ABSTRACT
Sandwich and laminated composite structures are widely used in structural applications requiring high stiffness-to-weight and strength-to-weight ratios. For this reason they are applied in various fields of engineering: aerospace technology, shipbuilding, automotive industry, mechanical engineering etc. The ability to absorb the vibration energy is also a very well-known quality of sandwich and laminated composite structures. Damping in the viscoelastic layers is taken into account using the complex modulus of elasticity [1]. Due to the increase in the applications of high damped structures, significant progress has recently been achieved in the analysis and optimisation of the damping properties of such structures. The present investigations are devoted to the damping analysis and optimisation of sandwich and laminated composite structures by various finite elements and methods of dynamic analysis.
