Keywords: stochastic resonance, aeroelasticity, Fokker-Planck equation, Duffing oscillator, numerical simulation, semi-analytical methods.

Stochastic resonance is a phenomenon where noise enhances a nonlinear system’s ability to respond to weak periodic excitation. This effect is particularly relevant in bistable systems encountered in post-critical aeroelastic conditions, where purely deterministic models fail to capture observed transitions under unsteady aerodynamic loading. This study explores stochastic resonance in a nonlinear Duffing-type oscillator driven by harmonic forcing and additive white noise, representing a reduced model of a prismatic beam in crossflow, inspired by wind tunnel tests on bridge-like structures. The paper complements a previously developed approximative framework for analysis of the Fokker–Planck equation, which employs a periodic expansion linked with the method of stochastic moments. This approach provides a detailed and structured view of the evolving probability density, offering greater interpretability than standard black-box finite element methods, which are also used for comparison. The results are examined in detail against a FEM benchmark, and potential directions for improving the method—particularly with respect to transient accuracy and numerical stability—are outlined.

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