Experimentally Determining Passivity Indices: Theory and Simulation

The passivity index framework is an alternative method of characterizing energy dissipation in systems. As an analysis tool, it can be used to assess the level of passivity of a system. This opens up a much larger class of systems that can be analyzed using results that are similar to the passivity theorem. Typically indices are considered analytically for systems with an established model. This paper focuses on an experimental method of determining indices from input-output data. Particularly, we consider testing passivity indices for vehicle systems with the adaptive cruise control (ACC) algorithm, and maximizing passivity indices through a numerical optimization method, the Hooke and Jeeve’s method. Simulations on a virtual car platform are given to demonstrate the results.