A new method is presented for the analysis of complex dynamic systems which
is based on partitioning the system degrees of freedom into a "global" set
and a "local" set. The global equations of motion are formulated and solve
d in a standard deterministic manner, although due account is taken of the
presence of the local degrees of freedom via an approach which is analogous
to fuzzy structure theory. The local equations of motion are formulated an
d solved by using statistical energy analysis (SEA) with due account being
taken of power input from the global degrees of freedom. The method can be
considered to encompass a number of existing analysis techniques and to for
m a flexible framework within which a number of detailed modeling strategie
s can be devised. A simple rod system provides an initial application, and
it is shown that the method yields very good results from low to high frequ
ency excitation. (C) 1999 Acoustical Society of America. [S0001-4966(99)005
02-0].