Design and fabrication of multiscale hierarchical structures of carbon-fiber-reinforced composites with ultrahigh specific damping performance

Hierarchical architectures offer a new framework for enhancing specific damping in composites. However, effectively integrating multiscale damping sources with dynamic excitation remains challenging. Cross-scale damping mechanisms are difficult to control. To address this, this study proposes a multiscale damping design principle centered on the balanced-relative strain factor and normalized strain index. A multiscale design strategy for carbon-fiber-reinforced polymers is developed, successfully achieving ultra-high specific damping performance. The resulting composite exhibits an outstanding loss modulus of 13.2 GPa, exceeding conventional engineering materials. Its tensile yield strength reaches 441.8 MPa, demonstrating suitability for high-strength applications. Simulations are also employed to analyze the damping enhancement mechanism. This work provides a novel strategy for the design and manufacturing of lightweight, high-performance, and multifunctional structural damping composites.