Identification of nonlinear damping using energy balance method with random pulse excitation

This paper presents the application of the energy balance equation to the i dentification of nonlinear damping in complex multi-degree-of-freedom syste ms subjected to excitations in the form of a random series of impulses. It is proven that the proposed procedure makes it possible to determine dampin g characteristics irrespective of the form of purely elastic interactions a nd the occurrence of the so-called mixed term. The procedure was verified e xperimentally, using a system with two degrees of freedom. The effect of th e intensity with which impulses appear (pulse rate) on the quality of the o btained results is examined. The presented method can be applied to investi gate the damping of vibrations of selected elastodamping elements in real v ibrating systems.