Evaluation of Karhunen–Loève, Spectral, and Sampling Representations for Stochastic Processes

The Karhunen–Loève, spectral, and sampling representations, referred to as the KL, SP, and SA representations, are defined and some features/limitations of KL-, SP-, and SA-based approximations commonly used in applications are stated. Three test applications are used to evaluate these approximate representations. The test applications include (1) models for non-Gaussian processes; (2) Monte Carlo algorithms for generating samples of Gaussian and non-Gaussian processes; and (3) approximate solutions for random vibration problems with deterministic and uncertain system parameters. Conditions are established for the convergence of the solutions of some random vibration problems corresponding to KL, SP, and SA approximate representations of the input to these problems. It is also shown that the KL and SP representations coincide for weakly stationary processes.