Determination and parametric study of material damping in fibre reinforced plastics: a review

The paper presents a review of research about material damping in fibre reinforced plastics (FRP). The contribution is focused on the identification of the different parameters influencing damping behaviour, according to the structural concept of composite materials. After a short introduction on damping nomenclature, attention is paid to the measurement methods and to the two theoretical approaches for the study of material damping in FRP: the expression of the energy balance and the force balance of a representative volume element. Advantages and drawbacks of both methods are discussed. The energy balance approach is then used for a parametric analysis of material damping in unidirectionally reinforced laminae, as a basic element of a composite laminate. The paper ends with some recent developments regarding prediction and exploitation of material damping in FRP.