New results on stability of switched positive systems: an average dwell-time approach

This study is concerned with the problem of exponential stability for a class of switched positive linear systems consisting of both stable and unstable subsystems. The sufficient conditions of exponential stability are established in continuous-time and discrete-time domains. Based on the average dwell-time approach, new stability results for such kind of systems are first derived, which allows the ascent of the multiple linear copositive Lyapunov functions caused by unstable subsystems. Furthermore, when all subsystems are stable, the exponential stability condition for switched positive systems is presented. Finally, numerical examples are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the results.