A general state-space method for modelling piecewise linear systems

To manage the movement of the state vector among the various linear subsystems comprising a piecewise linear system, the author introduces a decision vector d which is a linear combination D of the state components, configured so that the transition of d through zero is essential to the transfer of the state to the next feasible subsystem. Boolean (0/1) vectors associated with the polarity of d and a Boolean mask matrix implement the logical operations controlling the selection of the next subsystem. Following the development of a simulation model based on the concepts described, a computer program for solving it is given. An illustration from the field of power-electronic circuits is presented.<>