A theoretical model is developed to investigate the effect of Coulomb damping in the sub-foil structure of a foil bearing. Equivalent viscous damping is found for the Coulomb friction. The foil is treated as a continuous perfectly extensible surface on an elastic foundation. The fluid is modeled with the compressible Reynolds equation. A perturbation approach is used to determine the bearing stiffness and damping coefficients from the coupled fluid-structural model. Results are presented for foil bearings with an elastic foundation constructed of a corrugated foil.Presented at the 48th Annual Meeting in Calgary, Alberta, Canada May 17–20, 1993