Damping formulas and experimental values of damping in flutter models

Abstract

The problem of determining values of structural damping for use in flutter calculations is discussed. The concept of equivalent viscous damping is reviewed and its relation to the structural damping coefficient g introduced in NACA Technical Report No. 685 is shown. The theory of normal modes is reviewed and a number of methods are described for separating the motions associated with different modes. Equations are developed for use in evaluating the damping parameters from experimental data. Experimental results of measurements of damping in several flutter models are presented.