A general formulation of the instrumental variable filter (IVF) method for parameter identification of a n-DOF (Degrees Of Freedom) mechanical linear system is presented. The IVF is a frequency domain method and an iterative variation of the least-squares approximation to the system flexibilities. Weight functions constructed with the estimated flexibilities are introduced to reduce the effect of noise in the measurements, thus improving the estimation of dynamic force coefficients. The IVF method is applied in conjunction to impact force excitations to estimate the mass, stiffness, and damping coefficients of a test rotor supported on a squeeze film damper (SFD) operating with a bubbly lubricant. The amount of air in the lubricant is varied from nil to 100 percent to simulate increasing degrees of severity of air entrainment into the damper film lands. The experimental results and parameter estimation technique show that the SFD damping force coefficients increase as the air volume fraction in the mixture increases to about 50 percent in volume content. The damping coefficients decrease rapidly for mixtures with larger air concentrations. The unexpected increase in direct damping coefficients indicates the complexity of the SFD bubbly flow field and warrants further experimental verification.Presented at the 54th Annual Meeting Las Vegas, Nevada May 23–27, 1999