Stability Switches of a Class of Fractional-Delay Systems With Delay-Dependent Coefficients

Abstract

Stability of a dynamical system may change from stable to unstable or vice versa, with the change of some parameter of the system. This is the phenomenon of stability switches, and it has been investigated intensively in the literature for conventional time-delay systems. This paper studies the stability switches of a class of fractional-delay systems whose coefficients depend on the time delay. Two simple formulas in closed-form have been established for determining the crossing direction of the characteristic roots at a given critical point, which is one of the two key steps in the analysis of stability switches. The formulas are expressed in terms of the Jacobian determinant of two auxiliary real-valued functions that are derived directly from the characteristic function, and thus, can be easily implemented. Two examples are given to illustrate the main results and to show an important difference between the fractional-delay systems with delay-dependent coefficients and the ones with delay-free coefficients from the viewpoint of stability switches.