Sliding Motion and Stability of a Class of Discontinuous Dynamical Systems

A closed container with gas and liquid inflows and one outlet for outflow, described by a nonlinear hydraulic model, is shown to reach a state of sliding mode. Through a Lyapunov function, the sliding motion is shown to be stable for all positive exponents in the flow model. This property is independent of factors such as valve opening, valve coefficients, friction factor and initial states, making this device a suitable one to study two phase flow. The sliding solution of this system, with square root hydraulic model, is found using Filippov's equivalent dynamic approach. The discontinuous system is also solved using an accurate and efficient method that accounts for persistent discontinuity sticking. These two solutions are shown to be in exact agreement.