Verification of Polyhedral-Invariant Hybrid Automata Using Polygonal Flow Pipe Approximations

This paper presents a computational technique for verifying properties of hybrid systems with arbitrary continuous dynamics. The approach is based on the computation of approximating automata, which are finite-state approximations to the (possibly infinite-state) discretetrace transition system for the hybrid system. The fundamental computation in the generation of approximating automata is the mapping of sets of continuous states to the boundaries of the location invariants. This mapping is computed by intersecting flow pipes, the sets of reachable states for continuous systems, with the invariant boundaries. Flow pipes are approximated by sequences of overlapping convex polygons. The paper presents an application of the computational procedure to a benchmark hybrid system, a batch evaporator.