The damping characteristics of built-up structures damped predominantly by dry friction are studied. In particular, the influence of the fastening condition at the end of a beam on the nature and on the amount of passive damping is investigated. The fastening arrangement is modelled by a non-linear sleeve joint that includes the effects of dry friction, transverse and longitudinal restraint, clearance, and dissipation through impact. This sleeve joint model is combined with a large amplitude flexible beam model that accounts for beam extensibility and foreshortening. Time simulations of the free response are studied to determine the effect of various beam and joint parameters on the system vibratory characteristics. It is found that beam extensibility has a significant effect on the system’s damping characteristics, especially when the sleeve has a relatively stiff retaining spring. The findings are compared to the trends observed for simplified models in order to gain further insight.

The dynamics and vibrational characteristics of a jointed flexible system are considered. The joint model accounts for clearance, dry friction, impact damping and hardening s pring characteristics under large joint deformations. Particular care is taken to include the inplane tensile force and t he beam foreshortening associated with moderate levels of transverse beam vibration. It is shown that the in-plane tensile force and beam foreshortening are significant in determining the damping contribution from the joint. In addition, the dependence of the vibrational characteristics of the system on various beam and joint parameters is investigated. It is shown that the damping contribution from dry friction in the joint increases with transverse beam displacement. It is also shown that joint damping increases with increased joint stiffness and decreases with increased joint clearance.