Homogenization Method for Dynamic Viscoelastic Analysis of Composite Materials

In this paper we propose a new homogenization method for composite materials in order to predict effective dynamic viscoelastic material properties in the frequency domain. The loss tangent, which is the ratio of storage modulus to loss modulus, is an important design variable for products made of viscoelastic materials. The proposed procedure, by which it is possible to compute the effective loss tangent of composite materials with periodic structure, is implemented in a homogenization analysis system based on the general purpose finite element analysis code, ABAQUS. The results of the numerical analysis are very close to experimental results which are obtained by using a rubber composite containing a stiff rubber and a soft rubber.