Damping optimization of discrete mechanical systems -- rod/string model

Abstract: This paper investigates two optimization criteria for damping optimization in a multi-body oscillator system with arbitrary degrees of freedom ($n$), resembling string/rod free vibrations. The total average energy over all possible initial data and the total average displacement over all possible initial data. Our first result shows that both criteria are equivalent to the trace minimization of the solution of the Lyapunov equation with different right-hand sides. As the second result, we prove that in the case of damping with one damper, for the discrete system, the minimal trace for each criterion can be expressed as a linear or cubic function of the dimension $n$. Consequently, the optimal damping position is determined solely by the number of dominant eigenfrequencies and the optimal viscosity, independent of the dimension $n$, offering efficient damping optimization in discrete systems. The paper concludes with numerical examples illustrating the presented theoretical framework and results.