Hybrid Automata for Modeling Discontinuous State Vector Value Changes in Complex Systems

Abstract

Hybrid system models combine continuous behavior evolution with discrete mode transitions. These transitions may cause discontinuous changes in the field that defines continuous system behavior and the variable values associated with the continuous state vector. In reality, these discontinuous changes are fast continuous transients. To simplify the analysis of these transients time scale and parameter abstractions are applied to system models with very different impacts on the analysis of system behavior. We have developed a systematic modeling approach based on hybrid automata which combines a priori and a posteriori switching values to formally implement switching semantics associated with the abstraction events.