Hybrid composites with shunted piezoelectric particles for vibration damping

Abstract

An analytical model is proposed to predict the viscoelastic prop- erties of polymer based hybrid composites loaded with shunted piezoelectric inclusions. First, a micromechanics approach is used to develop a three-dimensional compliance matrix of a shunted piezoelectric inclusion embedded in a matrix. Then, the viscoelec- troelastic correspondence principle is used in combination with the Mori-Tanaka method to estimate the effective moduli of the hybrid composites. The loss factor of short fiber, sphere, and thin disk piezoceramic particles are examined. The damping capabili- ties of several hybrid composites are evaluated. The effects of the shunting resistance-frequency parameter, piezoceramics content and constituents’ shapes on loss factor are also investigated. It is observed that hybrid composites consisted of short fiber inclusions offer a superior damping capability when compared with the other shapes. The predicted results show good agreement with the previ- ously reported experimental results.