Initial Damage in Materials and Its Effect on the Dynamic Characteristics of a Structure

Damage alters the properties and structural characteristics of a material. The experimental study validates the initial damage in materials and its effect on the dynamic characteristics of a structure. Initial damage in materials is simulated by mixing different initiator quantities in test specimens. Axial compression tests are conducted to obtain the load–strain relationship. The load–strain relationship is used to obtain the initial elastic moduli and initial damage in materials. The initial damage value is minimal when no initiator is present in the material and increases when the initiator quantity in the material increases. The dynamic experiment aims to validate the various dynamic responses between the structures that have different initiator quantities in the material. The resonant frequency of the structure with the initiator decreases, and the vibration shapes of the structure are similar at different orders of resonance.