On simplifying and classifying piecewise-linear systems

A basic methodology to understand the dynamical behavior of a system relies on its decomposition into simple enough functional blocks. In this work, following that idea, we consider a family of piecewise-linear systems that can be written as a feedback structure. By using some results related to control systems theory, a simplifying procedure is given. In particular, we pay attention to obtain equivalent state equations containing both a minimum number of nonzero coefficients and a minimum number of nonlinear dynamical equations (canonical forms). Two new canonical forms are obtained, allowing to classify the members of the family in different classes. Some consequences derived from the above simplified equations are given. The state equations of different electronic oscillators with two or three state variables and two or three linear regions are studied, illustrating the proposed methodology.