Use of probabilistic fastener velcro as a friction-induced vibration damping treatment.

Probabilistic fasteners are biologically inspired clamping devices that are interlocked by stems on each surface. Due to dynamic characteristics of fastening mechanism, friction inevitably occurs between stems in a vibrating environment. The use of the probabilistic fastener as a vibration reduction component were investigated with advantages from friction-induced damping in this study. The dynamic stiffness and loss factor of the probabilistic fastener were derived from the vibration interaction with a mechanical structure. This allowed determination of energy dissipation due to the friction in hook and loop from the wave propagation analysis. As the vibration amplitude increased, the loss factor of the fastener gradually increased because the friction between multiple stems increased. With the probabilistic fastener application, the vibration generation and transmission were reduced compared to the bolted joint due to the inherent frictional contacts. With this unique advantage, the probabilistic fastener has potential applications when large damping is required with additional benefit on the reduced weight.