A new frequency domain representation and analysis for subharmonic oscillation

For a weakly nonlinear oscillator, the frequency domain Volterra kernels, often called the generalized frequency response functions, can provide accurate analysis of the response in terms of amplitudes and frequencies, in a transparent algebraic way. However, a Volterra series representation based analysis will become void for nonlinear oscillators that exhibit subharmonics, and the problem of finding a solution in this situation has mainly been treated by traditional analytical approximation methods. In this paper, a novel method is developed, by introducing a frequency domain subharmonic kernel representation for subharmonic systems subject to a single tone excitation frequency, to allow the advantages and the benefits associated with the traditional frequency domain representations to be applied to severely nonlinear systems that exhibit subharmonic behavior.