A mathematical model for linear elastic systems with structural damping

Abstract : From empirical studies it is known that the natural modes of vibration of elastic systems have damping rates which are roughly proportional to the frequency of vibration. A number of ad hoc models exhibiting behavior of this type have been proposed in the engineering literature but they are not true dynamical systems nor are they very useful for numerical computations. In this paper we present a model of the form with B, A positive, unbounded, self-adjoint operators on a Hilbert space X, exhibiting the damping behavior just described, which is known as structural damping. Finite dimensional analogs suitable for computation of approximate solutions are also noted. (Author)