Vibration damping through the use of materials with memory (Q1282635)

We study the dynamics of a lumped mass linear oscillator that is damped through the use of a material with memory in which the internal dissipative forces depend not only on current but also on previous deformations. This effective memory is governed by two parameters: the relaxation modulus, and relaxation time, which also govern the vibration-damping properties of the material. We derive conditions for optimal damping in the unforced case corresponding to critical damping of a linear oscillator with viscous damping, and study the response of the oscillator in the case of sinusoidal excitation.