A modeling strategy for hybrid systems based on event structures

Abstract

This paper considers hybrid systems which are continuous/discrete-time systems interacting with a decision maker which oversees the control and structure of the continuous/discrete-time system. These two segments combine with a processor which evaluates data to produce a three-segment model of a hybrid system having sufficient flexibility to represent a broad range of real-time situations and sufficient generality to incorporate the essential aspects of other models into a single framework. In particular the paper uses a graphically expressive controlled Petri net formulation of the decision maker and any of the usual models for the continuous/discrete-time system. Interaction between the systems occurs via three types of events: continuous/discrete-time events, decision-making events, and processor events. These types of events and their composition are rigorously defined to produce event structures and event histories. These events and event histories are used for the domain of interaction functions which specify the channels of communication between the three essential segments of the hybrid system. The event-based domains allow the disassociation of these communication channels from dependence on particular kinds of models or applications. The range of the interaction functions are binary vector-valued indicating the activation/deactivation processes in the respective segments. The entire modeling strategy is motivated by applications and models found in the literature especially flexible manufacturing systems and the C-net model of a hybrid system.