Automatic Control Systems Amal El Gehani

Time Response

Because time is used as an independent variable in most control systems, it is usually of

interest to evaluate the output response with respect to time or, simply, the time response.

The output response of a system is the sum of two responses: the forced response and
the natural response.

Poles and Zeros of a First-Order System,

Given the transfer function, G(s), as shown below,

Figure 1.a: a first order system

A pole exists at s=-5, and a zero exists at s= -2. These values are plotted on the s-plan
in figure 1.b using X for the pole and O for the zero.

Figure 1.b: pole zero plot of the system

Multiplying the transfer function of figure 1.a by a step function yields,

𝑠+2 𝐴 𝐵
𝐶(𝑠) = 𝑠(𝑠+5) = 𝑠 + 𝑠+5 .......(1)

Where

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Automatic Control Systems Amal El Gehani

𝑠+2 2
𝐴= | =
𝑠 + 5 𝑠=0 5

𝑠+2 3
𝐵= | =
𝑠 𝑠=−5 5

Thus,

2⁄ 3
𝐶(𝑠) = 5 + ⁄5
𝑠 𝑠+5

2 3 −5𝑡
𝑐(𝑡) = + 𝑒
5 5

From figure 1.c, it can be concluded the following:

1. A pole of the input function generates the form of the forced response.
2. A pole of the transfer function generates the form of natural response.
3. A pole on the real axis generates an exponential of the 𝑒 𝛼𝑡 , where 𝛼 is the pole
location on the real axis (the pole at -5 generated 𝑒 −5𝑡 ).
4. The zeros and poles generate the amplitudes for both the forced and natural
responses. (A and B in the equation 1)

Figure 1.c: the response components generated by the poles and zeros

Note that,

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Automatic Control Systems Amal El Gehani

- Each pole of the system transfer function that is on the real axis generates an
exponential response that is a component of the natural response.
- The input pole generates the forced response.
Evaluating response using poles:
Example 1:
Given the system of figure 2, write the output, c(t), in general terms . Specify the forced
and natural parts of the solution.

Figure 2

Solution:

Each system pole generates an exponential as part of the natural response. The input’s
pole generates the forced response. Thus,

𝐾1 𝐾 2 𝐾
3 4 𝐾
𝐶(𝑠) = + 𝑠+2 + 𝑠+4 + 𝑠+5
𝑠

Forced Natural
response response

Taking the inverse Laplace transform,

𝑐(𝑡) = 𝐾1 + 𝐾2 𝑒 −2𝑡 + 𝐾3 𝑒 −4𝑡 + 𝐾4 𝑒 −5𝑡

Forced Natural
response response

 First Order Systems,

A first order system without zeros can be described by the transfer function shown in
figure 3.

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Automatic Control Systems Amal El Gehani

Figure3: a) first order system, b) pole plot.

If the input is a unit step, where R(s)=1/s, the Laplace transform of the step response is
C(s), where
𝑎
𝐶(𝑠) = 𝑅(𝑠)𝐺(𝑠) =
𝑠(𝑠 + 𝑎)

Taking the inverse transform, the step response is given by

𝑐(𝑡) = 𝑐𝑓 (𝑡) + 𝑐𝑛 (𝑡) = 1 − 𝑒 −𝑎𝑡 .....(1)

where,

The forced response cf(t)=1 is generated from the input pole at the origin.

The natural response cn(t)= e-at is generated from the system at –a.

Now, by examining the parameter a, which is the only parameter needed to describe the
transient response. When t=1/a,

e−at |t=1/a = e−1 = 0.37

Or

𝑐(𝑡)|𝑡=1 = 1 − e−at |t=1 = 1 − 0.37 = 0.63

𝑎 a

Figure 4 illustrates first order system response to a unit step. There are three transient
response specifications to define.

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Automatic Control Systems Amal El Gehani

Figure 4: first order system response to unit step.

1. Time Constant:
1/𝑎 is the time constant of the response. The time constant can be describd as the time
for e-at to decay to 37%.
Or , the time constant is the time it takes for the step response to rise to 63% of its final
value.
Tc=1/a
2. Rise Time, Tr.
Rise time is defined as the time for the waveform to go from 0.1 to 0.9 of its final
value. Rise time is found by solving Eq. (1) for the difference in time at c(t)=0.9 and
c(t)=0.1. Hence,
2.31 0.11 2.2
𝑇𝑟 = − =
𝑎 𝑎 𝑎
3. Settling Time, Ts,
Settling time is defined as the time response to reach and stay within 2% of its final
value. Letting c(t)=0.98, and solving Eq (1), the settling time is
4
𝑇𝑠 =
𝑎

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Automatic Control Systems Amal El Gehani

 Second Order Systems,

 This section shall obtain the response of a typical second- order control system to a
step unit.
 A second order system have a wide range of response, these responses are depicted
in figure 5.
 All examples are derived from figure 5.a, the general case.
 By assigning appropriate values to parameters a and b, it is possible to show second-
order transient responses.
 Using C(s)=R(s)G(s), where R(s)=1/s.
 The types of responses as the following:

1. Over-Damped Response,
For this response,
9
𝐶(𝑠) =
𝑠(𝑠 2 + 9𝑠 + 9)
 This function has a pole at the origin (s=0) that comes from the unit step input ,R(s),
and generates the constant forced respons.
 This function has two real poles (s=-7.854 and s=-1.146) that come from the system,
G(s).,which genrates an exponential natural response whose exponential frequecny is equal to
the pole location.
 The ouput could have been written as 𝑐(𝑡) = 1 + 0.171𝑒 −7.854𝑡 − 1.171𝑒 −1.146𝑡
 This response is shown in figure 5.b.
2. Under-Damped Response,
For this response,
9
𝐶(𝑠) =
𝑠(𝑠 2 + 2𝑠 + 9)
 The unit step input generates a pole at the origin (s=0).
 The system generates two complex poles (𝑠 = −1 ± 𝑗√8).
√8
 𝑐(𝑡) = 1 − 𝑒 −𝑡 (𝑐𝑜𝑠√8 + 𝑠𝑖𝑛√8𝑡).
8

 It can be seen that the real part of the pole matches the xponential decay frequency
of the sinusoid’s amplitude, while th imaginary part of th pole matches the frequency of the
sinusoidal oscillation.
 This type of response is shown in figure 5.c
3. Undamped Response,

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Automatic Control Systems Amal El Gehani

For this response,

9
𝐶(𝑠) =
𝑠(𝑠 2+ 9)
 This function has a pole at the origin (s=0), which is generated from the unit step
input.
 The system generates two poles on the imaginary axis at ±𝑗3, which generate a
sinusoidal natural response whose frequency is equal to the location of the imaginary poles.
 𝑐(𝑡) = 1 − 𝑐𝑜𝑠3𝑡.
 There is no decay because the absence of the real part in the pole.
 Figure 5.d shows the undamped response.

4. Critically Damped Response,

For this response,
9 9
𝐶(𝑠) = =
𝑠(𝑠 2 + 6𝑠 + 9) 𝑠(𝑠 + 3)2
 This function has a pole at the origin (s=0) that comes from the unit step input.
 The system generates two multiple real poles at -3, which generates a natural
response consisting of an exponential and an exponential multiplied by time.
 𝑐(𝑡) = 1 − 3𝑡𝑒 −3𝑡 − 𝑒 −3𝑡 .
 Figure 5.e shows the critically damped response.
 The critically damped responses are the fastest possible without the overshoot

System Pole-Zero Plot Response

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Automatic Control Systems Amal El Gehani

Figure5: second-order system responses

.

The following to sum up all natural and their characteristics,

1. Overdamped Responses:
Poles: Two real at – 𝜎1 , −𝜎2

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Automatic Control Systems Amal El Gehani

Natural Response: Two exponentials with time constants equal to the reciprocal of the
pole locations, or
𝑐(𝑡) = 𝐾1 𝑒 −𝜎1 𝑡 + 𝐾2 𝑒 −𝜎2 𝑡
2. Underdamped Responses:
Poles: Two complex at −𝜎𝑑 ± 𝑗𝜔𝑑
Natural Response: Damped sinusoid with an exponential envelope whose time constant
is equal to the reciprocal of the pole’s real part. The radian frequency of the sinusoid, the
damped frequency of oscillation, is equal to imaginary part of the poles,
𝑐(𝑡) = 𝐴𝑒 −𝜎𝑑 cos(𝜔𝑑 𝑡 − 𝜑)
3. Undamped Responses,
Poles: Two imaginary at ±𝑗𝜔1
Natural Response: Undamped sinusoid with radian frequency equal to the imaginary
part of the poles,
4. Critically Damped Responses:
Poles: Two real at −𝜎1
Natural Response: one term is an exponential whose time constant is equal to the
reciprocal of the pole location. Another term is the product of time ,t, and an exponential with
time constant equal to the reciprocal of the pole location,
𝑐(𝑡) = 𝐾1 𝑒 −𝜎1 𝑡 + 𝐾2 𝑡𝑒 −𝜎1 𝑡

The step responses for the four cases of damping are illustrated in figure 6.

Figure 6: step responses for second-order system damping cases.

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Automatic Control Systems Amal El Gehani

- Transient Response for Second – Order Systems.

There are two quantities can be used to describe the characteristics of the second- order
transient response, which are:

1. Natural Frequency, 𝝎𝒏
The natural frequency of a second order system is the frequency of oscillation of the
system without damping.
2. Damping Ratio, 𝜻
The damping ratio is describing how oscillations in a system decay. A viable definition
for this quantity is one that compares the exponential decay frequency of the envelope to the
natural frequency. Also, the reciprocal , which is proportional to the ratio of the natural
period to the exponential time constant.
Or,
𝐸𝑥𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑦 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑛𝑐𝑦 1 𝑁𝑎𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑑 (𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑)
𝜁= =
𝑁𝑎𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 (𝑟𝑎𝑑/𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑) 2𝜋 𝐸𝑥𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡

The general second- order system shown in figure 5.a can be transformed to show the
quantities 𝜉and 𝜔𝑛 . Consider the general system,
𝑏
𝐺(𝑠) = 𝑠2 +𝑎𝑠+𝑏 ......(1)

Without damping, the poles would be on the 𝑗𝜔, and the response would be an
undamped sinusoid. For the poles to be purely imaginary, 𝑎 = 0. Hence,
𝑏
𝐺(𝑠) =
𝑠2 +𝑏
By definition, the natural frequency, 𝜔𝑛 , is the frequency of oscillation of this system.
Since the poles of this system are on the 𝑗𝜔 axis at ±𝑗√𝑏
𝜔𝑛 = √𝑏
Hence,
𝑏 = 𝜔𝑛2

Now, assuming an underdamped system in order to find 𝑎, the complex poles have a
real part,𝜎, equal to – 𝑎/2. The magnitude of this value is then the exponential decay
frequency. Hence,

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Automatic Control Systems Amal El Gehani

𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑦 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 |𝜎| 𝑎/2

𝜁= = =
𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦 (𝑟𝑎𝑑/𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑) 𝜔𝑛 𝜔𝑛

Therefore,

𝑎 = 2𝜉𝜔𝑛

Then, the general second order transfer function looks like this:

𝜔2
𝐺(𝑠) = 𝑠2 +2𝜁𝜔𝑛 𝑠+𝜔2 ..... (2)
𝑛 𝑛

Example 1:

Given the transfer function, find 𝜉and 𝜔𝑛 ,

36
𝐺(𝑠) =
𝑠2 + 4.2𝑠 + 36

By comparing the above system to Eq.(2),

𝜔𝑛 2 = 36 and 2𝜉𝜔𝑛 = 4.2

Therefore: 𝜔𝑛 = 6 and 𝜉 = 0.35

To relate 𝜁 and 𝜔𝑛 to the pole location, solving for the poles of the transfer function in
Eq.(2) yields,

𝑠1,2 = −𝜉𝜔𝑛 ± 𝜔𝑛 √𝜉 2 − 1 ..... (3)

The various cases of second-order response can be determined the numerical value of
𝜁; thy are summarized in figure 7.

𝜻 Poles Step Response

0

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Automatic Control Systems Amal El Gehani

0<𝜁<1

𝜁>1

Figure 7: second-order response as a function of damping ratio

Example 2:

For each of the systems shown in figure 8, find the value of 𝜁 and report the kind of
response expected.

Figure 8

Solution:

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First match the form of these systems to the forms shown in Eqs. (1),and (2).

Since 𝑎 = 2𝜁𝜔𝑛 and 𝜔𝑛 = √𝑏.

Therefore,

𝑎
𝜁=
2√𝑏

Hence, for system (a) : 𝜁 = 1.155, which 𝜁 > 1, so the system is overdamped.

For system (b): 𝜁 = 1, thus the system is critically damped.

And for system (c): 𝜁 = 0.894, 𝜁 < 1, thus the system is underdamped.

 Transient Response Specifications:

The underdamped second order system displays unique behaviour that must be
itemized;

The transient specifications associated with underdamped responses are related with
pole location. The step response for the general second order system of Eq.2, C(s), is:

𝜔𝑛2 𝑎1 𝑎2 𝑠 + 𝑎3
𝐶(𝑠) = 2 2
= + 2
𝑠(𝑠 + 2𝜁𝜔𝑛 𝑠 + 𝜔𝑛 ) 𝑠 𝑠 + 2𝜁𝜔𝑛 𝑠 + 𝜔𝑛2

Where 𝜁 < 1. Expanding by partial fractions and taking inverse Laplace transform,
yields,

1
𝑐(𝑡) = 1 − 𝑒 −𝜁𝜔𝑛𝑡 cos(𝜔𝑛 √1 − 𝜁 2 𝑡 − 𝜙) ..... (4)
√1−𝜁 2

𝜁
Where 𝜙 = 𝑡𝑎𝑛−1 ( )
√1−𝜁 2

Figure 9 shows the transient specifications that associated with underdamped system.
These specifications are defined as follow:

1. Rise Time, Tr : the time required for the waveform to go from 0.1 of the final value
to 0.9 of the final value.

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Automatic Control Systems Amal El Gehani

2. Peak Time, Tp : the time required to reach the first, or maximum , peak.
3. Percent Overshoot, %O.S: theXS amount that the waveform overshoots the steady
state, or final, value at the peak time, expressed as a percentage of the steady state value.
4. Settling time, Ts :the time required for the transient’s damped oscillations t reach and
stay within ±2% of the steady state value.

Figure 9: second order underdamped response specifications

Rise time, peak time, and settling time yield information about the speed of the
transient response. This information can help a designer determine if the speed and the nature
of the response do or don not degrade the performance of the system.

Evaluation of Tp :
Tp is found by differentiating c(t) in Eq.(4) and finding the first zero crossing after t=0
𝑑𝑐(𝑡)
, = 0, that yields:
𝑑𝑡
𝜋
𝑇𝑝 =
𝜔𝑛 √1 − 𝜁 2
Evaluation of %O.S:
From figure 9, the percent overshoot, %O.S, is given by:
𝑐𝑚𝑎𝑥 − 𝑐𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙
%𝑂𝑆 = × 100
𝑐𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙

The term cmax is found by evaluating c(t) at the peak time, c(Tp), and cfinal=1. Hence,

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𝜁𝜋
−
%𝑂𝑆 = 𝑒 √1−𝜁 2 × 100

Notice that the percent overshoot is a function only of the damping ratio, 𝜁.

So, the value of %OS allows finding 𝜁 by inversing the equation above, which is:

−ln(%𝑂𝑆/100)
𝜁=
√𝜋2 +𝑙𝑛2 (%𝑂𝑆/100)

Evaluation of Ts:
By using the definition of the settling time which is the time it takes for the amplitude
of the decaying sinusoid in Eq.(4) to reach 0.02, or
1
𝑒 −𝜁𝜔𝑛𝑡 = 0.02
√1 − ζ2
Therefore, the settling time is
−ln(0.02√1 − 𝜁 2 )
𝑇𝑠 =
𝜁𝜔𝑛

The above equation can be approximated to,

4
𝑇𝑠 =
𝜁𝜔𝑛

Evaluation of Tr
A precise analytical relationship between rise time and damping ratio cannot be found.
However, it’s found with the aid of computer. First, designate 𝜔𝑛 𝑡 as normalized time
variable and select a value for 𝜁, and solve for the values that yield c(t)=0.9 and c(t)=0.1.
Subtracting the two values and then obtain the rise time value.
Example 3:

Given the transfer function,

100
𝐺(𝑠) =
𝑠2 + 15𝑠 + 100

Find Tp, %OS, and Ts

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Solution:

𝜔𝑛 = √𝟏𝟎𝟎 = 𝟏𝟎

2𝜔𝑛 𝜁 = 15

𝜁 = 0.75

Therefore,

𝑇𝑝 = 0.457 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑, %𝑂𝑆 = 2.838, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑇𝑠 = 0.533 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑

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