Investigating the vibration damping behavior of barium titanate (BaTiO3) ceramics for use as a high damping reinforcement in metal matrix composites

摘要

We have examined factors that affect the vibration damping behavior of the ferroelectric ceramic barium titanate (BaTiO3) by measuring its low frequency (0.1–10 Hz) damping loss coefficient (tan δ) using dynamic mechanical analysis. In monolithic BaTiO3, tan δ was found to increase with temperature up its Curie temperature (T C), beyond which the damping capability exhibited a sharp drop. The abrupt drop as temperatures increase beyond T C has been attributed to the disappearance of ferroelastic domains as the crystallographic structure of BaTiO3 transforms from tetragonal to cubic. At temperatures below T C, the damping coefficient is further shown to increase with decreasing frequency of the imposed vibration, and in microstructures with a high degree of tetragonality and large domain densities. Data further indicate that tan δ values tend to decrease with the number of cycles that are imposed; however, initial values can be restored if the material is allowed to age following loading.