Logical composition of Lyapunov functions

Abstract

This article introduces the use of R-functions to compose single Lyapunov functions (LFs) via classic Boolean operators, with the aim to obtain a rich family of non-conventional, generally non-convex functions. The main benefit of the proposed composition is the nice geometric interpretation, since it corresponds to intersection and union operations in the phase space region. The composition of LFs is parameterised through a variable γ and classic compositions of LFs through min and max operations are recovered as a special case for a particular value of γ. The proposed logical composition is applied to region of asymptotic stability (RAS) estimation problems, where the union of several LFs corresponds to the union of the RAS estimates obtained from the separate use of each LF. Likewise, the intersection of several LFs defined on independent subsets of the state space variables provides a single LF for the overall dynamical system. Sufficient conditions for the composition function to be an LF are provided and results are described through several examples of classic nonlinear dynamical systems.

Keywords:

• R-functions
• Lyapunov function
• RAS estimation

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to thank Prof. G. Zini and S. Grammatico from University of Pisa.