Signals & Systems B38SA 2018

Prof. Y. Wiaux

Chapter 2 Assignment

Question 1 - Theory - 10 marks

Prove that the output signal y(t) of a CTLTI system is obtained by the convolution of the input signal x(t) and the
impulse response h(t) of the system:

y(t) = x(t) ∗ h(t),

where ∗ represents the convolution operator. Explain each single step of your reasoning, based on the definition of the
impulse response, the definition of the convolution operation, and the properties of CTLTI systems.

Solution:
Any arbitrary input signal x(t) can be decomposed into impulse functions as follows:
Z +∞
x(t) = x(λ)δ(t − λ)dλ
−∞
The output signal y(t) can be expressed in term of input signal as in the following line:
Z +∞
y(t) = Sys{x(t)} = Sys{ x(λ)δ(t − λ)dλ}
−∞

CTLTI systems are characterized by linearity and time-invariance properties.

A system is said to be linear if, for any two input signal x1 (t) and x2 (t) and any constant factor α1 , the two relation-
ships are satisfied:
1. Sys{x1 (t) + x2 (t)} = Sys{x1 (t)} + Sys{x2 (t)}
2. Sys{α1 x1 (t)} = α1 Sys{x1 (t)}.
Thanks to the system linearity, we can rewrite the expression for the output signal as follows:
Z +∞ Z +∞
y(t) = Sys{x(λ)δ(t − λ)}dλ = x(λ)Sys{δ(t − λ)}dλ
−∞ −∞

A system is said to be time invariant if, being y(t) = Sys{x(t)} the input-output relationship, any time-shifted input
x(t − τ ) results in a time-shifted output y(t − τ ); therefore, when the system is time-invariant the following expression
holds:
y(t) = Sys{x(t)} implies that Sys{x(t − τ )} = y(t − τ ).
In particular, considering a unit impulse δ(t) as input signal and defining the corresponding response as the impulse
response function h(t), we can rewrite the previous expression as follows:

h(t) = Sys{δ(t)} implies that Sys{δ(t − τ )} = h(t − τ ).

Therefore, the output signal y(t) of a CTLTI system can be written as follows:
Z +∞
y(t) = x(λ)h(t − λ)dλ
−∞

that is equivalent to y(t) = x(t) ∗ h(t), where ∗ represents the convolution operation.

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 Signals & Systems B38SA 2018
Prof. Y. Wiaux

Question 2 - Problem - 10 marks

For the second-order differential equation given below, find the forced solution for t ≥ 0 with the specified input signal
and subject to the specified initial conditions.
d2 y(t) d y(t)
2
+6 + 8 y(t) = 8 x(t), (1)
dt dt
where
d y(t) 
x(t) = (t + 1) u(t), =0 and y(0) = 1.
d t t=0


Solution:
The solution of the non-homogeneous equation (1) is of the form
y(t) = yh (t) + yp (t)
where yh (t) is the solution of the homogeneous equation given by
d2 y(t) d y(t)
(∀t ≥ 0) +6 + 8y(t) = 0 (2)
d t2 dt
and yp (t) is the solution of the particular equation.
(i) The characteristic equation of (2) is
s2 + 6s + 8 = 0,
and has two simple roots s1 = −2 and s2 = −4.
Then, the homogeneous solution is of the form
(∀t ≥ 0) yh (t) = c1 exp(−2t) + c2 exp(−4t).

(ii) The input signal x(t) is given by (

t+1 if t ≥ 0
x(t) =
0 otherwise.
Thus, according to Table 2.1, the particular solution is of the form
(∀t ≥ 0) yp (t) = k1 t + k2

dyp (t)
Since = k1 , we have, for t ≥ 0
dt
d2 y(t) d y(t)
+6 + 8 y(t) = 8 x(t)
d t2 dt
⇔ 6 k1 + 8 (k1 t + k2 ) = 8 (t + 1)
⇔ (3 + 4t)k1 + 4k2 = 4(t + 1)
   
⇔ 3k1 + 4k2 − 4 + 4k1 − 4 t = 0.

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 Signals & Systems B38SA 2018
Prof. Y. Wiaux

To solve the last equation we need

( (
3k1 + 4k2 − 4 = 0, k1 = 1,
⇔
4k1 − 4 = 0 k2 = 1/4.

The particular solution is given by

(∀t ≥ 0) yp (t) = t + 1/4.

According to (i) and (ii) the solution of the non-homogeneous equation (1) is given by

(∀t ≥ 0) y(t) = c1 exp(−2t) + c2 exp(−4t) + t + 1/4.

Using the initial conditions we have


y(0) = 1 = c1 + c2 + 1/4
 d y(t) 

= 0 = −2c1 − 4c2 + 1.
d t t=0
Solving this system, we obtain c1 = 1 and c2 = −1/4.
Finally, the solution is given by
1
(∀t ≥ 0) y(t) = exp(−2t) − exp(−4t) + t + 1/4.
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Question 3 - MATLAB Problem - 10 marks

Consider the simple RC circuit shown in Fig. 1 and the signal x(t) presented in Fig. 2

Figure 1: RC circuit

Develop a MATLAB script to do the following:

1. Create an anonymous function to express the signal x(t) using a combination of scaled and time shifted unit-step
and unit-ramp functions.

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 Signals & Systems B38SA 2018
Prof. Y. Wiaux

The signal x(t)

2

1.5

0.5
Amplitude

-0.5

-1

-1.5

-2

-2.5
-2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
t

Figure 2: Signal x(t)

2. Construct an anonymous function yu(t) for computing the unit-step response of the circuit (see the solved
MATLAB Exercise 2.3 from the book for details). Construct an anonymous function yr(t) for computing the
unit-ramp response of the circuit (a similar function is used in Problem 2.36). Consider the system to be initially
relaxed (zero initial conditions).
3. Express the output signal y(t) of the circuit given the input x(t), in terms of scaled and time shifted versions
of the unit-step response and the unit-ramp response. Consider the system to be initially relaxed (zero initial
conditions). Create an anonymous function for y(t). Compute it in the time interval −2 ≤ t ≤ 7 seconds with
an increment of 0.01 seconds.
4. Graph the input x(t) and the output signal y(t) on the same coordinate system. Make sure that the figure is well
annotated.

Solution:
The input signal x(t) can be expressed as

x(t) = r(t) − r(t − 1) − 3u(t − 1) + 2r(t − 3) − r(t − 4) − r(t − 5)

The first-order differential equation for the circuit in Figure 1 is

d y(t) 1 1
+ y(t) = x(t).
dt RC RC
The response of the circuit is obtained by solving the differential equation (see eq. 2.57 in the book) with zero initial

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 Signals & Systems B38SA 2018
Prof. Y. Wiaux

conditions. The solution for the unit step input (see eq. 2.59 in the book) is
 t

yu (t) = 1 − e− RC u(t).

Similarly, for the unit ramp we have (see Problem 2.12 from the book)
  t

yr (t) = t − RC 1 − e− RC u(t).

Given yu (t) and yr (t) we can construct y(t) using superposition since the circuit is initially relaxed and therefore linear
and time-invariant (see MATLAB Exercise 2.3 from the book). Thus, y(t) can be computed through the MATLAB
statements below. The resulting graph is presented in Figure 3

2
Input signal x(t)
Response of the system y(t)
1.5

0.5
Amplitude

-0.5

-1

-1.5

-2

-2.5
-2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
t

Figure 3: Signal y(t)

R = 1;
C = 1/4;

r = @(t) t .* (t>0);
u = @(t) 1 .* (t>0);

x = @(t) (r(t) - r(t-1)) ... % create first part of the ramp between t = -1
... % and t = 1 (this creates a plateau at t > 1 with x = 1)
+ (-3)*u(t-1) ... % create second part of the signal between t = 1 and t = 3
+ (2*r(t-3) - r(t-4)) ... % create the two ramp segments going
... % from x = -2 to x = 0 for t = 3 to t = 4
... % and from x = 0 to x = 1 for t = 4 to t = 5

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 Signals & Systems B38SA 2018
Prof. Y. Wiaux

- r(t-5); % finally create a plateau after t = 5

% unit step response for the system

yu = @(t) (1 - exp(-t/(R*C))) .* u(t);

% unit ramp response for the system

yr = @(t) (t - R*C*(1 - exp(-t/(R*C)))) .* u(t);

y = @(t) (yr(t) - yr(t-1)) ...

+ (-3)*yu(t-1) ...
+ (2*yr(t-3) - yr(t-4)) ...
- yr(t-5);

% set the samplig time

t = -2:0.01:7;

% plot the original signal x(t) from Figure 2

figure;

plot(t, x(t), ’b-’);

axis([-2, 7, -2.5, 2]);
title(’The signal x(t)’);
xlabel(’t’);
ylabel(’Amplitude’);
grid on;

figure;
hold on;
grid on;
xlabel(’t’);
ylabel(’Amplitude’);
axis([-2, 7, -2.5, 2]);

% plot the input signal x(t)

plot(t, x(t), ’b-’);

% plot the system’s response y(t)

plot(t, y(t), ’r-’);

legend({’Input signal $x(t)$’, ’Response of the system $y(t)$’}, ’Interpreter’, ’Latex’);