Marcos Villarreal-Esquivel

Modeling forced nonlinear multivariable dynamical systems remains challenging, particularly when first-principles models are unavailable or strong nonlinear couplings are present. In recent years, data-driven approaches grounded in the Koopman operator theory have gained attention for their ability to represent nonlinear dynamics via linear evolution in appropriately lifted spaces. This work presents a data-driven modeling framework for forced nonlinear multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems based on Hankel Dynamic Mode Decomposition with control and lifting functions (HDMDc+Lift). The proposed methodology exploits Hankel matrices to encode temporal correlations and employs lifting functions to approximate the Koopman operator’s action on observable functions. As a result, an augmented-order linear state-space model is identified exclusively from input–output data, without relying on explicit knowledge of the system’s governing equations. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is demonstrated using operational data from a real multivariable tank system that was not used during the identification stage. The identified model achieves a coefficient of determination exceeding 0.87 in multi-step prediction tasks. Furthermore, spectral analysis of the resulting linear operator reveals that the dominant dynamical modes of the physical system are accurately captured. At the same time, additional modes associated with nonlinear interactions are also identified. These results highlight the HDMDc+Lift framework’s ability to provide accurate and interpretable linear representations of forced nonlinear MIMO dynamics.