On strict positive realness of multilinearly parametrized interval systems (Q1286690)

This paper deals with the strict positive realness of a class of multilinearly parametrized interval systems, and establishes a strong Kharitonov-type theorem. Namely, the strict positive realness of the entire family can be guaranteed by the strict positive realness of some critical vertices in this family, and the number of the critical vertices is independent of the system order. The author then applies this result to the absolute stability study of a class of nonlinear feedback systems with both parametric uncertainty and unstructured uncertainty, and obtains an extreme point criterion for robust absolute stability. The robust strict positive realness of the shifted interval plant-controller family is also discussed, and some previous results of the literature are improved.