Axial Vibration of a Rod with Viscoelastic Support

The use of viscoelastic materials have recently been increased in several areas of engineering due to their advantageous physical and mechanical properties. Regarding the latter، the energy dissipation behavior and dampening extreme forces are of great interest for structural engineers. In this study، axial vibration of an elastic and a vsicoelastic rod with the end and middle supports made from viscoelastic materials was investigated. The viscoelastic property was described using the generalized Kelvin-Voigt mechanical model. The governing equations were solved using the finite element method in the time domain. The numerical results were provided in terms of the displacement time history in several sections and the stress time history in rod and supports and a detailed comparison was made between aforementioned cases. The responses subject to step load excitation revealed that the use of viscoelastic materials as support is so effective and efficient on damping and decreasing the displacement and vibration of the rod. They can also reduce the stress and its rate of changes significantly because of their energy dissipation nature.