Structure-Preserving Coupling and Decoupling of Port-Hamiltonian Systems

Abstract: The port-Hamiltonian framework is a structure-preserving modeling approach that preserves key physical properties such as energy conservation and dissipation. When subsystems are modeled as port-Hamiltonian systems (pHS) with linearly related inputs and outputs, their interconnection remains port-Hamiltonian. This paper introduces a systematic method for transforming coupled port Hamiltonian ordinary differential equations systems (pHODE) into a single monolithic formulation, and for decomposing a monolithic system into weakly coupled subsystems. The monolithic representation ensures stability and structural integrity, whereas the decoupled form enables efficient distributed simulation via operator splitting or dynamic iteration.