Comparison of damping parameters based on the half-power bandwidth methods of viscous and hysteretic damping models

The half-power bandwidth method is usually used to calculate structural damping parameters by frequency response function (FRF). In this note, the half-power bandwidth methods for the displacement FRF, the velocity FRF, and the acceleration FRF are proposed based on viscous and hysteretic damping models, respectively. Comparison results show that the application conditions of half-power bandwidth methods for the displacement and acceleration FRFs are limited. They can only be used to calculate the small damping ratio/loss factor. The application condition of half-power bandwidth method for the velocity FRF is not limited. It can be used to calculate the large or small damping ratio/loss factor, which should be the first choice for calculating damping parameters. Besides, when the damping ratio is less than 0.2546 or the loss factor is less than 0.5658, the relative difference between the loss factor and twice the damping ratio is less than 10%. With the increase of the damping ratio or loss factor, the relative difference will increase rapidly, and the approximate relationship is no longer applicable.

Automated summary

The half-power bandwidth method for calculating structural damping parameters using frequency response functions (FRFs) is proposed in this note. The method is applied to displacement FRFs, velocity FRFs, and acceleration FRFs based on viscous and hysteretic damping models. The results show that the method has limited application conditions for displacement and acceleration FRFs but can be widely used for velocity FRFs, making it the preferred choice for calculating damping parameters.