Abstract

Vibrations of civil engineering structures, generated by dynamic loads, may be very dangerous to the structures themselves as well as may have significant influence on human perception and comfort. A number of different methods have been proposed in order to minimize such situations. This concern newly designed structures as well as those which dynamic properties have to be modified due to problems with excessive vibrations. One of the methods is to increase stiffness of the structure so as to avoid resonance with the excitation. Another approach assumes installation of additional dampers so as to increase dissipation of energy during vibrations. In this paper, an idea of using polymer dampers, in the form of tapes, is proposed. An experimental study on aluminum cantilevered beam has been conducted. Two different models have been considered and analyzed. One of them presents a plain cantilevered beam, while the second one considers beam with the polymer tape attached. The behavior of both models under different loads has been investigated. Two cases have been analyzed and damping ratios have been identified. The results of the study clearly show that the response of the beam with and without polymer damper is substantially different. They indicate that the application of the polymer tape may lead to even five times higher values of damping ratio. Therefore, the method can be considered as an effective one in reduction of structural vibrations.

Authors (4)