Melnikov Method for a Three-Zonal Planar Hybrid Piecewise-Smooth System and Application

In this paper, we extend the well-known Melnikov method for smooth systems to a class of planar hybrid piecewise-smooth systems, defined in three domains separated by two switching manifolds [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]. The dynamics in each domain is governed by a smooth system. When an orbit reaches the separation lines, then a reset map describing an impacting rule applies instantaneously before the orbit enters into another domain. We assume that the unperturbed system has a continuum of periodic orbits transversally crossing the separation lines. Then, we wish to study the persistence of the periodic orbits under an autonomous perturbation and the reset map. To achieve this objective, we first choose four appropriate switching sections and build a Poincaré map, after that, we present a displacement function and carry on the Taylor expansion of the displacement function to the first-order in the perturbation parameter [Formula: see text] near [Formula: see text]. We denote the first coefficient in the expansion as the first-order Melnikov function whose zeros provide us the persistence of periodic orbits under perturbation. Finally, we study periodic orbits of a concrete planar hybrid piecewise-smooth system by the obtained Melnikov function.