Vibration damping materials can help protect machinery and components from the adverse effects of vibration. Left unresolved, vibration can increase friction and wear that prematurely damages moving parts. Excessive vibration can also cause noisy rattling that can impact people’s hearing or create an unsafe working environment. Implementing vibration damping products, like installing rubber mounts, converts the energy into heat and reduces the vibrations from potentially vulnerable machinery components.
To create a quieter and more resilient environment, there are two primary vibration control techniques which include:
- Structural damping
- Vibration isolation
Structural Damping
Structural damping processes can dissipate vibrations in the structure before they become audible noise, and it’s primarily effective on resonant motion. Glass and many different types of metal have little internal damping ability, so structural damping materials can be added to these materials to reduce or alter their vibrations. This controls resonance, especially when the materials vibrate near their natural resonance levels or are affected by multiple sources of vibration.
Two common methods of structural damping are:
Free-Layer and Extensional Damping
In this simple method, a damping material is attached to the surface of the noise-generating structure either by affixing a damping material to the substrate or dipping the substrate in a liquid damping material that will cool and harden over the part. This new layer dissipates vibrations.
Constrained-Layer Damping (CLD)
This method is slightly more complex. A damping material layer and a constraining material are installed on top of the base layer, causing shear deformation whenever the material flexes and thereby dissipating the vibrational energy.
Vibration Isolation
Vibration isolators are small components like rubber pads and steel springs that isolate vibrating parts from materials they can rub or rattle against. Shock absorbers and isolators can support and separate assemblies of virtually any size and weight, ranging from small electronic components to automobile suspension systems.
Your Partner for Damping Solutions
At Technicon Acoustics, we are a leading developer of sound and vibration control technology. We can create a damping solution for your specific application, whether you need airborne noise solutions, structural damping, or tools for vibration isolation. Contact us or request a quote to start creating the right sound and vibration damping solution from Technicon.