A Theoretical Solution for the Estimation of “Rainflow” Ranges From Power Spectral Density Data

This report outlines a theoretical solution for the estimation of rainflow range density functions using statistics computed directly from power spectral density data. The rainflow range mechanism is broken down into a set of events which can be analyzed using Markov process theory. The dependence between extremes in this instance is modelled using an approximation of the joint distribution of peaks and troughs first proposed by Kowalewski.