On damping enhancement of vibrating elastic structures

In order to increase the efficiency of external damping used to reduce vibration of an elastic structure the damping material should be unevenly distributed across it. The paper discusses the potential of several strategies of global vibration reduction using a comparative study based on simple analytical models. These strategies are: 1) irregular damping distribution, 2) optimum tuning of vibration absorbers, 3) selective positioning of damping layers, 4) gradual change of structural shape. It is shown that well adapted solution can theoretically result in a substantial reduction of global vibration level. It is further shown that the overall damping effect critically depends on the mutual interaction between the applied damping device and the damped structure. Qualitative guidelines are provided about the selection of appropriate parameters which affect damping performance.