EFFECT OF THE VISCOELASTIC PROPERTIES OF THE VULCANIZED RUBBER HOSE ON THE TRANSMISSIBILITY OF A SMALL DIAMETER PIPELINE SYSTEM

Resumo

Frequency response analysis plays an important role in many applications, allowing for the assessment of a system's vibration response level when subjected to operational loading. This assessment enables the approval or proposal of improvements in the design project, or corrections of systematic failures related to structural performance or damping treatment. In large-scale industrial manufacturing processes, the integration of numerical simulations with experimental validations is widely used, demonstrating efficiency in cost reduction, and minimizing development and reprocessing time. However, oversimplification in constitutive models or uncertainties regarding material properties, constraints, or loading types can lead to divergences between simulated predictions and measured responses, representing a bottleneck in the new product development process. Therefore, the appropriate characterization of each material and component of the system is essential for correctly calibrating the mathematical model used in assessing the frequency response, to ensure accurate predictions of the system's behavior. In the present work, an actual case of a pipeline system composed of a vulcanized rubber hose is studied to enhance the prediction accuracy of the system's response. For modeling the coupled mechanical system, the finite element method is used, utilizing the commercial simulation tool ABAQUS to determine the frequency response function of the transmissibility. This involves applying an excitation force at one end of the pipeline system and measuring the response at the other end. The vulcanized rubber hose is modeled to exhibit viscoelastic behavior. For this purpose, a dynamic mechanical analysis is carried out to obtain the storage modulus and loss factor, both as functions of frequency. Subsequently, a fractional derivative constitutive model for the rubber hose is identified. This numerical model is subjected to validation and calibration through several experimental tests. It is expected that the results will not only ensure accurate predictions for the response of this specific pipeline system but also enable the development of an efficient methodology, which can be systematically applied in processes that involve developing new components and systems of higher complexity.