INVERSE ANALYSIS OF THE AMPLITUDE-DEPENDENT DAMPING PROPERTIES OF EPOXY/GLASS FIBER LAMINATES

Abstract

In this paper, we present the experimental results obtained and corresponding inverse analysis employed to determine the amplitude-dependent damping properties of laminates made of glass fiber reinforced plastic (GFRP). Free damped vibration tests of cantilever beams with different symmetric stacking sequences were performed. Logarithmic decrement analysis was used to evaluate the effective amplitude-dependent loss factor of the samples. Inverse analysis was used to find the single-ply dynamic properties based on the laminated beam theory and the complex moduli approach. It was found that the loss factors of GFRP laminates almost linearly depend on the maximum strain amplitude. The maximum value of the loss factor of unidirectional ply was realized in the transverse direction to the fibers and reached ~ 0.023 for strain amplitudes up to 0.1% in the frequency range of 20-60 Hz.