Factors affecting the damping of composite/honeycomb sandwich panels

AbstractSandwich panels made of fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP) skins and a honeycomb core can be effectively damped through the choice of skin and especially core materials. Because the core is often highly damped, a lateral deflection that causes more shearing of the core than bending of the skin increases sandwich damping. The shearing/bending ratio depends on a number of factors, including sandwich planar as well as transverse dimensions, the particular modal pattern in which the panel vibrates and its relationship to the skin fibre orientation and the panel end conditions. In the present work, using a first order shear deformation theory, results are produced for damping in simple modes of vibration of a composite sandwich panel. These results can help demonstrate the mechanisms by which the above factors affect sandwich damping. Keywords -