Lower Bounds for the stability Degree of periodic solutions in forced nonlinear Systems

In this paper the problem of local exponential stability of periodic orbits in a general class of forced nonlinear systems is considered. Some lower bounds for the degree of local exponential stability of a given periodic solution are provided by mixing results concerning the analysis of linear time varying systems and the real parametric stability margin of uncertain linear time invariant systems. Although conservative with respect to the degree of stability obtainable via the Floquet-based approach, such lower bounds can be efficiently computed also in cases where the periodic solution is not exactly known and the design of a controller ensuring a satisfactory transient behavior is the main concern. The main features of the developed approach are illustrated via two application examples.