Melnikov-Based Open-Loop Control of Escape for a Class of Nonlinear Systems

Abstract

The performance of certain nonlinear stochastic systems is deemed acceptable if during a specified time interval, the systems have sufficiently low probabilities of escape from a preferred region of phase space. We propose an open-loop control method for reducing these probabilities. The method is applicable to stochastic systems whose dissipation- and excitation-free counterparts have homoclinic or heteroclinic orbits. The Melnikov relative scale factors are system properties containing information on the frequencies of the random forcing spectral components that are most effective in inducing escapes. Numerical simulations show that substantial advantages can be achieved in some cases by designing control systems that take into account the information contained in the Melnikov scale factors.