Definitions of Damping in Aircraft Response: An Examination of Quantities used in Aircraft Vibration and Stability Calculations Available to Purchase

Usual definitions of damping in oscillatory modes are reviewed, a new definition is proposed and it is suggested that the latter offers certain advantages to both the theoretical and the practical worker in this field. An Appendix contains response formulae for three fundamental types of disturbance. These can be used for the derivation of the various expressions characterizing dynamic properties of any mode that is equivalent to a damped system of one degree of freedom. A collection of formulae, numerical tables and graphs permit a quick comparison to be made between the different definitions of damping.