Vibration control of beams and plates with hybrid active-passive constrained layer damping treatments

The concept of hybrid active-passive constrained layer damping treatments, which consists of viscoelastic materials, piezoelectric materials and elastic constraining materials, was proposed in the 1990s in order to ameliorate problems of instability in traditional active control systems in the higher frequency range. In this paper, the performances of four types of hybrid active-passive constrained layer damping treatments are investigated for beam and plate applications. These types are Active Constrained Layer Damping (ACLD), Active-Passive Constrained Layer Damping (APCLD), Active Control/Passive Constrained Layer Damping (AC/PCLD) and Active Control/Passive Stand-Off Layer Damping (AC/PSOLD). The performances of each treatment are compared through simulation with numerical models using the Finite Element Method. Finally, control performances of all configurations for curved plates are discussed with measured Frequency Response Functions of each case.