A design methodology for switched discrete time linear systems with applications to automotive roll dynamics control

In this paper we consider the asymptotic stability of a class of discrete-time switching linear systems, where each of the constituent subsystems is Schur stable. We first present an example to motivate our study, which illustrates that the bilinear transform does not preserve the stability of a class of switched linear systems. Consequently, continuous time stability results cannot be transformed to discrete time analogs using this transformation. We then present a subclass of discrete-time switching systems, that arise frequently in practical applications. We prove that global attractivity for this subclass can be obtained without requiring the existence of a common quadratic Lyapunov function (CQLF). Using this result we present a synthesis procedure to construct switching stabilizing controllers for an automotive control problem, which is related to the stabilization of a vehicle’s roll dynamics subject to switches in the center of gravity (CG) height.