Analysis and control synthesis of continuous-time passive switched linear systems

Passivity is one of the key concepts related to LTI systems. Passive systems are not only stable but they are intrinsically robustly stable with respect to a wide class of feedback disturbance. Passivity can be characterized either in time domain or in frequency domain from positive realness. This paper aims to generalize this concept to continuous-time switched linear systems. Analysis is performed by taking into account state dependent and arbitrary time dependent switching function with a prescribed dwell time. A control design problem related to the determination of a switching strategy, based upon output measurements, that renders a switched linear system passive is also considered. A simple example of passivation by means of a switching function illustrates the theoretical results.