On the Application of the Describing Function Technique to the Bifurcation Analysis of Nonlinear Systems

Abstract

Spectral techniques, like harmonic balance, are classical numerical tools for designing nonlinear oscillators and microwave circuits. Recently these techniques have been exploited for investigating complex dynamics in nonlinear systems. In this manuscript we firstly show that limit cycle Floquet's multipliers and the related bifurcation phenomena can be estimated through a spectral approach, entirely based on the describing function technique. Then we consider some significant case studies, and we show that our method yields more accurate results than the other describing function-based approaches proposed in the literature