A new decoupling strategy for structures with frequency-dependent properties

In this paper, a new procedure is developed to decouple the governing equations of non-classically damped structures with frequency dependent properties. To start, a modal state formulation is used to eliminate the off-diagonal elements that damping might otherwise create in the transfer matrix. From there on, the transfer matrix is expanded in series and decoupling is achieved through an iterative scheme, which relies on the successive inversions of a diagonal matrix only. This approach is finally shown to converge fast and to perform well on the hydroelastic responses of a floating bridge.