The approximate determination of periodic regimes in systems containing relay elements with dead zones

The problem of finding periodic solutions of relay (or "flip-flop") systems with dead zones is considered. A method for approximating such solutions is offered here, in which the original problem is reduced to a similar problem for an ideal relay system. The reduction is effected by "sloppy superposition," i.e., by modification of the principle of convex superposition in piecewise-linear systems. A successful application and a possible extension of the method are mentioned briefly.