A mixed time-frequency-domain approach for the analysis of a hysteretic oscillator

The global dynamic behavior of a hysteretic oscillator is investigated. It is shown that the most significant bifurcation phenomena can be accurately detected through the joint application of two frequency-domain techniques, i.e., describing function and harmonic balance, and of a suitable time-domain method for computing limit-cycle Floquet's multipliers. The proposed approach can be effectively applied for investigating nonlinear oscillators and circuits that do not admit of a simple Lur'e representation and that exhibit a complex dynamic behavior.