Characteristics of Modal Coupling in Nonclassically Damped Systems Under Harmonic Excitation

The normal coordinates of a nonclassically damped system are coupled by nonzero off-diagonal elements of the modal damping matrix. The purpose of this paper is to study the characteristics of modal coupling, which is amenable to a complex representation. An analytical formulation is developed to facilitate the evaluation of modal coupling. Contrary to widely accepted beliefs, it is shown that enhancing the diagonal dominance of the modal damping matrix or increasing the frequency separation of the natural modes need not diminish the effect of modal coupling. The effect of modal coupling may even increase. It is demonstrated that, within the practical range of engineering applications, neither diagonal dominance of the modal damping matrix nor frequency separation of the natural modes would be sufficient for neglecting modal coupling.