Damping

This article is about damped harmonic oscillators. For

detailed mathematical description of the harmonic oscillator including forcing and damping, see Harmonic oscillator. For damping in music, see Damping (music).
Damping is an inuence within or upon an oscillatory
system that has the eect of reducing, restricting or preventing its oscillations. In physical systems, damping is
produced by processes that dissipate the energy stored
in the oscillation. Examples include viscous drag in mechanical systems, resistance in electronic oscillators, and
absorption and scattering of light in optical oscillators.
Damping not based on energy loss can be important
in other oscillating systems such as those that occur in
biological systems.

opposes changes in it, in direct proportion to the instantaneous rate of change, velocity or time derivative, of the
variable itself. In engineering applications it is often desirable to linearize non-linear drag forces. This may be
done by nding an equivalent work coecient in the case
of harmonic forcing. In non-harmonic cases, restrictions
on the speed may lead to accurate linearization.
In physics and engineering, damping may be
mathematically modeled as a force synchronous
with the velocity of the object but opposite in direction
to it. If such force is also proportional to the velocity, as
for a simple mechanical viscous damper (dashpot), the
force F may be related to the velocity v by

The damping of a system can be described as being one

of the following:
F = cv ,
Overdamped The system returns (exponentially decays) where c is the damping coecient, given in units of
newton-seconds per meter.
to equilibrium without oscillating.
Critically damped The system returns to equilibrium as This force may be used as an approximation to the friction
caused by drag and may be realized, for instance, using
quickly as possible without oscillating.
a dashpot. (This device uses the viscous drag of a uid,
Underdamped The system oscillates (at reduced fre- such as oil, to provide a resistance that is related linearly
quency compared to the undamped case) with the to velocity.) Even when friction is related to v 2 , if the
velocity is restricted to a small range, then this non-linear
amplitude gradually decreasing to zero.
eect may be small. In such a situation, a linearized fricUndamped The system oscillates at its natural resonant tion coecient clin may be determined which produces
frequency () without experiencing decay of its little error.
amplitude.
When including a restoring force (such as due to a spring)
that is proportional to the displacement x and in the oppoFor example, consider a door that uses a spring to close site direction, and by setting the sum of these two forces
the door once open. This can lead to any of the above equal to the mass of the object times its acceleration cretypes of damping depending on the strength of the damp- ates a second-order dierential equation whose terms can
ing. If the door is undamped it will swing back and forth be rearranged into the following form:
forever at a particular resonant frequency. If it is underdamped it will swing back and forth with decreasing size
of the swing until it comes to a stop. If it is critically
d2 x
dx
damped then it will return to closed as quickly as pos+ 20
+ 02 x = 0,
2
dt
dt
sible without oscillating. Finally, if it is overdamped it
will return to closed without oscillating but more slowly where 0 is the undamped angular frequency of the osdepending on how overdamped it is. Dierent levels of cillator and is a constant called the damping ratio. This
damping are desired for dierent types of systems.
equation is valid for many dierent oscillating systems,
but with dierent formulas for the damping ratio and the
undamped angular frequency.

Linear damping

The value of the damping ratio determines the behavior

of the system such that = 1 corresponds to being critA particularly mathematically useful type of damping is ically damped with larger values being overdamped and
linear damping. Linear damping occurs when a poten- smaller values being underdamped. If = 0, the system
tially oscillatory variable is damped by an inuence that is undamped.
1

1.1

LINEAR DAMPING

Example: massspringdamper

t
An ideal massspringdamper system with mass m, x = e
spring constant k, and viscous damper of damping cowhere the parameter (gamma) is, in general, a complex
ecient c is subject to an oscillatory force
number.

Substituting this assumed solution back into the dierential equation gives

Fs = kx
and a damping force

2 + 20 + 02 = 0 ,
Fd = cv = c

dx
= cx.

dt

which is the characteristic equation.

Solving the characteristic equation will give two roots

The values can be in any consistent system of units; for

example, in SI units, m in kilograms, k in newtons per = 0 0 2 1.

meter, and c in newton-seconds per meter or kilograms The solution to the dierential equation is thus[1]
per second.
Treating the mass as a free body and applying Newtons
second law, the total force F on the body is
x(t) = Ae+ t + Be t ,

Ftot

d2 x
= ma = m 2 = m
x.
dt

where A and B are determined by the initial conditions of

the system:

where a is the acceleration of the mass and x is the

displacement of the mass relative to a xed point of ref- A = x(0) + + x(0) x(0)
+
erence.
Since F = F + F ,

m
x = kx + cx.

B=

+ x(0) x(0)

.
+

1.2 System behavior

This dierential equation may be rearranged into

x
+

c
k
x + x = 0.
m
m

The following parameters are then dened:

The behavior of the system depends on the relative values

of the two fundamental parameters, the natural frequency
0 and the damping ratio . In particular, the qualitative
behavior of the system depends crucially on whether the
quadratic equation for has one real solution, two real
solutions, or two complex conjugate solutions.

k
m
c
=
.
2 mk
The rst parameter, 0 , is called the (undamped) natural
frequency of the system. The second parameter, , is
called the damping ratio. The natural frequency represents an angular frequency, expressed in radians per second. The damping ratio is a dimensionless quantity.
0 =

1.2.1 Critical damping ( = 1)

The dierential equation now becomes

When = 1, there is a double root (dened above),

which is real. The system is said to be critically damped.
A critically damped system converges to zero as fast as
possible without oscillating (although overshoot can occur). An example of critical damping is the door closer
seen on many hinged doors in public buildings. The recoil mechanisms in most guns are also critically damped
so that they return to their original position, after the recoil due to ring, in the least possible time.

x
+ 20 x + 02 x = 0.

In this case, with only one root , there is in addition to

the solution x(t) = et a solution x(t) = tet :[4]

Continuing, we can solve the equation by assuming a solution x such that:

x(t) = (A + Bt) e0 t ,

3
where A and B are determined by the initial conditions This damped frequency is not to be confused with the
of the system (usually the initial position and velocity of damped resonant frequency or peak frequency .[8]
the mass):
This is the frequency at which a moderately underdamped
( < 1/2) simple 2nd-order harmonic oscillator has its
maximum gain (or peak transmissibility) when driven by
a sinusoidal input. The frequency at which this peak ocA = x(0)
curs is given by:
B = x(0)

+ 0 x(0).
1.2.2

Over-damping ( > 1)

peak = 0

1 2 2 .

When > 1, the system is over-damped, and there are two For an under-damped system, the value of can be found
dierent real roots. An over-damped door-closer takes by examining the logarithm of the ratio of succeeding
amplitudes of a system. This is called the logarithmic
longer to close than a critically damped door does.
decrement.
The solution to the motion equation is:[5]

x(t) = Ae+ t + Be t ,

2 Alternative models

where A and B are determined by the initial conditions Viscous damping models, although widely used, are not
of the system:
the only damping models. A wide range of models can be
found in specialized literature. One is the so-called hysteretic damping model or structural damping model.
+ x(0) x(0)

A = x(0) +
When a metal beam is vibrating, the internal damping
+
can be better described by a force proportional to the displacement but in phase with the velocity. In such case, the
+ x(0) x(0)

B=
.
dierential equation that describes the free movement of
+
a single-degree-of-freedom system becomes:
1.2.3

Under-damping (0 < 1)

Finally, when 0 < < 1, is complex, and the system

is under-damped. In this situation, the system will oscillate at the natural damped frequency , which is a function of the natural frequency and the damping ratio. To
continue the analogy, an underdamped door closer would
close quickly, but would hit the door frame with signicant velocity, or would oscillate in the case of a swinging
door.

m
x + hxi + kx = 0,
where h is the hysteretic damping coecient and i denotes the imaginary unit; the presence of i is required to
synchronize the damping force to the velocity (xi being
in phase with the velocity). This equation is more often
written as:

In this case, the solution can be generally written as:[6]

m
x + k(1 + i)x = 0,

x(t) = e0 t (A cos (d t) + B sin (d t)),

where is the hysteretic damping ratio, that is, a measure

of the fraction of energy lost in each cycle of the vibration.

where

d = 0

= Ed /(kX 2 ),
1 2

where Ed is the energy lost and X is the amplitude of the

represents the damped frequency or ringing frequency of cycle.
the system,[7] and A and B are again determined by the Although requiring complex analysis to solve the equainitial conditions of the system:
tion, this model reproduces the real behavior of many vibrating structures more closely than the viscous model.
A = x(0)
B=

1
(0 x(0) + x(0)).

A more general model that also requires complex analysis, the fractional model not only includes both the viscous and hysteretic models but also allows for intermediate cases (useful for some polymers):

REFERENCES

Simple harmonic motion

m
x+A

dr x
i + kx = 0,
dtr

where r is any number, usually between 0 (for hysteretic)

and 1 (for viscous), and A is a general damping (h for
hysteretic and c for viscous) coecient.
See also: Friction and Drag

Thermoelastic damping
Thrust damping
Tuned mass damper
Vehicle suspension
Vibration

2.1

Nonlinear damping

Nonlinear passive damping oers important advantages

compared to purely linear designs.[9] Nonlinear damping
using an odd function such as cubic damping, allows the
user to damp the resonance without increasing the energy
in the frequency response tail and so overcomes several
limitations of a purely linear design.

Errors in popular usage

It has become common in popular English, especially in

Star Trek,[10][11] to substitute the word dampening when
the concept of damping is intended. Dened as to make
damp or to stie,[12] dampening can be correctly used
to describe depressing the intensity of an emotion, but
should not be used to describe the reduction in amplitude
of a force, a harmonic oscillation, or similar physical processes or phenomena. For such phenomena, damping
is the correct word.[13][14][15]

See also
Audio system measurements
Control theory
Coulomb damping
Damping factor

Vibration control

5 References
[1] MathWorld--A Wolfram Web Resource
[2] Katsuhiko Ogata (2005). System Dynamics (4th ed.). University of Minnesota. p. 617.
[3] Ajoy Ghatak (2005). Optics, 3E (3rd ed.). Tata McGrawHill. p. 6.10. ISBN 978-0-07-058583-6.
[4] Weisstein, Eric W. Critically Damped Simple Harmonic
Motion. From MathWorld--A Wolfram Web Resource.
[5] Weisstein, Eric W., Damped Simple Harmonic Motion-Overdamping., MathWorld.
[6] Weisstein, Eric W. Damped Simple Harmonic Motion-Underdamping. From MathWorld--A Wolfram Web Resource.
[7] Lincoln D. Jones (2003). Electrical Engineering License
Review (8th ed.). Dearborn Trade Publishing. p. 615.
ISBN 978-0-7931-8529-0.
[8] Millard F. Beatty (2006). Principles of engineering mechanics. Birkhuser. p. 167. ISBN 978-0-387-23704-6.
[9] Billings S.A. Nonlinear System Identication: NARMAX Methods in the Time, Frequency, and SpatioTemporal Domains. Wiley, 2013

Damping ratio

[10] The Star Trek Transcripts - Metamorphosis

Harmonic balancer

[11] The Movie Transcripts - Star Trek Generations

Harmonic oscillator

[12] dampening - Collins English Dictionary - Complete &

Unabridged 10th Edition

Impulse excitation technique

Inerter (mechanical networks)
Oscillator
Particle damping
Resonance
RLC circuit

[13] Lawrence E. Kinsler (1982). Fundamentals of Acoustics

(3, illustrated ed.). Wiley. p. 7. ISBN 0471029335.
[14] J. P. Den Hartog (1985). Mechanical Vibrations. Courier
Dover. p. 7. ISBN 0486647854.
[15] Leonard Meirovitch (2002). Fundamentals of Vibrations.
McGraw-Hill Higher Education. pp. 2527. ISBN
0072881801.

Books
Komkov, Vadim (1972) Optimal control theory for
the damping of vibrations of simple elastic systems.
Lecture Notes in Mathematics, Vol. 253. SpringerVerlag, Berlin-New York.

External links
Calculation of the matching attenuation,the damping factor, and the damping of bridging
Damping Matlab scripts

Underdamped springmass system

Mass attached to a spring and damper.

Time dependence of the system behavior on the value of the

damping ratio , for undamped (blue), under-damped (green),
critically damped (red), and over-damped (cyan) cases, for zerovelocity initial condition.

Steady state variation of amplitude with frequency and damping

of a driven simple harmonic oscillator.[2][3]

EXTERNAL LINKS

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