Very large amplitude vibrations of flexible structures: Experimental identification and validation of a quadratic drag damping model

This article presents a theoretical, numerical and experimental study of resonant structures undergoing very large amplitude vibrations. The purpose of this work is to validate a model for the damping due to the action of the air on a structure’s single-mode response in the steady-state. Experiments are performed on cantilever beams and beam assemblies of various sizes, from centimetric to micrometric, under harmonic base excitation. Dimensionless linear and nonlinear modal damping coefficients are simultaneously identified by means of frequency-domain identification techniques. These measurements demonstrate the pertinence of the presented model.