Energy Consideration on the Role of Damping

Abstract

In Sect. 4.3 of the previous chapter, it has been shown that introduction of small internal damping to Beck’s column leads to a considerable reduction in the flutter limit, from p* = 20.05 (for the undamped case) to pcr = 10.94 (for the damped case). This effect is referred to as the destabilizing effect of small damping. This chapter presents an energy-based discussion on the role of internal damping in the dynamics of Beck’s column with damping.