Passive damping techniques for composite rotorcraft flex beams

Abstract

An experimental study of passive damping in rotating composite I-beams is presented. Damping is augmented in a Gr/Ep I-beam using a co-curable viscoelastic material layer in the flanges of the I-beam. This study examines the effects of variable visco-elastic material thickness in the flange in improving passive damping performance. Experimentation is carried out in both a non-rotating, and rotating condition in the vaccuum chamber.