David C. Ricks Henrik Schmidt
Dept. of Ocean Eng., MIT, Cambridge, MA 02139
A method has been developed to compute the response of cylindrically layered viscoelastic systems using the direct global matrix approach (DGM). The numerical stability of the method allows us to model multilayered shells that have viscoelastic layers for damping and compliant coatings for decoupling. In this presentation, the method is applied to a cylindrical shell having external fluid loading and a viscoelastic layer of damping material sandwiched between two solid layers. The model can be excited by ring forces, point forces, and a point source in the fluid. Parameter studies are presented to investigate the effect of the viscoelastic damping layer on the various wave types (flexural, membrane compression, and membrane shear). [Work supported by ONR.]