Sensitivity of the Viscous Damping Coefficient of Carbon Fiber in Carbon-Fiber-Reinforced Plastic with Respect to the Fiber Angle

The variation in the viscous damping coefficient with the carbon fiber angle can be evaluated using the partial derivatives of the viscous damping coefficient with respect to the resonance frequency and modal damping ratio. However, the direct derivatives of the viscous damping coefficient were not effective solutions to the sensitivity analysis of carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) structures because the viscous damping from the binding matrix was not changed over the carbon fiber angle. If the identified viscous damping coefficients were assumed to be equivalent values from the parallel relationship between the binding matrix and carbon fiber, the relative error of the viscous damping coefficient of carbon fiber between the increased carbon fiber angle and reference angle could be used as the sensitivity index for the viscous damping coefficient of carbon fiber only. The modal parameters, resonance frequency, and modal damping ratio were identified from the experimental modal test of rectangular CFRP specimens for five different carbon fiber angles between 0° and 90°. The sensitivity of the viscous damping coefficient of carbon fiber was determined for two sensitivity indices: the direct derivative of the mass-normalized equivalent viscous damping coefficient and the relative error of the viscous damping coefficient of carbon fiber. The sensitivity results were discussed using the five mode shapes of the CFRP specimen, that is, three bending modes and two twisting modes.