Abstract
In this paper, stability is studied for a class of switched singular systems containing both stable and unstable modes. By introducing a time-varying piecewise Lyapunov function (TVPLF) and a mode-dependent average dwell time (ADT) switching rule, the computable sufficient conditions for system stability are derived. The time-varying piecewise Lyapunov functions are piecewise continuously differentiable on every mode (but may not be differentiable at the interpolating points of the dwell time). This Lyapunov function method is particularly advantageous in overcoming the limitations of traditional multiple Lyapunov function (MLF) methods, which may not have a feasible solution when dealing with switched systems containing only unstable modes. As such, the TVPLF offers greater flexibility in application. Compared with the conventional ADT switching rule, the mode-dependent ADT switching rule not only enables each mode to have its own ADT but also allows for its own switching strategy. Specifically, the stable mode adopts a slow switching strategy while the unstable mode adopts a fast one, thereby reducing the conservatism of the ADT switching rule. Furthermore, based on the stability analysis, the time-varying controllers are proposed to stabilize the switched singular system, which can be expressed as the sequential linear combination of a series of linear state feedback on each mode. The proposed controllers are continuous for each mode, which are different from the controllers designed through the traditional MLF and MDLF methods, where the controllers designed by traditional MLF are the time-invariant linear state feedback in each mode while the controllers designed by the MDLF are piecewise continuous for each mode.