Optimal placement and tuning of pointwise dampers for vibrating strings via a Lyapunov framework

Mathematics > Numerical Analysis [Submitted on 16 Jun 2026] Title:Optimal placement and tuning of pointwise dampers for vibrating strings via a Lyapunov framework View PDF HTML (experimental)Abstract:We study the optimal placement and tuning of a small number of pointwise viscous dampers for a vibrating string. Starting from a finite element discretization of the damped wave equation, the system is transformed into a first-order phase-space formulation, which enables a unified Lyapunov trace framework. Three optimization criteria are considered: average total energy, average total displacement, and energy for a fixed initial state. For all criteria, explicit gradient formulas with respect to damper positions and viscosities are derived, requiring only one primal and one dual Lyapunov solve. Due to the strong non-convexity of the problem, a simple heuristic based on an explicit single-damper formula is proposed to generate effective initial guesses. Numerical examples illustrate the influence of spectral selection and discretization on the optimal damping configuration. Current browse context: math.NA References & Citations Loading... Bibliographic and Citation Tools Bibliographic Explorer (What is the Explorer?) Connected Papers (What is Connected Papers?) Litmaps (What is Litmaps?) scite Smart Citations (What are Smart Citations?) Code, Data and Media Associated with this Article alphaXiv (What is alphaXiv?) CatalyzeX Code Finder for Papers (What is CatalyzeX?) DagsHub (What is DagsHub?) Gotit.pub (What is GotitPub?) Hugging Face (What is Huggingface?) ScienceCast (What is ScienceCast?) Demos Recommenders and Search Tools Influence Flower (What are Influence Flowers?) CORE Recommender (What is CORE?) arXivLabs: experimental projects with community collaborators arXivLabs is a framework that allows collaborators to develop and share new arXiv features directly on our website. Both individuals and organizations that work with arXivLabs have embraced and accepted our values of openness, community, excellence, and user data privacy. arXiv is committed to these values and only works with partners that adhere to them. Have an idea for a project that will add value for arXiv's community? Learn more about arXivLabs.