EEE 324

(Linear Systems)
Dr. Femi Onibonoje
Office Address:- HOD’s Office (F2-4); Personal (E3-11)
+2348069531521
 Course Outline • Frequency response of
• Mathematical models of physical systems:
system. ▪ The root-locus methods
• Analogues concepts in electrical, ▪ Bode, Nyquist and polar plots
mechanical and thermal systems. • System stability: Routh,
• Open-Loop and Closed-loop System
Nyquist criteria & Bode.
• Transfer functions. Block diagrams and
• Introduction to analogue
signal flow graphs.
computer simulation.
• Feedback control system: advantages,
transient response of systems.
Textbooks
• Linear System by H. Bourles
• Control System by Norman Nise
• Feedback and Control Systems by Joseph J.
DiStefano, Allen R. Stubberud and Ivan J.
Williams
Mathematical Modelling of
Physical Systems
• The analysis and design of control systems requires
that we have quantitative mathematical models of the
physical systems we want to control.
• A mathematical model may consist of differential
and/or algebraic equations. The solution of these
equations describes the dynamics of the system, that
is, how the system responds to its expected input.
• A system may consist of a single component, or it
may consist of many different types of components –
mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, thermal, etc.
• A mathematical model may be linear or nonlinear depending on the
system and the range of operation that is being modeled.
• If a system is nonlinear, it may be possible to linearize the model
before applying linear system analysis. The extent to which this
approach is applicable depends on the strength and type of
nonlinearities.
• Mathematical models may be developed using physical principles.
Using this approach, the analyst writes the differential and/or algebraic
equations that are thought to describe the system dynamics.
• Laplace transforms are used to convert the differential equations into
transfer functions.
• This approach is limited by the analyst’s ability to:
– describe the physics of the system (especially for complex systems), a
– estimate all important parameters.
Mechanical Systems
• Most feedback control systems contain
mechanical as well as electrical components.
• The motion of mechanical elements can be
described in various dimensions as translational,
rotational, or a combination of both.
• The equations governing the motions of
mechanical systems are often directly or indirectly
formulated from Newton’s law of motion.
Translational Mechanical Systems
• Translational motion takes place along a straight line
and the variables involved in describing a straight-line
motion are displacement, velocity and acceleration.
• Newton’s law of motion governs the linear motion.
• Newton’s law of motion states that the algebraic
sum of forces acting on a rigid body in a given direction
is equal to the product of the mass of the body and its
acceleration in the same direction.
• The law can be expressed as:
where M denotes the mass and a is the acceleration in the direction considered
Components of Translational Systems
a. Spring
• Spring is an element, which stores potential energy. If a force is
applied on spring K, then it is opposed by an opposing force due to
elasticity of spring. This opposing force is proportional to the
displacement of the spring. Assume mass and friction are negligible.

where,
• F is the applied force, Fk is the opposing force due to elasticity of spring,
K is spring constant, x is displacement
b. Dashpot
• If a force is applied on dashpot B, then it is opposed by an opposing
force due to friction of the dashpot. This opposing force is proportional
to the velocity of the body. Assume mass and elasticity are negligible.

where,
• Fb is the opposing force due to friction of dashpot
• B is the frictional coefficient
• v is velocity
• x is displacement
 c. Mass • The function of mass in linear
motion is to store kinetic energy.
Self –Assignment: Why can’t Mass store
Potential Energy?
• If a force is applied on a body having mass M, then it is opposed by an
opposing force due to mass. This opposing force is proportional to the
acceleration of the body moving in x direction.
• Assume elasticity and friction are negligible. Hence, according to
Newton’s law,

where,
F is the applied force, Fm is the opposing force due to mass
M is mass, a is acceleration, x is displacement
Rotational Mechanical Systems
• Rotational mechanical systems move about a fixed axis. These systems
mainly consist of three basic elements. Those are moment of inertia,
torsional spring and dashpot.
a. Torsional Spring
• Similarly, as in Spring in Translational systems, in rotational mechanical
system, torsional spring stores potential energy.
where,
• T is the applied torque
• Tk is the opposing torque due to
elasticity of torsional spring
• K is the torsional spring constant
• θ is angular displacement
b. Dashpot
• If a torque is applied on dashpot B, then it is opposed by an opposing
torque due to the rotational friction of the dashpot. This opposing
torque is proportional to the angular velocity of the body. Assume the
moment of inertia and elasticity are negligible.

where,
• Tb is the opposing torque due to the rotational friction of the dashpot
• B is the rotational friction coefficient
• ω is the angular velocity
• θ is the angular displacement
c. Moment of Inertia
• Similarly, as Mass in Translational systems, in rotational mechanical
system, Moment of Inertia stores kinetic energy.
• If a torque is applied on a body having moment of inertia J, then it is
opposed by an opposing torque due to the moment of inertia. This
opposing torque is proportional to angular acceleration of the body.
Assume elasticity and friction are negligible.

where,
• T is the applied torque
• Tj is the opposing torque due to moment of inertia
• J is moment of inertia
• α is angular acceleration
• θ is angular displacement
• Consider the below translational system
• Here, F(t) is the force that is serving as the input to the
system and we consider the displacement x(t) as the
output.
• When we equate this applied force to the sum of all the
opposing forces on the system, we obtain

• Consider the below rotational system

• Here, T(t) is the external torque that serves as the
input to the system and we consider the angular
displacement θ(t) as the output.
• When we equate this applied torque to the sum of all
the opposing torques on the system, we obtain
 Electrical Systems
• Electrical Systems can also be modelled like the mechanical
systems. Consider the series RLC circuit below:
• Mesh equation for this circuit gives,

Substitute,

The equation becomes,

• By comparing this equation, a similarity exists with the mechanical systems. This
gives the description of the analogy of systems
Analogous Systems
• Analogous systems are different types of systems that can
be modelled with similar form mathematical equations.
• Two systems are said to be analogous to each other if the
following two conditions are satisfied.
▪ The two systems are physically different
▪ Differential equation modelling of these two systems are same
• Electrical and Mechanical systems presents different forms
of analogy in modelling
• It can be shown that given an electrical device, there is
usually an analogous mechanical counterpart, and vice
versa.
• Electrical Analogies of Mechanical systems
Force-Voltage & Torque-Voltage analogies
• Considering the series electrical system and translational system earlier presented,
Force-Current & Torque-Current analogies
• Considering a parallel electrical system and translational system earlier presented,

• The nodal equation

gives,

Substitute,
Examples
Obtain the differential equations describing the complete dynamics of the mechanical
system
Solution:
The mechanical network can be drawn as:

Node
The electrical analog circuit is drawn with the help of electrical analog equations
which are obtained from nodal equations in Laplace domain. The electrical
analog equations are

The electrical analog based on

force-voltage analogy
Assignment
Obtain the nodal equations for the systems and draw its analogous
electrical network based on Force-Current Analogy
(a)
(b)
Control Systems
A control system is a system, which provides the desired response by
controlling the output.
• A typical system can be represented as shown:

Transfer Function Model of Control Systems

▪ Transfer function model is an s-domain mathematical model of control systems.
▪ The Transfer function of a Linear Time Invariant (LTI) system is defined as the ratio of
Laplace transform of output and Laplace transform of input by assuming all the initial
conditions are zero.
▪ Consider a system represented by the figure,
Classification of Control Systems
Control systems can be classified based on different criteria
a. Continuous time and Discrete-time Control Systems
Control Systems can be classified as continuous time control systems and
discrete time control systems based on the type of the signal used.
• In continuous time control systems, all the signals are continuous in time.
• In discrete time control systems, there exists one or more discrete time
signals.
b. SISO and MIMO Control Systems
Control Systems can be classified as SISO control systems and MIMO
control systems based on the number of inputs and outputs present.
• SISO (Single Input and Single Output) control systems have one input
and one output.
• MIMO (Multiple Inputs and Multiple Outputs) control systems have
more than one input and more than one output.
c. Open Loop and Closed Loop Control Systems
Control Systems can be classified as open loop control systems and closed
loop control systems based on the feedback path.
▪ In open loop control systems, output is not fed-back to the input. So,
the control action is independent of the desired output. Examples:

▪ In closed loop control systems, output is fed back to the input. So, the
control action is dependent on the desired output.
▪ The error detector produces an error signal, which is the difference between the
input and the feedback signal. This feedback signal is obtained from the block
(feedback elements) by considering the output of the overall system as an input to
this block. Instead of the direct input, the error signal is applied as an input to a
controller.
▪ So, the controller produces an actuating signal which controls the plant. In this
combination, the output of the control system is adjusted automatically till we get
the desired response. Hence, the closed loop control systems are also called the
automatic control systems. Examples:
Concept of Feedback
• A feedback is the process of returning either the output or some part of
the output to the input side and utilized as part of the system input.
• Feedback plays an important role in order to improve the performance of
the control systems.
• There are two types of feedback − Positive and Negative feedback
Positive Feedback Negative Feedback

• The transfer functions or overall gain of the feedback control systems are:
For Positive feedback For Negative feedback
where: T is the transfer function or overall gain of the control system. G is the open loop gain, which is
function of frequency. H is the gain of feedback path, which is function of frequency.
Effect of Feedback
Effect of Feedback on Overall Gain
▪ the overall gain may increase or decrease depending on the value of (1+GH).
▪ If the value of (1+GH) is less than 1, then the overall gain increases. In this case, 'GH'
value is negative because the gain of the feedback path is negative.
▪ If the value of (1+GH) is greater than 1, then the overall gain decreases. In this case,
'GH' value is positive because the gain of the feedback path is positive.
In general, 'G' and 'H' are functions of frequency. So, the feedback will increase the
overall gain of the system in one frequency range and decrease in the other frequency
range.
Effect of Feedback on Sensitivity
Sensitivity of the overall gain of negative feedback closed loop control system (T) to the
variation in open loop gain (G) is defined as:
(Derive***)
• Sensitivity may increase or decrease depending on
the value of (1+GH). If the value of (1+GH) is less • Therefore, we have to choose the values of
than 1, then sensitivity increases. If the value of 'GH' in such a way that the system is
(1+GH) is greater than 1, then sensitivity decreases. insensitive or less sensitive to parameter
In general, 'G' and 'H' are functions of frequency. variations.
Effect of Feedback on Stability
• A system is said to be stable, if its output is under control. Otherwise, it is said to be
unstable.
• If the denominator value is zero (i.e., GH = -1), then the output of the control system
will be infinite. So, the control system becomes unstable.
Therefore, we have to properly choose the feedback in order to make the control system
stable.
Effect of Feedback on Noise
To know the effect of feedback on noise, consider both open loop and close loop control
systems with noise signal and compare the transfer functions relations with and without
feedback due to noise signal alone.
• Open loop system
▪ The open loop transfer function due to
noise signal alone is:

▪ This obtained by making the other input

R(s) equals to zero.
• Close loop system
▪ The close loop transfer function due to
noise signal alone is:

▪ This obtained by making the other input

R(s) equals to zero.

• Comparing the transfer function for both systems, the gain in the close loop with
feedback, due to noise signal is decreased by a factor of provided that the
term is greater than 1.

Homework
• Examine the effect of feedback on other parameters such Bandwidth, System
damping e.t.c
Transfer Function
• Block Diagram Algebra
• Signal Flow Graph
Block Diagram Algebra

Summing Point
Basic Connections for Blocks
Series Connection
Parallel Connection
Feedback Connection
The output of the summing point is -

• Similarly, you can represent the positive feedback connection of two blocks with a
single block. The transfer function of this single block is the closed loop transfer
function of the positive feedback, i.e.,
Block Diagram Algebra for Summing Points
Shifting Summing Point After the Block

Shifting Summing Point Before the Block

Block Diagram Reduction Rules
The following rules can be followed to reduce complex block diagrams
into a single block:
• Check for the blocks connected in series and simplify.
• Check for the blocks connected in parallel and simplify.
• Check for the blocks connected in feedback loop and simplify.
• If there is difficulty with take-off point while simplifying, shift it towards right.
• If there is difficulty with summing point while simplifying, shift it towards left.
• Repeat the above steps till you get the simplified form, i.e., single block.
To calculate the transfer function of the block diagram having multiple
inputs, follow these steps in order
• Step 1 − Find the transfer function of block diagram by considering one input
at a time and make the remaining inputs as zero.
• Step 2 − Repeat step 1 for remaining inputs.
• Step 3 − Get the overall transfer function by adding all those transfer functions
Example
• The block diagram reduction process takes more time for
complicated systems. Because, we have to draw the
(partially simplified) block diagram after each step. So, to
overcome this drawback, use Signal Flow Graphs
(representation).
 Signal Flow Graph (SFG)
Basic Elements of SFG
• Nodes and branches are the basic elements of signal flow graph.
Node
• Node is a point which represents either a variable or a signal. There are three types
of nodes
✓ Input Node − It is a node, which has only outgoing branches.
✓ Output Node − It is a node, which has only incoming branches.
✓ Mixed Node − It is a node, which has both incoming and outgoing branches.
Branch
• Branch is a line segment which joins two nodes. It has both gain and direction.
Consider the signal flow graph in the figure to identify these nodes.
▪ The nodes present in this signal flow graph are y1, y2,
y3 and y4.
▪ y1 and y4 are the input node and output
node respectively.
▪ y2 and y3 are mixed nodes.
▪ The branches have gains of a, b, c and -d.
Constructing the SFG
• Construct a signal flow graph by considering the following algebraic
equations

Solution
• To get the overall signal flow graph, draw the signal flow graph for each
equation, then combine all these signal flow graphs
• There will be six nodes (y1, y2, y3, y4, y5 and y6) and eight branches in this
signal flow graph. The gains of the branches are a12, a23, a34, a45, a56, a42,
a53 and a35.
Conversion of Block Diagrams into Signal Flow Graphs
▪ Represent all the signals, variables, summing points and take-
off points of block diagram as nodes in signal flow graph.
▪ Represent the blocks of block diagram as branches in signal
flow graph.
▪ Represent the transfer functions inside the blocks of block
diagram as gains of the branches in signal flow graph.
▪ Connect the nodes as per the block diagram.
• If there is connection between two nodes (but there is no
block in between), then represent the gain of the branch as
one. For example, between summing points, between
summing point and takeoff point, between input and
summing point, between take-off point and output.
Example
• Convert the following block diagram into its equivalent signal flow graph.

Solution
• The remaining nodes (y1 to y9) are labelled in the block diagram.
• There are nine nodes other than input and output nodes.
• That is four nodes for four summing points, four nodes for four take-off points and
one node for the variable between blocks

Note:
• Mason’s gain formula is used to calculate the transfer function of this SFG
Mason’s Gain Formula for SFG
Illustration
• Finding the Transfer Function of the SFG shown

Solution
• Let us first define the basic components of the SFG, then apply Mason’s
Gain Formula to determine the Transfer Function
Path
• It is a traversal of branches from one node to any other node in the direction of branch
arrows. It should not traverse any node more than once. For the figure:

Forward Path
• The path that exists from the input node to the output node is known as forward path.
For the figure:

Forward Path Gain

• It is obtained by calculating the product of all branch gains of the forward path. For
the figure:
Calculation of Transfer Function using Mason’s Gain Formula
Example
• Finding the Transfer Function of the SFG shown
Solution
• There are 2 Forward Paths

• There are total 5 loops

• There are only 2 non-

touching loops
• There are no three non-touching loops
• Finding the

• Finding the

• The overall gain

TF
Time Response Analysis
If the output of control system for an input varies with respect to
time, then it is called the time response of the control system. The
time response consists of two parts.
• Transient response
• Steady state response

Mathematically, we can write the time

response c(t) as:

where,
• ctr(t) is the transient response
• css(t) is the steady state response
Example
• Find the transient and steady state terms of the time response of the
control system
Solution
• The second term will be zero as t denotes infinity. So, this is the transient
term.
• The first term 10 remains even as t approaches infinity. So, this is the steady state
term.

Standard Test Signals

The standard test signals are
• Impulse signal
• Step signal
• Ramp signal, and
• Parabolic signal
These signals are used to know the performance of the control systems using time
response of the output.
Standard Inputs
Laplace transform is therefore used to solve for the ratio output-
time response with respect to the input-time change
Laplace Transforms (Revised)
Response of a First Order System
• Systems can be modelled mathematically, by being
represented with equations. The standard 1st order
equations is as follows:
𝑑𝜃0
𝜃𝑖 = 𝜏 + 𝜃0
𝑑𝑡
where:
𝜏 is the time constant, 𝛿 is the damping ratio
𝜃0 is the output function, 𝜃𝑖 is the input function

• In order to solve for how the output change with time,

the input change with time must be decided.
Therefore, the Laplace transforms of the equation
𝜃𝑖 = 𝜏𝑠𝜃0 + 𝜃0
𝜃𝑖 = 𝜃0 (𝜏𝑠 + 1)
𝜃0 1
=
𝜃𝑖 𝜏𝑠+1

Consider a unity feedback closed loop control system.

The transfer function:

• The power of s is one in the denominator term. Hence,

the above transfer function is of the first order and the
system is said to be the first order system.
• We can re-write the equation as:

where,
• C(s) is the Laplace transform of the output signal c(t),
• R(s) is the Laplace transform of the input signal r(t), and
• T is the time constant.
• Steps to get the response (output) of the first order system in the time
domain.
Gains of First Order Systems

where T is the time constant

Impulse Response of First Order System
• Consider the unit impulse signal as an input to the first order system.

• Apply Laplace transform on both the sides

• Therefore,

• Applying Inverse
Laplace transform
on both the sides
Step Response of First Order System
• Consider the unit step signal as an input to the first order system.
• Apply Laplace transform on both the sides
• Therefore,
• By partial
fraction
method,
• Applying Inverse Laplace
transform on both the sides

• The unit step response, c(t) has both

the transient and the steady state
terms.
Ramp Response of First Order System
• Consider the unit ramp signal as an input to the first order system.
• Apply Laplace transform on both the sides
• Therefore,
• By partial
fraction
method,
• Applying Inverse Laplace
transform on both the sides

• The unit ramp response, c(t) has

both the transient and the steady
state terms.
Parabolic Response of First Order System
• Consider the unit parabolic signal as an input to the first order system.
• Apply Laplace transform on both the sides
• Therefore,
• By partial fraction method,

• Applying Inverse Laplace The transient term in the unit parabolic

transform on both the sides response is:

The steady state term in the unit

parabolic response is:
• The unit parabolic response, c(t)
has both the transient and the
steady state terms.
 Steady State Errors
• The deviation of the output of control system from desired response
during steady state is known as steady state error. It is represented as 𝒆𝒔𝒔
• This can be found using the final value theorem as follows

where, E(s) is the Laplace transform of the error signal, e(t)

Where,
• R(s) is the Laplace transform of
the reference Input signal r(t)
• C(s) is the Laplace transform of
the output signal c(t)
• We know the transfer function of the unity negative feedback closed loop
control system as

• The output of the summing point is -

 Steady State Errors for Non-Unity Feedback Systems
• Consider the following block diagram of closed loop control system,
which is having non-unity negative feedback.

• We can find the steady state errors only for the unity feedback systems.
So, we have to convert the non-unity feedback system into unity feedback
system.
• For this, include one unity positive feedback path and one unity negative
feedback path in the above block diagram.
• The new block diagram looks like as shown below.
• Simplify the above block
diagram by keeping the
unity negative feedback as
it is. The following is the
simplified block diagram.
• This block diagram resembles the block diagram of the unity negative
feedback closed loop control system. Here, the single block is having the
transfer function

• You can now calculate the steady state errors by using steady state error
formula given for the unity negative feedback systems.

• Note − It is meaningless to find the steady state errors for unstable closed
loop systems. So, we have to calculate the steady state errors only for
closed loop stable systems. This means we need to check whether the
control system is stable or not before finding the steady state errors.
Example 1

where T is the time constant

Solution
Example 2

where T is the time constant

Solution:
System Stability Analysis
(Routh-Hurwtz)
Routh-Hurwitz stability criterion is having one
necessary condition and one sufficient condition for
stability.
Necessary Condition for Routh-Hurwitz Stability
• The necessary condition is that the coefficients of the
characteristic polynomial should be positive. This implies that
all the roots of the characteristic equation should have negative
real parts.
Consider the characteristic equation of the order ‘n’ is -
• Note that, there should not be any term missing in the nth order
characteristic equation. This means that the nth order characteristic
equation should not have any coefficient that is of zero value.
Sufficient Condition for Routh-Hurwitz Stability
• The sufficient condition is that all the elements of the
first column of the Routh array should have the same
sign. This means that all the elements of the first column
of the Routh array should be either positive or negative
Routh Array Method
The procedure to forming the Routh Table
• Fill the first two rows of the Routh array with the coefficients of the
characteristic polynomial as mentioned in the table below. Start with the
coefficient of 𝑠 𝑛 and continue up to the coefficient of 𝑠 0
• Fill the remaining rows of the Routh array with the elements as
mentioned in the table below. Continue this process till you get the first
column element of row 𝑠 0 as 𝑎𝑛 in the characteristic equation
Example
Let us find the
stability of the
control system
having
characteristic
equation
• There are repeated poles on the imaginary axis. The system becomes unstable if there
are repeated poles on the imaginary axis. Hence, the system described in the example
above is unstable.
Frequency Response
 Frequency Response
• The response of a system can be partitioned into both the transient response and the steady
state response. Transient response can be found by using Fourier integrals.
• The steady state response of a system for an input sinusoidal signal is known as
the frequency response.
• If a sinusoidal signal is applied as an input to a Linear Time-Invariant (LTI) system,
then it produces the steady state output, which is also a sinusoidal signal. The input
and output sinusoidal signals have the same frequency, but different amplitudes and
phase angles.
• With a sinusoidal input signal
• The open loop transfer function: can be represented by magnitude and
phase
Substitute ,
• The output signal is:
• The amplitude and phase of the output sinusoidal signal are obtained by multiplying
the amplitudes and adding the phases of the input sinusoidal signal and that of the
Bode Plot
• The Bode plot or the Bode diagram consists of two plots −
❖ Magnitude plot
❖ Phase plot
• In both the plots, x-axis represents angular frequency (logarithmic scale).
Whereas y-axis represents the magnitude (linear scale) of open loop transfer
function in the magnitude plot and the phase angle (linear scale) of the open
loop transfer function in the phase plot.
• The magnitude of the open loop transfer function in dB is

• The phase angle of the open loop transfer function in degrees is

• Note: The frequency plot is mostly performed on the open-loop transfer

function. However, the system (in most cases) are of unity feedback, hence are
commonly stated as just ‘transfer function’.
Rules for Construction of Bode Plots
Follow these rules while constructing a Bode plot.
• Represent the open loop transfer function in the standard time
constant form
• Find the corner frequencies and arrange them in ascending order.
• Consider the starting frequency of the Bode plot as 1/10th of the
minimum corner frequency or 0.1 rad/sec whichever is smaller
value and draw the Bode plot upto 10 times maximum corner
frequency.
• Draw the magnitude plots for each term and combine these plots
properly.
• Draw the phase plots for each term and combine these plots
properly.
Note − The corner frequency is the frequency at which there is a
change in the slope of the magnitude plot.
The stability of the control system based on the relation
between gain margin and phase margin
Example
Exercises
Exercises
Polar Plot
Polar Plot
(Some Basic Blocks)
1. Integrator
2. Differentiator
3. Exponential Delay
First Order
First Order
Second Order
Example 1
Nyquist Plot
• Nyquist plots are the continuation of polar plots for finding the stability
of the closed loop control systems by varying ω from −∞ to ∞. That
means, Nyquist plots are used to draw the complete frequency response
of the open loop transfer function.
Aliter 2
Example
Example
Homework 1
Homework 2