Reduced models for the medium-frequency dynamics of stochastic systems

In this paper, a frequency domain vibration analysis procedure of a randomly parametered structural system is described for the medium-frequency range. In this frequency range, both traditional modal analysis and statistical energy analysis (SEA) procedures well-suited for low- and high-frequency vibration analysis respectively, lead to computational and conceptual difficulties. The uncertainty in the structural system can be attributed to various reasons such as the coupling of the primary structure with a variety of secondary systems for which conventional modeling is not practical. The methodology presented in the paper consists of coupling probabilistic reduction methods with dynamical reduction methods. In particular, the Karhunen-Loeve and Polynomial Chaos decompositions of stochastic processes are coupled with an operator decomposition scheme based on the spectrum of an energy operator adapted to the frequency band of interest