Determination of the static and dynamic elastic properties of resilient materials

The investigation was carried out to satisfy the need for reliable information on resilient materials used for reducing the transmission of structure-borne noise. Two machines were designed for the dynamic testing of twin samples of material under known compressive loads, and their development and performance are described. Results on typical materials have been obtained over a range of frequencies from 1 cycle in 10 minutes to values in the lower audio register. The lower limiting value of dynamic stiffness has been called the ¿incremental stiffness,¿ and the method of measuring it is described. The effects of wave motion in soft rubber have been investigated for two small samples using a high-frequency apparatus; and at certain frequencies, depending on the dimensions of the specimen, the transmitted force for a given oscillatory deformation is shown to be about seven times that at low frequencies. By using simple beam arrangements, measurements of both creep and incremental stiffness have been made on three types of material, over a period of about 1000 hours of continuous loading. Results are presented showing that most creep occurs during the first 100 hours. The techniques described enable useful information on the performance of resilient materials, as used for the reduction of vibration, to be obtained.