Recursive formulation of the WKB solution for linear time-varying dynamic systems

Abstract

This work proposes a new calculation algorithm of the Wentzel–Kramers–Brillouin (WKB) solution for slow linear time-varying (LTV) systems based on the recursive formulation. For a linear dynamic system with time-varying (TV) mass, damping or stiffness, the recursive relations in real function form among the components of the WKB solution are obtained. The integral terms within the sampling intervals that cannot be solved analytically are approximated by simple algebraic calculations with high precision. Thus, the conventional expression of the WKB solution involving complex numerical integral terms is reduced to an analytical recursive formulation. An explicit function relationship between the TV system parameters and the dynamic response can be obtained when the external excitation is given. In the premise of similar accuracy, the recursive formulation has much higher efficiency than the conventional calculation process, which is verified by applying the proposed method to a particular LTV dynamic system.