Active constrained layer damping of geometrically nonlinear transient vibrations of composite plates using piezoelectric fiber-reinforced composite

This paper addresses the analysis of active constrained layer damping (ACLD) of geometrically nonlinear transient vibrations of laminated thin composite plates using piezoelectric fiber-reinforced composite (PFRC) materials. The constraining layer of the ACLD treatment is considered to be made of the PFRC materials. The Golla–Hughes–McTavish (GHM) method has been used to model the constrained viscoelastic layer of the ACLD treatment in the time domain. A finite element model has been developed for the cross-ply and antisymmetric angle-ply plates integrated with the patches of ACLD treatment undergoing geometrically nonlinear vibrations. The Von Ka`rma`n-type nonlinear strain displacement relations and the first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT) are used for deriving this coupled electromechanical nonlinear finite element model. The numerical results indicate that the ACLD patches significantly improve the damping characteristics of the cross-ply and antisymmetric angle-ply plates for suppressing the geometrically nonlinear transient vibrations of the plates. Emphasis has also been placed on investigating the effect of variation of fiber orientation in the PFRC material on the control authority of the ACLD patches.