Low-Frequency Vibration Damping Using Ecoflex-Reinforced Fabric Composite and Macro-Fiber Composite Actuators

초록

Low-frequency vibrations can significantly affect human comfort and health, particularly in heavy commercial vehicles where long-term exposure is common. To address this issue, this study proposes a hybrid composite material by combining Ecoflex with Warp-Knitted Spacer Fabric (WKSF), resulting in an Ecoflex-Reinforced Fabric (ERF) composite with enhanced damping performance. Five types of ERF composites were fabricated with varying Ecoflex contents and tested under sinusoidal vibrations in the 0-100 Hz range. Among them, the sample with an intermediate Ecoflex content (SAM3) exhibited the highest damping ratio of 91.91% at 100 Hz. A vibration damping system was then developed by integrating the SAM3-ERF composite with a Macro-Fiber Composite (MFC) actuator. The system was evaluated across various frequencies to assess its vibration attenuation capability. Notably, the highest damping ratio of 93.21% was achieved at 70 Hz, and the system maintained an effective damping bandwidth of approximately 55 Hz, defined as the range where the damping ratio exceeded 50%. These findings demonstrate the feasibility of designing flexible, lightweight, and stable damping systems for a wide range of low-frequency vibration applications, particularly in automotive, aerospace, and wearable technologies requiring both adaptability and vibration damping.

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