Detectability and Uniform Global Asymptotic Stability in Switched Nonlinear Time-Varying Systems

This paper employs detectability ideas to decide uniform global asymptotic stability (UGAS) of the trivial solution for a class of switched nonlinear time-varying systems when the trivial solution is uniformly globally stable. Using the notion of limiting behaviors of the state, output, and switching signals, the concept of a limiting zeroing-output solution is introduced. This leads to a definition of weak zero-state detectability (WZSD) that can be used to check UGAS, (uniformly for a set of switched signals). En route to establish this, a number of new stability results are derived. For example, under appropriate conditions, it is feasible to decide UGAS even when the switching signal does not satisfy an averaged dwell-time condition. It is also shown that WZSD of the original switched system can be verified by detectability conditions of much simpler auxiliary systems. Moreover, UGAS can be guaranteed without requiring that in each allowable system (without switching), the trivial solution is attractive. The effectiveness of the proposed concept is illustrated by a few examples including a switched semi-quasi-Z-source inverter.