Modeling and simulation of hybrid control systems by Global Petri Nets

Petri nets have proven themselves to be an excellent modeling and analysis tool for discrete event or asynchronous systems. On the other hand, linear system analysis uses differential and difference equations to represent time dependent or synchronous systems. A new extension of Petri nets, called Global Petri Net (GPN) provides a means for combining these two powerful tools. Here, we define this tool and show how it can be used to model and simulate hybrid systems consisting of both time and event driven parts. An example of a distributed control system is used to illustrate the GPN modeling and simulation capabilities.