Structural Dynamics - Damping

Damping

Any real structure will dissipate energy (mainly through friction). This can be modelled by modifying the DAF:

where and is typically 2%-10% depending on the type of construction:

• Bolted steel ~6%
• Reinforced concrete ~ 5%
• Welded steel ~ 2%

Generally damping would be ignored for non-transient events (such as wind loading or crowd loading), but would be important for transient events (for example, an impulse load such as a bomb blast).