Method for determining damping properties of materials using a suspended mechanical oscillator

S. Biscans (1) , S. Gras (1) , M. Evans (1) , P. Fritschel (1) , C. Pezerat (2) , P. Picart (2)

1 LIGO MIT
2 LAUM - Laboratoire d'Acoustique de l'Université du Mans

We present a new approach for characterizing the loss factor of materials, using a suspended mechanical oscillator. Compared to more standard techniques, this method offers freedom in terms of the size and shape of the tested samples. Using a finite element model and the vibration measurements, the loss factor is deduced from the oscillator's ring-down. In this way the loss factor can be estimated independently for shear and compression deformation of the sample over a range of frequencies. As a proof of concept, we present measurements for EPO-TEK 353ND epoxy samples.

Mots clés: Loss; Materials; Epoxy; Damping

Domaines: Acoustique [physics.class-ph]; Optique / photonique; Traitement du signal et de l'image [eess.SP]

S. Biscans, S. Gras, M. Evans, P. Fritschel, C. Pezerat, et al.. Method for determining damping properties of materials using a suspended mechanical oscillator. Journal of Sound and Vibration, 2018, 423, pp.118-125. ⟨10.1016/j.jsv.2018.02.061⟩. ⟨hal-02396846⟩