Replicated-in-place internal viscous shear damper for machine structures and components
First Claim
1. A structural load supporting system having, in combination, one or more structural members each having a neutral axis and having internal holes formed therein and therealong and of perimeter shape and location relative to the neutral axis of the member so as to maximize the product of the perimeter of the shape and the distance of the hole from said neutral axis of the member;
- shear members having a thin viscous layer, of said one shear members for insertion in each of said hole and of cross-section just slightly smaller than the hole; and
a replicant secured internally of the structural member and around the viscous-layered shear members and bounding the holes to suspend the shear members in the holes by only the viscous layer frictionally contacting the hole-bounding replicant;
such that when the structural members bend, shear strains occur between the structural members and the shear members across the thin viscous layer to provide high dissipation and damping of bending and axial vibrations of the structural members.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A novel means for providing an internal damping mechanism for a system with structural load supporting members that may be subject to time-varying loads, where the structure'"'"'s structural members have rough holes formed in them, either by casting, drilling, or welding pipe, where the holes can be any shape, but the ideal shape and location maximizes the product of the perimeter of the shape and the distance from the neutral axes to the neutral axis of the structure, so a smooth surfaced shear member, with a diameter several millimeters smaller than the hole and a surface finish on the order of 0.5 micron Ra, with its surfaced covered with a very viscous fluid, can be inserted into the hole so a replicant, such as epoxy or rubber, can be injected around the shear member, such that when the structure bends, shear strains occur between the structure and the shear members and this strain occurs across the viscous fluid interface which is very thin because of the use of the replicant, so therefore the energy dissipation rate will be high and bending and axial vibrations will be damped, said damping system being referred to as a replicated-in-place shear damper.
70 Citations
33 Claims
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1. A structural load supporting system having, in combination, one or more structural members each having a neutral axis and having internal holes formed therein and therealong and of perimeter shape and location relative to the neutral axis of the member so as to maximize the product of the perimeter of the shape and the distance of the hole from said neutral axis of the member;
- shear members having a thin viscous layer, of said one shear members for insertion in each of said hole and of cross-section just slightly smaller than the hole; and
a replicant secured internally of the structural member and around the viscous-layered shear members and bounding the holes to suspend the shear members in the holes by only the viscous layer frictionally contacting the hole-bounding replicant;
such that when the structural members bend, shear strains occur between the structural members and the shear members across the thin viscous layer to provide high dissipation and damping of bending and axial vibrations of the structural members.
- shear members having a thin viscous layer, of said one shear members for insertion in each of said hole and of cross-section just slightly smaller than the hole; and
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2. A damped apparatus having at least one structural member, said structural member comprising:
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a. a longitudinally extending body portion having a long axis and at least one elongate hollow; b. inside said hollow and spaced away from said body portion, at least one elongate shear member, aligned parallel to the long axis of said hollow and so that an annular space is defined between said body portion and said shear member; c. said at least one shear member coated with a highly viscous thin layer; and d. in said annular space between said body portion and said coated shear member, a hardened replicant is substantially fixed only to the body portion. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A space frame apparatus made of at least one tubular member, said tubular member having at least one elongate hollow, said apparatus comprising:
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a. inside said hollow and spaced away from said tubular member, at least one elongate shear member, aligned parallel to the long axis of said hollow so that an annular space is defined between said tubular member and said shear member; b. said at least one shear member coated with a thin highly viscous fluid layer; and c. disposed in said annular space between said tubular member and said layer-coated shear member is a hardened replicant that is fixed relative only to the tubular member. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28)
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29. A structural load supporting system having, in combination, a longitudinally extending structural beam containing a longitudinally extending internal hole and having a neutral transverse axis longitudinally dividing the beam into portions on opposite sides of said transverse axis;
- the internal hole being bounded by a hardened replicant filler disposed internally along the structural beam; and
a longitudinally extending internal shear member inserted within and extending along the hole and coated with a thin viscous layer suspending the internal shear member within the hole and in viscous friction resistance contact with the replicant filler bounding the hole, in order to provide for longitudinal shearing action and damping dissipation in response to vibration of the beam. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33)
- the internal hole being bounded by a hardened replicant filler disposed internally along the structural beam; and
Specification