Friction is frequently seen as an unwanted phenomenon whose influence has to be either minimised orcontrolled. In this work one of the positive sides of friction is investigated: friction damping. The frictioninherently present in a system can be positively used to increase the total damping or alternatively, a frictiondamper can be designed. Friction dampers can be a cheap and efficient way to reduce the vibration levels ofa wide range of mechanical systems.In the present paper the conclusions of previous analytic and numericalresults regarding friction damping are validated with results of laboratory experiments, where the energydissipated through friction is measured. The test set-up consists of a mass sliding on parallel ball-bearings,where additional friction is created by a sledge attached to the mass, which is pre-stressed against a frictionplate. No care has been taken to ensure pure dry (Coulomb) friction. Nevertheless, the measured energydissipation is in good agreement with the theoretical results for Coulomb friction
