Structure Preserving Discretization of 1D Nonlinear Port-Hamiltonian Distributed Parameter Systems

This paper contributes with a new formal method of spatial discretization of a class of nonlinear distributed parameter systems that allow a port-Hamiltonian representation over a one dimensional manifold. A specific finite dimensional port-Hamiltonian element is defined that enables a structure preserving discretization of the infinite dimensional model that inherits the Dirac structure, the underlying energy balance and matches the Hamiltonian function on any, possibly nonuniform mesh of the spatial geometry.