frequency structural response of sandwich structures. The effectiveness of integral compliant mechanisms for dynamic response attenuation is demonstrated through computational analysis and experimental investigation of both a designed integral compliant mechanism structure and a more conventional square core structure. It is verified that one-dimensional spectral finite element analyses are appropriate for the initial design of a prototype structure, but validation requires conventional finite element analyses to properly model the as-built geometric complexity.