Asymptotic expansion of slightly coupled modal dynamic transfer functions

In case of non-diagonal modal damping, normal modes of vibration do not decouple modal equations. The usual way to handle such a non-diagonal modal damping matrix is to neglect its off-diagonal elements. In this paper, we propose an approximate method based on an asymptotic expansion of the transfer function. It is intermediate between the classical decoupling approximation and the formal solution requiring a full matrix inversion. Indeed, on the one hand, it allows to partially account for modal coupling and, on the other hand, still allows the modal equations to be solved independently from each other. We first provide the mathematical background necessary to canvass the proposed method, then consider a benchmark against which the benefits of the method are measured.