Vibration Control of a Base Structure Using a GVTC Damping Plate Based on the Acoustic Black Hole Effect

This study addresses the challenge of multi-order resonance in base structures within the low-frequency range (10~300 Hz), a common issue in shipbuilding and aerospace applications. Traditional vibration control methods, including those based on the Acoustic Black Hole (ABH) effect, often undermine base structural integrity, offer limited effective bandwidth, or pose practical implementation challenges. To overcome these limitations, this paper proposes a Gradient Variable-Thickness Composite (GVTC) damping plate for passive vibration control, integrating the ABH effect with anti-resonance theory. The key innovation is an engineering-oriented integrated design characterized by external mounting, multi-level stacking, and efficient shell-element modeling rather than a fundamental modification to the ABH principle itself. The composite plate comprises a uniform-thickness region, a gradient-thickness region, and a damping layer, with thickness variation defined by a power-law function. By tuning geometric and material parameters, the plate’s natural frequencies are matched to the base panel’s resonant peaks. Employing shell elements over solid elements significantly reduces computational cost while maintaining high accuracy (relative error of the first three natural frequencies < 0.6%). Finite element simulations and experimental tests have demonstrated significant vibration suppression: peak reductions of 10 dB, 12.1 dB, 9.7 dB, and 22.9 dB at 94 Hz, 188 Hz, 244 Hz, and 294 Hz, respectively, under simulation conditions, and 7.5 dB, 11.1 dB, 8.5 dB, and 7 dB at 82 Hz, 172 Hz, 234 Hz, and 286 Hz, respectively, in experiments. The additional mass of the damping plate accounts for only 1.53% of the base panel mass. This work provides a practical and efficient solution for low-frequency vibration control and facilitates the engineering application of ABH technology in high-end equipment.