Dynamic Behavior of Spherical Friction Dampers and Its Implication to Damper Contact Stiffness

A model that predicts the quasi-static behavior of a friction damper that has spherical contacts was developed using Mindlin’s theory. The model was integrated into a dynamic analysis that predicts the vibratory response of frictionally damped blades. The analytical approach was corroborated through a set of benchmark experiments using a blades/damper test fixture. There was good agreement between the theoretical predictions of amplitude and the values that were measured experimentally over a wide range of test conditions. It is concluded that it is possible to predict the vibratory response of frictionally damped vibrating systems using continuum mechanics, provided that the contact geometry is clearly defined and the local nonlinear contact is correctly taken into account.