A new active constrained layer configuration with enhanced boundary actions

In this paper, a new active constrained layer (ACL) configuration is proposed to improve the active action transmissibility of the current ACL treatment. Introducing edge elements, the active action from the piezoelectric cover sheet can be transmitted to the host structure more directly. Results from this study illustrate that, compared to the current ACL, the proposed new configuration can significantly improve the active action transmissibility while retaining a similar level of passive damping ability. In other words, it could be a more effective active-passive hybrid system. It is also shown that the new arrangement is more robust: it can outperform both the purely active and passive systems throughout a much broader design space than the current ACL.