A novel joint diagonalization approach for linear stochastic systems and reliability analysis

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a novel gradient-based iterative algorithm for the joint diagonalization of a set of real symmetric matrices. The approximate joint diagonalization of a set of matrices is an important tool for solving stochastic linear equations. As an application, reliability analysis of structures by using the stochastic finite element analysis based on the joint diagonalization approach is also introduced in this paper, and it provides useful references to practical engineers. Design/methodology/approach – By starting with a least squares (LS) criterion, the authors obtain a classical nonlinear cost-function and transfer the joint diagonalization problem into a least squares like minimization problem. A gradient method for minimizing such a cost function is derived and tested against other techniques in engineering applications. Findings – A novel approach is presented for joint diagonalization for a set of real symmetric matrices. The new algorithm works on the numerical gradient base, and solves the problem with iterations. Demonstrated by examples, the new algorithm shows the merits of simplicity, effectiveness, and computational efficiency. Originality/value – A novel algorithm for joint diagonalization of real symmetric matrices is presented in this paper. The new algorithm is based on the least squares criterion, and it iteratively searches for the optimal transformation matrix based on the gradient of the cost function, which can be computed in a closed form. Numerical examples show that the new algorithm is efficient and robust. The new algorithm is applied in conjunction with stochastic finite element methods, and very promising results are observed which match very well with the Monte Carlo method, but with higher computational efficiency. The new method is also tested in the context of structural reliability analysis. The reliability index obtained with the joint diagonalization approach is compared with the conventional Hasofer Lind algorithm, and again good agreement is achieved.