ISSN 1064-2307, Journal of Computer and Systems Sciences International, 2023. © Pleiades Publishing, Ltd., 2023.

ADAPTABLE
CONTROL

Robust Stability of Linear Delay Systems

with Unknown Parameters
Guang-Da Hua,* and Renhong Hub,**
a
Department of Basic Courses, Shanghai Customs College, Shanghai, China
b
School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Harbin Institute of Technology,
Shenzhen, 518055 China
*e-mail: ghu@hit.edu.cn
**e-mail: renhong_hu@stu.hit.edu.cn
Received March 15, 2023; revised April 11, 2023; accepted April 11, 2023

Abstract—This note is concerned with the stability of linear delay systems. We investigate the robust
stability of the delay systems with unknown parameters. By means of the argument principle, sufficient
conditions are derived for the robust stability of the delay systems. It is easy to check the sufficient con-
ditions. Numerical examples are given to illustrate the main results.

DOI: 10.1134/S1064230723050076

1. INTRODUCTION
Delay differential equations appear in different applied problems [1–[4]. Delay in dynamical systems
can have several causes [3], for example: technological lag, signal transmission and information delay,
time of mixing reactants, time of spreading drugs in a body, latent period, etc. Stability of delay differential
equations have been investigated by many researchers, for instance, [5–9].
On the other hand, robust stability represents the capability of a control system to guarantee the stabil-
ity in the presence of uncertainty, due to the model itself or to the use of approximated models, and such
is deemed as particularly important in view of the practical implementation of the control techniques [10].
In control system design, the primary requirement is the asymptotic stability of controlled systems. How-
ever, in reality there may be several sources of uncertainty which make the nominal model inaccurate.
Robust stability deals explicitly with system uncertainties which account for the differences between the
real model and nominal model. Robust stability guarantees controlled system performance (primarily,
asymptotic stability) when there exists uncertainties.
Consider the linear delay system with unknown parameters (real model) described by
m
x(t ) = ( A0 + D0 )x(t ) + ( A
j =1
j + D j )x(t − τ j ), (1)

where matrices A0, A j ∈ 5 n×n and time delays τ j > 0 for j = 1, , m are known; matrices D0, D j ∈ 5 n×n
are unknown. The unknown matrices D0, D j could result from modelling errors, aging and uncertainties,
which exist in any realistic problem. In a typical situation, we do not know D0, D j , but we know some infor-
mation about them. Here, we suppose an upper bound of their norms is known, i.e.,
m
||D0 || + ||D || ≤ α,
j =1
j (2)

where α is a known constant.

We think of this system (1) satisfying (2) as a perturbation of normal system (nominal model)
m
x(t ) = A0 x(t ) + A x(t − τ ).
j =1
j j (3)

1
2 GUANG-DA HU, RENHONG HU

Suppose that the normal system (3) is asymptotically stable, what can we say about the stability behav-
ior of the perturbed system (1) satisfying (2)? A natural approach to address this question is to use a
Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional for the nominal system as a Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional candidate
for the perturbed system. A lot of works have been reported based on Lyapunov–Krasovskii functionals
[1, 5, 6]. Another approach to address this question is based on the analysis for characteristic roots [3, 9].
Especially, the robust stability for delay perturbation has been investigated in [9]. Recently, for system (3),
a bounded region which include all unstable characteristic roots is obtained [7, 8]. In this paper, we inves-
tigate robust stability of system (1) following the line of [7, 8].
The main contributions of the present paper are summarized as follows:
1. A sufficient conditions is presented for the robust stability of the delay systems.
2. When the delay systems are unstable, a sufficient condition is derived that the number of unstable
characteristic roots is preserved.
This paper is organized as follows. In Section 2, stability criteria for system (3) is reviewed. In Sec-
tion 3, sufficient conditions for the robust stability of system (1) satisfying (2) are derived. In Section 4,
numerical examples are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the main results.
Throughout this paper, ||A|| stands for matrix norm. The jth eigenvalue of A is denoted by λ j ( A) . The
symbol ℜs stands for the real part of a complex variable s.

2. PRELIMINARIES
At this point we are ready to review the results proposed in [7], which are concerned with the stability
of system (3). The characteristic function of system (3) is

 m

P (s) = det  sI − A0 −

A exp(−τ s) .
j =1
j j (4)

For completeness, the details of the proofs for these lemmas are provided in the appendix section.
Lemma 1. For system (3), let s be an unstable characteristic root of (4) ( i.e., P (s) = 0 ), then
|s| ≤ r1, (5)
where,
m
r1 = ||A0 || + ||A ||.
j =1
j (6)

We need the following definition to present stability criteria of system (3).

Definition 1. The region Ω1 is defined by
Ω1 = {s : ℜs ≥ 0 and |s| ≤ r1},
where r1 is given by (6) in Lemma 1. The boundary of Ω1 is denoted by l1. See Fig. 1.
The following lemma will exclude all the unstable characteristic root of (4) from the region Ω1.
Lemma 2. System (3) is asymptotically stable if and only if
P (s) ≠ 0 for s ∈ l1, (7)
and
Δl1 arg P (s) = 0, (8)
hold, where arg P (s) stands for the argument of P (s) and Δl1 arg P (s) change of the argument of P (s) along the
contour l1.
For system (3), the following result gives the number of the unstable characteristic roots.

JOURNAL OF COMPUTER AND SYSTEMS SCIENCES INTERNATIONAL 2023

 ROBUST STABILITY OF LINEAR DELAY SYSTEMS 3

Ims

ir1

l1

:1

0 r1 Res

ir1

Fig. 1. Region Ω1.

Lemma 3. If

P (s) ≠ 0 for s ∈ l1, (9)

and

1 Δ arg P (s) = z, (10)

2π 1
l

then the number of the unstable characteristic roots is z for system (3).
Remark 1. The numerical algorithm provided in [7] is used to check the delay-dependent stability due
to Lemma 2 and Lemma 3.

3. ROBUST STABILITY
The characteristic function of the perturbed system (1) satisfying (2) is

  
m
P (s) = det sI − ( A0 + D0 ) +
 
( A
j =1
j + D j ) exp(−τ j s)  .

(11)

Applying Lemma 1 to system (1) satisfying (2), we obtain the following lemma.
Lemma 4. For system (1) satisfying (2), let s be an unstable characteristic root of (11) (i.e., P (s) = 0 ), then

|s| ≤ r2, (12)

where
m
r2 = ||A0 || + ||A || + α.
j =1
j (13)

JOURNAL OF COMPUTER AND SYSTEMS SCIENCES INTERNATIONAL 2023

4 GUANG-DA HU, RENHONG HU

Ims

ir2

l2

:2
D

0 r1 r2 Res

ir2

Fig. 2. Region Ω2.

Proof. Let s be an unstable characteristic root of (11), i.e., ℜs ≥ 0 and P (s) = 0. Applying Lemma 1 to
system (1) satisfying (2), we obtain
m
|s| ≤ ||A0 + D0 || + ||A
j =1
j + D j ||

m m
≤ ||A0 || + ||A || + ||D || + ||D ||
j =1
j 0
j =1
j

m
≤ ||A0 || + ||A || + α = r .
j =1
j 2

The proof is completed.

We need the following definition which is similar to Definition 1.
Definition 2. The region Ω2 is defined by
Ω2 = {s : ℜs ≥ 0 and |s| ≤ r2},
where r2 is given by (13) in Lemma 4. The boundary of Ω2 is denoted by l2. See Fig. 2.
Now we present the main results in this paper.
Theorem 1. Assume that system (3) is asymptotically stable. If

α< 1 , (14)
−1
max||R (s)||
s∈l2

JOURNAL OF COMPUTER AND SYSTEMS SCIENCES INTERNATIONAL 2023

 ROBUST STABILITY OF LINEAR DELAY SYSTEMS 5

holds, then system (1) satisfying (2) is asymptotically stable. Here, r2 is given by (13) in Lemma 4, l2 is given in
Definition 2 and matrix R(s) is defined by
m
R(s) = sI − A0 − A exp(−τ s).
j =1
j j (15)

Proof. Let
m
D(s) = D0 + D exp(−τ s).
j =1
j j

According to (15), P (s) = det R(s). For s ∈ l2, P (s) ≠ 0 and matrix R −1(s) exists. From (11), we have
that for s ∈ l2,
  m

P (s) = det sI − ( A0 + D0 ) +
 
( A
j =1
j + D j ) exp(−τ j s) 

= det[R(s) − D(s)]

= det R(s) det[I − R −1(s)D(s)]

= P (s) det[I − R −1(s)D(s)].

Thus

P (s) = P (s) det[I − R −1(s)D(s)]. (16)

According to Lemma 4 and Definition 2, all the unstable characteristic roots of (16) lie in Ω2. It is suf-
ficient to check whether (16) has roots in Ω2 for the stability of system (1) satisfying (2). Using (16), for
s ∈ l2, we have
n
P (s) = P (s) ∏[1 − λ (Q(s))],
j =1
j (17)

where matrix Q(s) = R −1(s)D(s). We know that the eigenvalue λ j (Q(s)) is continuous for s ∈ l2.
Since system (3) is asymptotically stable, P (s) ≠ 0 and matrix R −1(s) exists for s ∈ l2. For s ∈ l2, we
have that ℜs ≥ 0 and | exp(−τ j s)| ≤ 1 for j = 1, , m. According to condition (14), for s ∈ l2 and
k = 1, , n,

|λ k (Q(s))| ≤ ||Q(s)|| = ||R −1(s)D(s)|| ≤ ||R −1(s)||||D(s)||

m
−1
= ||R (s)|| D0 + D exp(−τ s)
j =1
j j

 m

≤ ||R −1(s)||  ||D0 || +

||D ||| exp(−τ s)|
j =1
j j

 m

≤ ||R −1(s)||  ||D0 || +

||D || 
j =1
j

−1 −1
≤ ||R (s)||α ≤ max ||R (s)||α < 1,
s∈l2

i.e.,
|λ k (Q(s))| < 1. (18)

JOURNAL OF COMPUTER AND SYSTEMS SCIENCES INTERNATIONAL 2023

6 GUANG-DA HU, RENHONG HU

By means of (17), we know that for s ∈ l2,

P (s) ≠ 0. (19)
Furthermore, for s ∈ l2,
n n
Δl2 arg P (s) = Δl2 arg P (s) + 
j =1
Δl2 arg[1 − λ j (Q(s))] = 0 + 0 = 0.
j =1
(20)

Using (19) and (20) and Lemma 2, system (1) satisfying (2) is asymptotically stable. The proof is com-
pleted.
Using Lemma 3, we can derive the following result.
Theorem 2. For system (3), assume that the conditions in Lemma 3 hold. If condition (14) holds, then sys-
tem (1) satisfying (2) has z unstable characteristic roots.
Proof. It is similar to the proof of Theorem 1. Since the conditions in Lemma 3 hold, all the unstable
characteristic roots of (4) lie in Ω1, we know that P (s) ≠ 0 and matrix R −1(s) exists for s ∈ l2. For s ∈ l2,
we have that ℜs ≥ 0 and | exp(−τ j s)| ≤ 1 for j = 1, , m. According to (14), (17) and (18), we have that for
s ∈ l2,
P (s) ≠ 0. (21)
Furthermore, for s ∈ l2,
n n
Δl2 arg P (s) = Δl2 arg P (s) + 
j =1
Δl2 arg[1 − λ j (Q(s))] = z + 0 = z.
j =1
(22)

Using (21) and (22) and Lemma 3, system (1) satisfying (2) has z unstable characteristic roots. The
proof is completed.
Remark 2. The above theorems show that condition (14) can preserve the stability of system (1) satis-
fying (2). In other word, if the normal system is asymptotically stable, then the perturbed one is also
asymptotically stable. When the normal system is unstable, then the number of unstable characteristic
roots of the perturbed system is the same as the normal one.

4. NUMERICAL EXAMPLES
In this section, numerical examples are given to demonstrate that the main results of the present paper
are effective. The normal systems in following two examples have been proved to be asymptotically stable
by using stability criteria [7]. For both examples, the matrix norm is taken as Frobenius norm.
Example 1. Consider the linear delay system with uncertain parameters
x(t ) = ( A0 + D0 )x(t ) + ( A1 + D1)x(t − τ1) + ( A2 + D2 )x(t − τ2 ), (23)
where τ1 = 2 and τ2 = 3, the system matrices are

−4.2583 −0.7236 −11.8071 −5.0472 −3.6800 −8.0911

A0 =  −5.6881 −2.7135 −6.8457  , A1 = −0.3772 −2.1179 −2.2113 ,
   
 1.2493 −1.0037 −6.3093   −1.1831 −2.5827 0.2628 

 2.5443 −0.5727 −6.9565

A2 = −0.4443 2.5444 −5.3728 ,
 
 0.8497 −1.5663 −0.5512
and the uncertain matrices satisfy
D0 F
+ D1 F
+ D2 F
≤ 0.1. (24)

JOURNAL OF COMPUTER AND SYSTEMS SCIENCES INTERNATIONAL 2023

 ROBUST STABILITY OF LINEAR DELAY SYSTEMS 7

25

20

15

10
1
__R1(s)__F

0.1421

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
u104

Fig. 3. Curve of 1 for Example 1.

||R −1(s)||F

For this example, we discrete the semicircle l2 with step-size 0.0001 and compute 96611 points. By
computation, we obtain 1 = 0.1421, hence, according to Theorem 1 we deduce that the
max s∈l2 ||R −1(s)||F
system (23) satisfying (24) is asymptotically stable. In Fig. 3, we draw the change curve of −11 as s
||R (s)||F
traverses the semicircle l2 once in the positive direction with the starting point (0, ir2 ).
Example 2. Consider the linear delay system with uncertain parameters
x(t ) = ( A0 + D0 )x(t ) + ( A1 + D1)x(t − τ1) + ( A2 + D2 )x(t − τ2 ), (25)
where τ1 = 2 and τ2 = 3, the system matrices are

 0.1535 0.0588 0.0417 0.1501  −0.3538 0.5344 0.3015 −0.4100

 0 0 0.2000 −0.2000  0 −0.2000 −0.2000 0.2000 
A0 =  , A1 =  ,
−0.0802 −0.8381 −0.6125 0.2248   0.1307 −0.2515 −0.0522 −0.0350
 0.0267 0.6794 0.4708 −0.4749  0.0231 −0.4828 −0. 5493 0.0450 
  
0.1000 −0.1000 0 0.2000
 0 −0.2000 0.1000 0 
A2 =  ,
 0 0.1000 0 0.300 
 0 −0.3000 0.1000 0 

and the uncertain matrices satisfy
D0 F
+ D1 F
+ D2 F
≤ 0.04. (26)

JOURNAL OF COMPUTER AND SYSTEMS SCIENCES INTERNATIONAL 2023

8 GUANG-DA HU, RENHONG HU

1.8

1.6

1.4

1.2

1.0

0.8

0.6
1
__R1(s)__F
0.4

0.2
0.0416
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
u104

Fig. 4. Curve of 1 for Example 2.

||R −1(s)||F

For this example, we discrete the semicircle l2 with step-size 0.0001 and compute 78562 points. By
computation, we obtain 1 = 0.0416 , hence, according to Theorem 1 we deduce that the
max s∈l2 ||R −1(s)||F
system (25) satisfying (26) is asymptotically stable. In Fig. 4, we draw the curve of −11 as s traverses
||R (s)||F
the semicircle l2 once in the positive direction with the starting point (0, ir2 ).

CONCLUSIONS
In this paper the stability problem of linear delay systems has been investigated. By means of the argu-
ment principle, a sufficient robust stability condition for linear systems with multiple delays has been
derived. Numerical examples have demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed method.

APPENDIX
Proof of Lemma 1. As we are discussing an unstable root, we assume ℜs ≥ 0 throughout the proof. Let
m
W (s) = A0 + A exp(−τ s).
j =1
j j

We have

 m

P (s) = det  sI − A0 −

A exp(−τ s) = det[sI − W (s)] = 0.
j =1
j j

JOURNAL OF COMPUTER AND SYSTEMS SCIENCES INTERNATIONAL 2023

 ROBUST STABILITY OF LINEAR DELAY SYSTEMS 9

This implies the s is an eigenvalue of the matrix W(s) and there exists an integer j (1 ≤ j ≤ n) such that
s = λ j (W (s)).

From ℜs ≥ 0, we have exp(−τ j s) ≤ 1 for j = 1, , m. Then we obtain

m
|s| = |λ j (W (s))| ≤ ||W (s)|| = A0 + A exp(−τ s)
j =1
j j

m m
≤ ||A0 || + 
j =1
A j exp(−τ j s) ≤ ||A0 || + ||A || = r .
j =1
j 1

Thus the proof is completed.

Proof of Lemma 2. Suppose the system is asymptotically stable. All zeros of P (s) are located on the left
half complex plane. It means that P (s) ≠ 0 when ℜs ≥ 0 . By the argument principle [11], we have that (7)
and (8) hold.
Conversely, assume that the conditions (7) and (8) hold. According to Lemma 2.1, it means that P (s)
never vanishes for ℜs ≥ 0 . Hence (7) and (8) imply system (3) is asymptotically stable. Thus the proof is
completed.
Proof of Lemma 3. It is similar to the proof of Lemma 2.

FUNDING
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, project no. 11871330.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

REFERENCES
1. E. Fridman, Introduction to Time-Delay Systems: Analysis and Control (Springer, Switzerland, 2014).
2. V. E. Khartovskii, “Synthesis of observers for linear systems of neutral type,” Differ. Equations 55, 404–417
(2019).
3. V. B. Kolmanovskii and A. Myshkis, Introduction to Theory and Applications of Functional Differential Equations
(Kluwer Academic, Dordrecht, (1999).
4. A. V. Metelskii and V. E. Khartovskii, “Finite observer design for linear systems of neutral type,” Autom. Re-
mote Control 80, 2152–2169 (2019).
5. G. V. Demidenko and I. I. Matveeva, On exponential stability of solutions to one class of systems of differential
equations of neutral type, J. Appl. Ind. Math. 8, 510–520 (2014).
6. Q. L. Han, “Stability criteria for a class of linear neutral systems with time-varying discrete and distributed de-
lays,” IMA J. Math. Control Inf. 20, 371–386 (2003).
7. G. D. Hu, “Delay-dependent stability of Runge–Kutta methods for linear neutral systems with multiple de-
lays,” Kybernetika 54, 718–735 (2018).
8. G. D. Hu and M. Liu, “Stability criteria of linear neutral systems with multiple delays,” IEEE Trans. Autom.
Control 52, 720–724 (2007).
9. E. Jarlebring, “Critical delays and polynomial eigenvalue problems,” J. Comput. Appl. Math. 224, 296–306
(2009).
10. L. Fortuna, M. Frasca and A. Buscarino, Optimal and Robust Control: Advanced Topics with MATLAB (CRC
Press, Taylor and Francis Group, New York, 2022).
11. J. W. Brown and R. V. Churchill, Complex Variables and Applications (McGraw-Hill and China Machine Press,
Beijing, 2004).

JOURNAL OF COMPUTER AND SYSTEMS SCIENCES INTERNATIONAL 2023