COMPARISON OF CLASSICAL MODELS FOR VISCOELASTICALLY DAMPED SANDWICH BEAMS

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyse classical models for viscoelastically damped sandwich beams. Some are based on the kinematics of Kirchhoff-Love, Mindlin, Reddy or Touratier, the others on the zigzag principle {[}D.K. Rao, Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science 20(5) (1978) 271; E.M. Daya and M. Potier-Ferry, Revue europeenne des elements finis 11(1) (2002) 39]. The accuracy of these models is compared in the static field and the dynamic field, for which a finite element based solution is considered as reference. The comparison includes vertical deflection of simply supported sandwich beams under transverse loading, natural frequencies and loss factors of simply supported viscoelastically damped sandwich beams. It is found that the zigzag models are more accurate than the others. The ratio of length to thickness, the ratio of rigidities and the ratio of core and face thickness are chosen as three principal parameters of sandwich beams, and their influences are studied and compared. Finally, the fields of application of these models are defined in terms of these three parameters.