Free motion of damped multi d.o.f.

systems
Classical solution
In principle, we may treat this case with the exact same tools seen so far. The free motion of
a damped multi-d.o.f. system is described by the equation:

Mx t + Cx t + Kx t = 0 x 0 = x0
initial conditions
x H t = Xe t
x 0 = x0

where X is an amplitude vector and et denotes the time dependence. Determination of 
and X is accomplished by substitution of xH into the equations of motion, which provides
the following quadratic eigen-problem:

 2 M + C + K X = 0
For a non trivial solution: det  2 M + C + K = 0 → 1 , 2 ,..., 2 n
For each j, the eigen-problem provides a (generally complex) eigenvector Xj so that
 j2 M +  j C + K X j = 0

Analytical solution of this problem is possible manually only for very few dof. Investigation
is however interesting from a theoretical point of view.
The numerical approach presented for the general eigen-problem can apply to quadratic
eigen-problems, but only after some algebraic manipulation.
 Free motion of damped multi d.o.f. systems
Classical solution: Overdamped case

Mx t + Cx t + Kx t = 0 det  2M + C + K = 0 → 1 , 2 ,..., 2 n
x H t = Xet  j2M +  j C + K X j = 0

If a solution j of the characteristic equation is real (and M, C and K are positive definite),
j must be negative. Indeed, if Xj is the real eigenvector associated with j, left multiplying
the characteristic equation by XjT yields:

 2 X Tj MX j +  X Tj CX j + X Tj KX j = 0

Since by definition of positive definiteness, the coefficients of the polynomial equations

are positive, all j must be negative; thus yielding an exponentially-decaying aperiodic
response for the j-th damped mode:

 jt
x j t = C j X je with  j  0 for j = 1,..., 2 n

where the Cj are 2n real-valued unknown coefficients to be determined by imposing

the initial conditions.
 Free motion of damped multi d.o.f. systems
Classical solution: underdamped case

Mx t + Cx t + Kx t = 0 det  2M + C + K = 0 → 1 , 2 ,..., 2 n
x H t = Xet  j2M +  j C + K X j = 0

If a solution j of the characteristic equation is complex, its conjugate is also a solution:

For sake of convenience, we may represent each complex root in the form:
 j =  j + id , j where  j , d , j 

• d,j is a positive coefficient representing the j-th

damped natural frequency;
• j is a negative coefficient representing the
exponential decay of the response due to damping.
 Free motion of damped multi d.o.f. systems
Classical solution: underdamped case

Mx t + Cx t + Kx t = 0 det  2M + C + K = 0 → 1 , 2 ,..., 2 n
x H t = Xet  j =  j + id , j where  j , d , j 

With a similar reasoning, it can be proven that if Xj is the complex eigenvector

associated with j, the eigenvector associated with is also an eigenvector

X j = U j + iV j where U j ,V j  n

Hence, the response associated with the j-th damped mode is:

, ,
, ,

where C1 and C2 are complex vectors of unknown coefficients. For the same reasoning
we made for the 1 dof case, C1,j and C2,j must be complex and conjugate in order to
to be real. Thus, in total we will have 2n unknown coefficient to be determined.
 Free motion of damped multi d.o.f. systems
Classical solution: underdamped case

Mx t + Cx t + Kx t = 0 det  2M + C + K = 0 → 1 , 2 ,..., 2 n
x H t = Xet  j =  j + id , j where  j , d , j 
In order to establish an analogy with the 1-d.o.f. case, we may set

 j = − j j  j = − j d2, j +  j2
d , j =  j 1 −  j2  2j = d2, j +  2j

Note that in this case, differently from 1-dof case, expressing the damping factor and
damped natural frequency in terms of system physical properties is not trivial. In
general they depend by a combination of the element of the system matrixes.
 Free motion of damped multi d.o.f. systems
Classical solution: underdamped case

Mx t + Cx t + Kx t = 0 det  2M + C + K = 0 → 1 , 2 ,..., 2 n
x H t = Xet  j =  j + id , j where  j , d , j 
In order to establish an analogy with the 1-d.o.f. case, we may set

 j = − j j  j = − j d2, j +  j2
d , j =  j 1 −  j2  2j = d2, j +  2j
Then, the k-th component of the j-th damped mode reads as:
, ,
, , ,
Note: we could keep trace
which, by posing of , amplitudes and
( , , , ) ,
phases separately. Indeed,
, , ,
while depend on the
can be rewritten as initial conditions, ,
, , , , depend only on the
, ,
mechanical properties of
the system.
, , , , ,
 Free motion of damped multi d.o.f. systems
Classical solution: underdamped case

Mx t + Cx t + Kx t = 0 det  2M + C + K = 0 → 1 , 2 ,..., 2 n
x H t = Xet ,

, , , )
, , , , ,
, , , )
, ( , , , )
, ,

Where, for all modes ( j = 1,…,n ), D1,j and D2,j are 2n unknown coefficients to be
determined by imposing the initial conditions.
Note:
• The shape of the j-th mode depends not only on the magnitudes A1,j, …, An,j but also
on the phases 1,j, …, n,j.
• Due to the phases 1,j, …, n,j, the peak values of the components of xj(t) are not in
phase with one another.
• Conversely, for an undamped (or proportionally damped system), the components of
xj(t) are all in phase (in these cases, all phases 1,j, …, n,j, are indeed zero).