Paper number 318
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A STUDY OF THE DAMPING OF A SANDWICH MATERIAL FUNCTION OF THE INTERFACE CORE/SKIN BY VISCOELASTICITY |
C. Burtin,1 ,P. Iachkine 2
1 Département Mécanique et Matériaux, Ecole Centrale de Nantes, B.P. 92101, 44321 Nantes Cedex 3, France
2 Ecole Nationale de Voile, Beg Rohu, 56510 Saint Pierre de Quiberon, France
| Summary | This study concerns the damping capacity of the battens in Olympic sailing-ships, Tornado class). Battens are made of sandwich material beams. During competitions, the batten (which stiffen the sails) may be exposed to humid air, to sun or water. The moisture content, the temperature of these sandwich parts may change with time and also affect the interface (core/skin). These changes, in turn, affect the thermal and mechanical properties, resulting in an alteration of the performance of the sail. These alterations are not fully understood today. To use the full potential of the sail, the viscoelastic behaviour of the batten (function of temperature and moisture content) must be known. Two types of interfaces for the sandwich are here examined to see their viscoelastic properties with the help of a viscoelasticimeter and especially their damping capacities which have a great influence on the behaviour of the sail. |
Keywords | sandwich, batten, viscoelasticity, damping, phase angle, interface, water absorption. |