Viscoelastic Damping Structure With Apertures for Stronger Adhesion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for manufacturing shock absorbing and vibration damping devices face challenges in achieving optimal adhesion between dissipative layers and flexible elements, particularly at larger scales, leading to inconsistent performance and limited energy dissipation.
Innovation Solution
The method involves additive manufacturing to create a monolithic structure with flexible elements having through-going apertures, where a viscoelastic material is applied and treated to form a dissipative layer, enhancing adhesion and energy dissipation by filling the apertures and covering the elements' surfaces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If capillarity distribution method is used to apply liquid polymerizable material between parallel flexible blades, then adhesion is improved in small-sized mechanisms, but complete propagation of material and optimal adherence are not guaranteed at larger scales
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible element is segmented by introducing through-going apertures that divide the surface into multiple regions. This segmentation allows the viscoelastic material to be distributed through multiple pathways (apertures and surface), ensuring complete coverage and optimal adhesion even at larger scales where capillarity alone is insufficient.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible element is designed with through-going apertures creating a porous structure. This porous design enables the viscoelastic material to penetrate through the apertures and bond to both sides of the flexible element, significantly enhancing adhesion and ensuring complete material propagation throughout the structure.
2Loss of energy
If dissipative layer is attached to flexible elastic element, then energy dissipation is improved, but adhesion consistency across different scales is not guaranteed
Solution Approach 1:
The attachment method transitions from a two-dimensional surface attachment to a three-dimensional penetration through through-going apertures. The viscoelastic material extends through the aperture depth, creating bonds on both sides of the flexible element, which significantly enhances adhesion consistency and energy dissipation reliability across different scales.
Solution Approach 2:
The device employs a composite structure combining the flexible element material with the viscoelastic dissipative material. The through-going apertures allow the viscoelastic material to interpenetrate and bond with the flexible element, creating a strong composite interface that ensures consistent adhesion and energy dissipation performance.
3Ease of manufacture
If liquid polymerizable material is distributed by capillarity between flexible blades, then manufacturing is simplified, but complete material propagation and optimal adherence are not achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible element is pre-designed with through-going apertures before the material application step. This preliminary structural preparation creates predetermined pathways that guide the viscoelastic material distribution, ensuring complete propagation through the structure while maintaining the simplicity of the manufacturing process.
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
This approach ensures complete propagation of the viscoelastic material and significantly improves adhesion and energy dissipation, effectively damping vibrations and absorbing shocks across various scales and applications.
Implementation Method 1
Providing a material, in the region between the first flexible element and the at least second flexible element, which is able to change of physical and/or chemical state to turn into a viscoelastic material when it is submitted to a suitable predefined treatment
Implementation Method 2
The flexion of the elastic element causes a shearing deformation of the attached dissipative layer such that the mechanical energy of a shock or vibration is effectively dissipated as thermal energy at the flexure mechanism
Implementation Method 3
It is another aim of the present invention to propose the manufacture of such a device with an improved energy dissipation rate, by maximizing the shear stress of the dissipative layer upon deformation of the flexible elements
Implementation Method 4
its implementation at larger scales faces practical problems. It does not guarantee optimal adherence or a complete propagation of the liquid polymerizable material between the two adjacent blades
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a method of manufacturing a damping device, for damping vibrations and/or absorbing shocks, and the corresponding device are disclosed, including: implementing an Additive Manufacturing step to produce a monolithic structure including a first flexible element and at least a second flexible element extending parallel to the first flexible element, wherein at least the first flexible element includes through-going apertures; providing a material, in the region between the first flexible element and the at least second flexible element, which changes physical and/or chemical state to turn into a viscoelastic material when it is submitted to a suitable predefined treatment; and applying the suitable predefined treatment to the material to conform a dissipative layer of viscoelastic material, extending between the first flexible element and the at least second flexible element and secured to both of them, wherein the through-going apertures are at least partially filled by the viscoelastic material.