Light viscoelastic damping structure

In combination, a panel and a structure thereon for reducing vibrations, said structure comprising:

• a plurality of damping strips on said panel and widely separated from each other so as to leave large areas of the panel exposed, each damping strip comprising:
• a viscoelastic damping layer having upper and lower surfaces;
• means for constraining movement of the upper surface of said damping layer, said means for constraining movement including a first honeycomb structure, a first face sheet attached to one side of said first honeycomb structure and a second face sheet attached to the other side thereof, and means for attaching the opposite side of said second face sheet to said upper surface of said damping layer;
• and
• stiffening means for providing static bending stiffness to the panel structure, said stiffening means positioned between said lower surface of said damping layer and a surface of said panel and including a second honeycomb structure, a third face sheet attached to one side of said second honeycomb structure and to said lower surface of said damping layer, and means for attaching the opposite side of said second honeycomb structure to said surface of said panel, said second face sheet and said second honeycomb structure being of appropriate thicknesses to substantially increase the natural frequency of the panel;
• whereby the structural deflection of said panel is decreased and the damping and natural frequency of said panel are increased.