Response Analysis and Damping Parameter Identification of Stiffened Plates Under Shock Environment

Stiffened plate structures widely used in military aircraft are frequently subjected to severe shock environments, such as those generated by gunfire or explosive blasts, which can significantly compromise the integrity and reliability of onboard equipment and devices. Accurate characterization and prediction of the shock response, especially the damping behavior of such structures, remains a critical yet challenging problem in aeronautical engineering. This study presents an integrated experimental–numerical framework for analyzing the shock response and damping characteristics of representative stiffened plates under shock wave excitation. Controlled shock loading is applied using a shock tube, with real-time acceleration responses measured at multiple locations on both plain and rib-reinforced plates. A high-fidelity finite element model is developed, and three commonly used damping models—Rayleigh Damping, wave attenuation Model, and Maximum Loss Factor Model—are systematically evaluated. Damping parameters are identified through a Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm, using the shock response spectrum (SRS) as the performance metric. Experimental results reveal that the incorporation of reinforcing ribs can reduce peak acceleration responses and significantly enhance the damping performance, particularly in the mid-to-high frequency range. The identified damping parameters further show that the maximum loss factor model provides superior agreement with experimental SRS data compared to traditional approaches. The proposed methodology offers a robust method for modeling damping behavior in stiffened plates, providing practical insights for the design of aircraft structures exposed to shock environments.