Determination of Nonstationary Stochastic Response of Linear Oscillators With Fractional Derivative Elements of Rational Order

In this paper, a technique is developed for determining the nonstationary response statistics of linear oscillators endowed with fractional derivative elements. Notably, fractional operators are particularly effective in modeling solid mechanics problems as they offer the option of influencing both the elasticity and the energy dissipation capacity of the system. In this paper, particular attention is devoted to the case of fractional derivatives of rational order that approximates reasonably well any real order model. The oscillators are subjected to stationary stochastic excitations, and the pertinent nonstationary response statistical moments are determined by first introducing a finite number of oscillator response related states; this is afforded by the rational number order of the fractional operator. Next, the technique involves proceeding to treating the problem in the Laplace transform domain. This leads to multiple convolution integrals determined by representing the transfer function of the oscillator in a partial fraction form by a pole-residue formulation. In this manner, the response evolutionary power spectral density of the fractional oscillator is derived in a closed form, while nonstationary second-order statistics can be obtained by mundane numerical integration in the frequency domain. Applications to oscillators comprising one or two fractional derivative elements are presented, considering the case of a white noise excitation and of a random process possessing the classical Kanai–Tajimi spectrum. Reliability of the developed technique is assessed by juxtaposing its analytical results with pertinent Monte Carlo simulation data.