3.2 Damping

The input of damping is only appropriate for dynamic and transient analysis [Vol. Analysis Procedures]. There are various forms of damping input: viscous damping for all structural elements and the point mass/damping elements [§3.2.1], structural damping for all structural elements [§3.2.2], continuous damping via dashpots or point elements [§3.2.3], and strain energy based element damping for all structural elements [§3.2.4].

For layered shell elements and beam elements with zones, DIANA requires that the damping is the same for all layers or zones within a particular element, i.e., either viscous or structural damping for the entire element and with the same damping parameters for each layer or zone.

See the chapter on Structural Dynamics in Volume Analysis Procedures for background theory on damping.