Friction damping mechanism for damped beams and other structures

An apparatus comprising:

• a friction damping clamp configured to be coupled to a structure that undergoes oscillatory movement, the structure comprising a beam, at least part of the beam comprising multiple layers that define multiple slip/friction planes within the beam, the friction damping clamp configured to at least partially wrap around the beam, the friction damping clamp comprising:
• a housing having a groove;
• and
• a roller positioned at least partially within the groove, the groove having first and second ramps;
• wherein the roller is configured to cause increased compression to at least one of the layers of the beam by moving up each ramp of the groove;
• and
• wherein the roller is also configured to cause reduced compression to at least one of the layers of the beam by moving down each ramp of the groove.

A method comprising:

• creating oscillatory movement of a structure, the structure comprising a beam, at least part of the beam comprising multiple layers that define multiple slip/friction planes within the beam;
• and
• damping the oscillatory movement using a friction damping clamp coupled to the structure, wherein the friction damping clamp at least partially wraps around the beam, wherein the friction damping clamp comprises:
• a housing having a groove;
• and
• a roller positioned at least partially within the groove, the groove having first and second ramps;
• wherein damping the oscillatory movement comprises:
• moving the roller up each ramp of the groove to cause increased compression to at least one of the layers of the beam;
• and
• moving the roller down each ramp of the groove to cause reduced compression to at least one of the layers of the beam.