Understanding Damping Techniques for Noise and Vibration Control

There are a lot of effective ways to control noise and vibration, each of which contributes to a more silent environment. For many applications, noise and vibration can be greatly reduced with four techniques:  sound and vibration absorption, the utilization of enclosures and barriers, structural damping, and vibration isolation.

Understandably, at some point, these different methods may tend to overlap, but each of these methods may effectively result in a significant reduction in vibration and noise especially if the right technique is applied.

Damping Techniques on your Structure

This sound and vibration control method minimizes both steady and impact-induced sounds right at their source. Damping disperses energy caused by vibration in the structure before it can build up and come out as sound. Damping, nevertheless, has the capacity to only suppress reverberating motion. Involuntary, non-resonant vibration is seldom weakened by the process of damping. In fact, in some cases, damping can increase the stiffness and mass of a structure increasing its vibratory aspects.

A damping treatment makes use of different material combinations which are applied to a specific component of your structure to increase its ability to disperse vibration energy. It is most useful when applied to a portion of a house that is usually forced to vibrate and is prone to impacts and other transitory forces.

Although most materials have a certain amount of damping property, other items such as steel, aluminium, and glass have very small internal damping which makes them very effective sound radiators. By making sure that these materials are in contact with a highly damped material, you can effectively control vibration and the noise that comes along with it. There are a lot of damping materials that can be used and most of them are viscoelastic. This means that these materials have the capability to be strained and deformed. When deformed, damping materials effectively absorb the push energy that is supposed to cause vibration and noise. There are damping materials that are available in sheet form while some come in the form of adhesives. There are also spray foams that can be used as damping material.  These foam damping material are also used as internal insulation which means they can also keep the internal portion of homes cool even in warm weather.