Multilayer Damping Material With Kinetic Spacer Elements

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing damping materials for vehicles and machinery face challenges in achieving effective vibration damping while maintaining a lightweight and low bending stiffness, often requiring heavy materials that add weight and complexity to complex structures.

Innovation Solution

A multilayer damping material comprising a constraining layer, a dissipating layer, and a kinetic spacer layer with multiple spacer elements arranged between the constraining layer and the vibrating surface, which enhances energy dissipation through increased strain in the dissipating layer without significantly increasing bending stiffness or weight.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If a constraining layer is added to the damping material to improve damping performance, then the damping effectiveness is improved, but the weight and bending stiffness of the material increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedamping effectivenessVSAvoidweight of damping material

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSWeight of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The kinetic spacer layer is segmented into multiple discrete spacer elements distributed across the layer, rather than using a continuous rigid structure. This segmentation allows the layer to provide kinetic amplification while maintaining flexibility and reducing overall weight and bending stiffness of the damping material assembly

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The damping material uses a composite structure combining a viscoelastic dissipating layer with a kinetic spacer layer made of lightweight materials (such as foam or hollow spheres), creating a composite that achieves effective damping without the weight penalty of traditional solid constraining layers

Inventive Principle:

Principle #40Composite materials

2Reliability

If a constraining layer is added to the damping material to improve damping performance, then the damping effectiveness is improved, but the bending stiffness of the material increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedamping effectivenessVSAvoidbending stiffness

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSStrength

Solution Approach 1:

The kinetic spacer layer is segmented into multiple discrete spacer elements distributed across the layer, rather than using a continuous rigid structure. This segmentation allows the layer to provide kinetic amplification while maintaining flexibility and reducing overall weight and bending stiffness of the damping material assembly

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The kinetic spacer layer uses flexible, thin-walled structures (such as foam materials or hollow spheres) that can deform under bending loads, providing kinetic amplification for damping while maintaining the overall flexibility of the damping material and avoiding excessive bending stiffness

Inventive Principle:

Principle #30Flexible shells and thin films

3Loss of energy

If the kinetic spacer layer uses a solid continuous structure to amplify strain, then the energy dissipation is improved, but the weight and bending stiffness increase significantly

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveenergy dissipationVSAvoidweight of damping material

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of energyVSWeight of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The kinetic spacer layer is segmented into multiple discrete spacer elements distributed across the layer, rather than using a continuous rigid structure. This segmentation allows the layer to provide kinetic amplification while maintaining flexibility and reducing overall weight and bending stiffness of the damping material assembly

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The kinetic spacer layer uses porous or hollow structures (such as foam materials or hollow spheres) that provide the necessary kinetic amplification for energy dissipation while being significantly lighter than solid continuous structures, thus improving energy dissipation without proportionally increasing weight

Inventive Principle:

Principle #31Porous materials

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

The multilayer damping material effectively dissipates vibration energy and noise, offering improved damping performance compared to conventional materials while maintaining a lightweight and flexible design, suitable for various applications including vehicles and machinery.

Implementation Method 1

The deformation of the body panel and attached viscoelastic layer can lead to stretching and/or compressing of the polymer chains within the viscoelastic material, resulting in the dissipation of mechanical energy

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectViscoelasticity: Viscoelasticity

Implementation Method 2

The efficiency of damping material can also be enhanced when the deformation of the viscoelastic damping layer or dissipating layer is amplified by a 'kinetic spacer' or 'stand-off' layer

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectMechanical leverage: Lever

Data Source

PatentUS11199235B2Multilayer damping material

Publication Date: 2021.12.14 3M INNOVATIVE PROPERTIES CO

AI summary

A multilayer damping material for damping a vibrating surface comprising: at least one constraining layer; at least one dissipating layer; and at least one kinetic spacer layer comprising multiple spacer elements. The kinetic spacer layer is arranged between the constraining layer and the vibrating surface, when used for damping the vibrating surface. Each spacer element has opposite ends. At least one end of each of the multiple spacer elements is embedded in, bonded to, in contact with, or in close proximity to the dissipating layer, such that energy is dissipated within the multilayer damping material, through movement of the at least one end of each of the multiple spacer elements.