Anchored Damping Treatment for Vibration Suppression

This study investigates the effects of anchored constrained VE layers on the flexural response of simply-supported Euler beams under base excitations. Two surface damping treatments were considered: one VE layer anchored at one end, and two VE layers anchored at their different ends. Each anchorage is realized with a thin stiff layer in tension, such as a fiber reinforced polymer sheet, bonded to the surface of a VE layer and anchored to one end of the beam for maximum shear deformation in the constrained VE layer. Non-uniform shear deformation in VE layers is taken into account in the new solution formulation. Sensitivity analyses are performed to understand and quantify the effects of various parameters on flexural responses of the structures. The performances of various configurations are compared and the two-end anchored configuration is found most effective in vibration suppression.