Theoretical analysis and experimental investigation of a high-performance viscoelastic material shock absorber

To improve the performance of traditional mechanical shock absorber, a new type of high molecular polymer is formulated and applied to overloaded vehicle shock absorber. According to the operating principle of high-performance viscoelastic material shock absorber, the geometrical structure of shock absorber is designed and machined. Then its theoretical model is derived by using analytical method, and the impact test is carried out on high-performance viscoelastic material shock absorber. The results show that experimental and theoretical damping force curves have good agreement, which validates the credibility of theoretical model. The investigation provides a potential way to enhance damping performance and increase vehicle load.

Analysis of a quasistatic contact problem with adhesion and nonlocal friction for viscoelastic materials

A mathematical model is established to describe a contact problem between a deformable body and a foundation. The contact is bilateral and modelled with a nonlocal friction law, in which adhesion is taken into account. Evolution of the bonding field is described by a first-order differential equation. The materials behavior is modelled with a nonlinear viscoelastic constitutive law. A variational formulation of the mechanical problem is derived, and the existence and uniqueness of the weak solution can be proven if the coefficient of friction is sufficiently small. The proof is based on arguments of time-dependent variational inequalities, differential equations, and the Banach fixed-point theorem.

Generalized Rayleigh Wave Dispersion in a Covered Half-space Made of Viscoelastic Materials

Dispersion of the generalized Rayleigh waves propagating in a covered halfspace made of viscoelastic materials is investigated by utilizing the exact equations of the theory of linear viscoelasticity.The dispersion equation is obtained for an arbitrary type of hereditary operator of the materials of the constituents and a solution algorithm is developed for obtaining numerical results on the dispersion of the waves under consideration.Dispersion curves are presented for certain attenuation cases and the influence of the viscosity of the materials is studied through three rheological parameters of the viscoelastic materials which characterize the characteristic creep time,long-term values and the mechanical behaviour of the viscoelastic material around the initial state of the deformation.Numerical results are presented and discussed for the case where the viscoelasticity of the materials is described through fractional-exponential operators by Rabotnov.As the result of this discussion,in particular,how the rheological parameters influence the dispersion of the generalized Rayleigh waves propagating in the covered half-space under consideration is established.

Dispersion of Axisymmetric Longitudinal Waves in A Bi-Material Compound Solid Cylinder Made of Viscoelastic Materials

The paper studies the dispersion of axisymmetric longitudinal waves in the bi-material compound circular cylinder made of linear viscoelastic materials.The investigations are carried out within the scope of the piecewise homogeneous body model by utilizing the exact equations of linear viscoelasto-dynamics.The corresponding dispersion equation is derived for an arbitrary type of hereditary operator and the algorithm is developed for its numerical solution.Concrete numerical results are obtained for the case where the relations of the constituents of the cylinder are described through fractional exponential operators.The influence of the viscosity of the materials of the compound cylinder on the wave dispersion is studied through the rheological parameters which indicate the characteristic creep time and long-term values of the elastic constants of these materials.Dispersion curves are presented for certain selected dispersive and non-dispersive attenuation cases under various values of the problem parameters and the influence of the aforementioned rheological parameters on these curves is discussed.As a result of the numerical investigations,in particular,it is established that in the case where the rheological parameters of the components of the compound cylinder are the same,the viscosity of the layers’materials causes the axisymmetric wave propagation velocity to decrease.

An Optimum Analysis Method of Sandwich Structures Made from Elastic-viscoelastic Materials

Due to a viscoelastic damping middle layer,sandwich structures have the capacity of energy consumption.In this paper,we describe the frequency-dependent property of viscoelastic materials using complex modulus model,and iterative modal strain energy method and iterative complex eigenvalue method are presented to obtain frequency and loss factor of sandwich structures.The two methods are effective and exact for the large-scale complex composite sandwich structures.Then an optimum analysis method is suggested to apply to sandwich structures.Finally,as an example,an optimum analysis of a clamped-clamped sandwich beams is conducted,theoretical closed-form solution and numerical predictions are studied comparatively,and the results agree well.

THE MODAL FEATURES OF THE VIBRATION SYSTEMS OF THE WEAKLY- VISCOELASTIC MATERIAL STRUCTURES

This paper discusses the modal features of weakly-viscoelastic material structures both for single-modulus and multi-modulus materials. It is the eigenvalues of these structures that are the roots of a series of rational fraction polynomial equations. A theorem about the roots of these equations is proved in the paper. Based on it, some important conclusions about the modal features of the weakly viscoelastic material structures are given according to their dynamic behaviors.

Fitting methods for relaxation modulus of viscoelastic materials

Based on viscoelastic theory, two new computational methods of solving linear equations and minimum value of the l-norm were put forward for transforming Kohlransch-William-Watts （KWW） function of viscoelastic materials to the generalized Maxwell model. The computational methods for the Maxwell model fitting were achieved in MATLAB software. It is found that fitting precision of the two methods is very high. The method of solving linear equations needs more fitting points and more numbers of Maxwell units. It makes the program of finite element analysis complex. While the method of solving minimum value of 1-norm can obtain very high precision only using less fitting points. These methods can fit not only experimental curve of KWW function, but also the experimental data directly.

Application of Viscoelastic Material in Structures Control

The factors influencing mechanical performances of viscoelastic material are studied.The proper finite element model for dynamical calculating the passive control of wind-earthquake resistance is constructed.A combined element stiffness matrix of damper-brace system is deduced.At last,the theoretical deduction is verified by comparing the theoretical results with experimental ones.

Application of Viscoelastic Materials in Ship Collision

With the expansion of global trade routes,ship collision has become a major problem.This article proposes an approach by laying viscoelastic material on the inner side of the ship to increase the crashworthiness.By using the nonlinear finite element model software,this study simulates ship collisions as well as models and analyzes ships along with viscoelastic materials.The results from the simulation suggest that viscoelastic materials can effectively protect ships during collisions.

A theoretical model for impact protection of flexible polymer material

The relationship between the protective performance of flexible polymer material and material parameters(elasticmodulus,viscosity coefficient)is explored,an impact collision motion equation between two bodies is establishedfrom the viscoelastic material constitutive,and the relationship between the kinematic response and the materialparameters is obtained.Based on the Kelvin constitutive model,a theoretical model for impact between the pro-tective body and the protected body is established,then the dynamic response is obtained.The feasibility of themodel was verified by drop hammer experiment,and the material parameters(elastic modulus,viscosity coeffi-cient)were obtained by formula.The model is discretized and the relationship between local impact response andmaterial parameters is analyzed.The discussion results on the relationship between the impact response and theprotective material performance indicate that adjusting the elastic modulus,viscosity coefficient,and thicknessof the protective material can effectively improve protective effect.

On determination of the damping factor of linear viscoelastic materials using dynamic indentation:a theoretical study

In this study,we theoretically investigate the dynamic indentation for measuring the loss (damping) factor of a linear viscoelastic material from its indentation response.A rigid indenter with arbitrary tip profile is assumed to indent into a viscoelastic substrate with arbitrary shape.We perform a theoretical analysis and identify the conditions under which the loss factor of the material can be determined from the phase angle between the applied harmonic indentation load and the corresponding harmonic displacement,a directly measurable quantity in a dynamic indentation test.To validate the conclusion drawn from our theoretical analysis,a series of numerical experiments are performed,including the spherical indentation of a soft layer with irregular surface morphology bonded to a rigid substrate,a conical indenter with tip defects indenting into a half-spherical particle,and the indentation of porous materials.This study may facilitate the use of the dynamic indentation technique to evaluate the damping properties of linear viscoelastic materials,including some advanced polymers and biological soft tissues.

Modelling and predicting the dynamic response of an axially graded viscoelastic core sandwich beam

The present study explored the influence of axial gradation of viscoelastic materials on the dynamic response of the sandwich beam for structural applications.The finite element(FE)formulations are used to model and investigate dynamic response of the sandwich beam.The classical beam theory is used to develop the FE formulations and Lagrange's approach is considered to obtain the equations of motion(EOM).FE code is developed and validated with the existing literature and also conducted the convergence study for the developed FE method.Further,the influence of different viscoelastic materials and boundary conditions on the dynamic response of the sandwich beam is investigated.Four different axial gradation configurations of viscoelastic materials are considered for the present work to explore the influence on natural frequency,loss factor and frequency response of the sandwich beam.The modeled axial gradation of viscoelastic material has displayed a considerable impact on the peak vibrational amplitude response of the sandwich beam for all the boundary conditions and these configurations improved the damping capabilities at different configurations for the structural applications.

Accurate and straightforward symplectic approach for fracture analysis of fractional viscoelastic media

An accurate and straightforward symplectic method is presented for the fracture analysis of fractional two-dimensional(2D)viscoelastic media.The fractional Kelvin-Zener constitutive model is used to describe the time-dependent behavior of viscoelastic materials.Within the framework of symplectic elasticity,the governing equations in the Hamiltonian form for the frequency domain(s-domain)can be directly and rigorously calculated.In the s-domain,the analytical solutions of the displacement and stress fields are constructed by superposing the symplectic eigensolutions without any trial function,and the explicit expressions of the intensity factors and J-integral are derived simultaneously.Comparison studies are provided to validate the accuracy and effectiveness of the present solutions.A detailed analysis is made to reveal the effects of viscoelastic parameters and applied loads on the intensity factors and J-integral.

GENERALIZED VARIATIONAL PRINCIPLES FOR VISCOELASTIC THIN AND THICK PLATES WITH DAMAGE

From the constitutive model with generalized force fields for a viscoelastic body with damage, the differential equations of motion for thin and thick plates with damage are derived under arbitrary boundary conditions. The convolution-type functionals for the bending of viscoelastic thin and thick plates with damage are presented, and the corresponding generalized variational principles are given. From these generalized principles, all the basic equations of the displacement and damage variables and initial and boundary conditions can be deduced. As an example, we compare the difference between the dynamical properties of plates with and without damage and consider the effect of damage on the dynamical properties of plates.

Nonlinear Dynamic Analysis of A Viscoelastic Pipe Conveying Fluid

Incremental harmonic balance method (IHBM) is applied to geometrically nonlinear vibration analysis of a simply supported pipe conveying fluid. the material of which is viscoelastic of the Kelvin- Voigt type. Some unstable phenomena - the appearance of the peak or jumps in the pipe's amplitude frequency curves, which are considered to be of importance to this kind of structure, are presented in the numerical results, and the influence of several parameters of the system on the dynamic characteristic of the pipe are also studied. It is believed that this is the first attempt to search for the periodic solution of the pipe and its intrinsic property with such a method.

The asymptotic field of a dynamically growing crack in a viscoelastic materia

A mechanical model of a fracturing viscoelastic material was developed to investigate viscous effects in a dynamically growing crack-tip field. It was shown that in the stable creep-growing phase, elastic deformation and viscous deformation are equally dominant in the near-tip field, and stress and strain have the same singularity, namely, （σ-e）∝r^-1/（n-1）. The asymptotic solution of separating variables of stress, stain and displacement in the crack-tip field was obtained by asymptotic analysis, and the resulting numerical value of stress and strain in the crack-tip field was obtained by the shooting method and the boundary condition of a mode I crack. Through numerical calculation, it was shown that the near-tip fields are mainly governed by the creep exponent n and Mach number M. When n →∞, the asymptotic solution of a viscoelastic material can be degenerated into that of Freund＇s elastic-ideally plastic material by analyzing basic equations.

Viscoelastic Rod Vibration Problem when Constitutive Relationship Contains a Fractional Derivative and its Limiting Case

The equation of motion of a viscoelastic rod of density rod p is considered when the Constitutive Relationships contains fractional derivatives （in the Riemann-Liouville sense） of order β, 0 ≤ β ≤ 1. The solution of this equation is given in a general case. It is shown that for the limit values of the derivative index ,β, i.e. when β = 0 or β = 1, the general solution gives rise to classical solutions of hyperbolic and parabolic equations.

Thermomagnetic viscoelastic responses in a functionally graded hollow structure

This paper presents an analytical solution for the interaction of electric potentials, electric displacements, elastic deformations, and thermoelasticity, and describes electromagnetoelastic responses and perturbation of the magnetic field vector in hollow structures （cylinder or sphere）, subjected to mechanical load and electric potential. The material properties, thermal expansion coefficient and magnetic permeability of the structure are assumed to be graded in the radial direction by a power law distribution. In the present model we consider the solution for the case of a hollow structure made of viscoelastic isotropic material, reinforced by elastic isotropic fibers, this material is considered as structurally anisotropic material. The exact solutions for stresses and perturbations of the magnetic field vector in FGM hollow structures are determined using the infinitesimal theory of magnetothermoelasticity, and then the hollow structure model with viscoelastic material is solved using the correspondence principle and Illyushin＇s approximation method. Finally, numerical results are carried out and discussed.

Dynamic responses of an energy harvesting system based on piezoelectric and electromagnetic mechanisms under colored noise

Because of the increasing demand for electrical energy,vibration energy harvesters(VEHs)that convert vibratory energy into electrical energy are a promising technology.In order to improve the efficiency of harvesting energy from environmental vibration,here we investigate a hybrid VEH.Unlike previous studies,this article analyzes the stochastic responses of the hybrid piezoelectric and electromagnetic energy harvesting system with viscoelastic material under narrow-band(colored)noise.Firstly,a mass-spring-damping system model coupled with piezoelectric and electromagnetic circuits under fundamental acceleration excitation is established,and analytical solutions to the dimensionless equations are derived.Then,the formula of the amplitude-frequency responses in the deterministic case and the first-order and secondorder steady-state moments of the amplitude in the stochastic case are obtained by using the multi-scales method.The amplitude-frequency analytical solutions are in good agreement with the numerical solutions obtained by the Monte Carlo method.Furthermore,the stochastic bifurcation diagram is plotted for the first-order steady-state moment of the amplitude with respect to the detuning frequency and viscoelastic parameter.Eventually,the influence of system parameters on mean-square electric voltage,mean-square electric current and mean output power is discussed.Results show that the electromechanical coupling coefficients,random excitation and viscoelastic parameter have a positive effect on the output power of the system.

Performance evaluation of a novel rotational damper for structural reinforcement steel frames subjected to lateral excitations

In this study,a novel rotational damper called a Rotational Friction Viscoelastic Damper(RFVD) is introduced.Some viscoelastic pads are added to the Rotational Friction Damper(RFD) in addition to the friction discs used in this conventional device.Consequently,the amount of energy dissipated by the damper increases in low excitation frequencies.In fact,the input energy to the structure is simultaneously dissipated in the form of friction and heat by frictional discs and viscoelastic pads.In order to compare the performance of this novel damper with the earlier types,a set of experiments were carried out.According to the test results,the RFVD showed a better performance in dissipating input energy to the structure when compared to the RFD.The seismic behavior of steel frames equipped with these dampers was also numerically evaluated based on a nonlinear time history analysis.The numerical results verifi ed the performance of the dampers in increasing the energy dissipation and decreasing the energy input to the structural elements.In order to achieve the maximum dissipated energy,the dampers need to be installed in certain places called critical points in the structure.An appropriate approach is presented to properly fi nd these points.Finally,the performance of the RFVDs installed at these critical points was investigated in comparison to some other confi gurations and the validity of the suggested method in increasing the energy dissipation was confi rmed.