An experimental evaluation of smart damping materials for reducing structural noise and vibrations

An experimental evaluation of the benefits of smart damping materials in re ducing structural noise and vibration is presented. The construction of a s pecial test rig for measuring both vibrations and structure-borne noise is discussed. Next, the application of smart damping materials, specifically p iezoceramics with electrical shunts, in reducing the vibrations of a test p late is discussed. It is shown that the smart damping materials are able to effectively, reduce the vibration peaks at multiple frequencies, with mini mal amount of added weight to the structure, as compared to passive viscoel astic damping materials. Further, the test results show that the structure- borne noise at the vibration peaks is substantially reduced with the smart damping materials. The results indicate the viability of smart damping mate rials for many industrial applications where reducing noise and vibrations is desired, with minimal amounts of added weight.