Damping in composite materials: Properties and models

The present review aims at gathering the available literature on damping in composite materials. A chronological review of test methods for damping estimation is presented in order to describe the time-line of the theoretical knowledge development in this field. In the last years many new material configurations have emerged that deserve investigation, such as nano-composites, hybrid laminates and sandwich materials. Damping models specifically meant for non-homogeneous materials are reported to provide a background for understanding this problem. Although not widely exploited yet, fibre reinforced polymers has the potential to be tailored for damping by acting on constituents, geometry and boundary conditions. Nano-composites, for instance, are shown to possess a high potential for damping purposes. New hybrid and sandwich-type structures are emerging as noise and vibration control solutions in lightweight applications. The effort devoted to mathematical and numerical model in view of Finite Element integration of damping properties is also addressed. Finally, the conclusions summarise the ideas of the authors on needed steps to advance the state-of-the-art in each of the described topic.