Modeling the effect of Rayleigh damping on the stability of real-time finite element models

The relationship between Rayleigh damping and the critical integration step size of linear explicit finite element models using centered difference integration is explored. From experimental results, an analytical formula is derived that extends the Courant condition to include Rayleigh damping, allowing real-time computation of stable time-step sizes for viscously damped finite element models for haptic simulations.