Equivalent Nonlinear System Method for Stochastically Excited Hamiltonian Systems

An equivalent nonlinear system method is presented to obtain the approximate probability density for the stationary response of multi-degree-of-freedom nonlinear Hamiltonian systems to Gaussian white noise parametric and/or external excitations. The equivalent nonlinear systems are obtained on the basis of one of the following three criteria: least mean-squared deficiency of damping forces, dissipation energy balancing, and least mean-squared deficiency of dissipation energies. An example is given to illustrate the application and validity of the method and the differences in the three equivalence criteria.