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MINISTRY OF HIGHER EDUCATION MINISTERE DE L’ENSEIGNEMENT SUPERIEUR
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THE UNIVERSITY OF BAMENDA L’UNIVERSITY DE BAMENDA
P.O. BOX 39, Bambili B.P. 39, Bambili
Fax (237) 233 366 030 – Website: www.uniba-edu.cm Fax (237) 233 366 030 – Website: www.uniba-edu.cm
National Higher Polytechnic Institute (NAHPI) Ecole Nationale Superieure Polytechnique (ENSPB)
(School of Engineering) (Ecole d’Ingenieurs)
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DEPARTMENT: Mechanical and Industrial Engineering

COURSE TITLE: Mechanical Processes Instrumentation and Control
COURSE CODE: MECE4103
LEVEL/YEAR: 400/3

GROUP 7:

Presented by:
Name Registration Number
TANGYIE CHE MUNKWA UBA18E0108
TANO DELAND UBA18E0087
TAPISHI LEVIS T UBA18E0305
TANWANI FABRIS M UBA18E0296
TONGWA KELLY MBETOH UBA18E0120
WABE NDANGEH PROSPER UBA20EP076

Course Instructor:
YAKUM RENETA, PhD.
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS------------------------------------------------------------------------(i)
LIST OF FIGURES------------------------------------------------------------------------------(ii)
STABILITY OF A SYSTEM-------------------------------------------------------------------1
1. Introduction-------------------------------------------------------------------------------1
2. Definition---------------------------------------------------------------------------------1
3. Stability and Poles-----------------------------------------------------------------------2
4. Bounded and Unbounded signals------------------------------------------------------3
5. Types of Stable System-----------------------------------------------------------------4
5.1. Absolutely Stable System-------------------------------------------------------------4
5.2. Conditionally Stable System----------------------------------------------------------5
5.3. Marginally/Critically Stable System-------------------------------------------------5
ROUTH – HURWITZ CRITERION-----------------------------------------------------------6
6. Overview----------------------------------------------------------------------------------6
7. The criterion------------------------------------------------------------------------------6
8. Advantages of Routh – Hurwitz criterion--------------------------------------------11
9. Limitations of Routh – Hurwitz criterion--------------------------------------------11
CONCLUSION-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------12
REFERENCES------------------------------------------------------------------------------------13

(i)
 LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Presenting stability--------------------------------------------------------------------1

Figure 2: Control system and stability----------------------------------------------------------2

Figure 3.1: Poles in left half of s-plane---------------------------------------------------------2

Figure 3.2: Poles in right half of s-plane-------------------------------------------------------3

Figure 3.3: Dominant poles-----------------------------------------------------------------------3

Figure 4: Bounded and unbounded signals----------------------------------------------------4
Figure 5.1: Absolutely stable system-------------------------------------------------------------5
Figure 5.2: Marginally stable system------------------------------------------------------------5
Figure 6: (a) Partial conditions. (b) Condition C = C1 ∩ C2 ∩ C3.
(c) Nyquist contour----------------------------------------------------------------------------------8

(ii)
 STABILITY OF A SYSTEM
1. Introduction
In nature, a system is any portion of the universe that is set aside for any studies. This could be
thermodynamic or scientific studies. Since different chemical and biological reactions occur
every second, it is therefore necessary for every system to be brought under control. In a control
system, there are laws and theorems that govern the way reactions coexist such that they are
brought under a bounded or an unbounded criterion. One of such theory is the Routh - Hurwitz
criterion.

2. Definition
The ability of a system to produce bounded output when a bounded input is applied to it is called
stability of a system. In other words, stability moves a system to a steady state and tries to
maintain its state at that level no matter the variation in the input parameters of the system.

In order to get a specified output, the various parameters of a system must be controlled. The
characteristic property of the control system in this case is what determines the stability or
instability of a system.

Stability: The state of being resistant to change and not prone to wild fluctuation or the capacity
of an object to return to equilibrium or to its original position after having being displaced.

Figure 1: Presenting stability

Most systems are commanded using another system called the Control System. So, stability
drives towards maintaining a bounded output for a given specified input.

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Control system: It manages, commands, directs, or regulates the behavior of other devices or
systems using control loops. It can range from a single home heating controller using thermostat
controlling a domestic boiler to large industrial control systems which are used for controlling
processes or machines. It is also applied in automobiles for example the Electronic stable
control (ESC), used to improve a vehicles stability by detecting and reducing loss of traction.

Input Output
Control System

Figure 2: Control system and stability

3. Stability and Poles

It can be shown that the positions of the roots of the characteristic equation (poles of the transfer
function) in the complex plane determine the stability of the system.

• If all the roots of the characteristic equation are on the left-hand side of the complex
plane, i.e. all the roots have negative real parts, then the system is stable.

Figure 3.1: Poles in left half of s-plane

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 • If there is at least one root on the right-hand side of the complex plane, then the system is
unstable and the response will increase without bounds with time.

Figure 3.2: Poles in right half of s-plane

• If there is at least one root with zero real parts, i.e. on the imaginary axis, then the
response will contain undamped sinusoidal oscillations or a nondecaying response.
• If there are no unstable roots, the response neither decreases to zero, nor increases
without bounds. The system is called marginally stable.

Figure 3.3: Dominant poles

The direct approach to the determination of the stability of a system would therefore be the
calculation of the roots of the characteristic equation.

4. Bounded and unbounded signals

Bounded value of a signal represents a finite value. More specifically, the bounded signal holds a
finite value of maxima and minima. Thus, if maxima and minima of any signal are finite then
this means all the other values between maxima and minima will also be finite. As seen in
‘Figure 3a’ below, the maxima and minima of the signal are having finite values. Thus, such a
signal is said to be bounded and if such an output is provided by a system, then it is said to be a
stable system.

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Conversely, an unstable system provides an unbounded output when the applied input is bounded
in nature. Generally, the signals whose graph shows continuous rise thereby showing infinite
value such as ramp signal are known as unbounded signals (Figure 3b).

c(t) c(t)

t t

a) Bounded signal b) Unbounded signal

Figure 4: Bounded and unbounded signals

5. Types of stable system

There are 3 types of stable systems: Absolutely, conditionally and marginally stable systems.

5.1. Absolutely stable system

This is one whose output is always bounded no matter the variation in the input parameters. The
nature of its poles is always real and negative. This means it is such a system whose output after
reaching a steady-state does not show changes irrespective of the disturbances or variation in the
system parameter values.

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 Figure 5.1: Absolutely stable system

5.2. Conditionally stable system

This one gives bounded output for only the specified conditions of the system defined by the
systems parameters.

5.3. Marginally/critically stable system

One that is stable by producing an output signal with constant amplitude and constant frequency
of oscillations for bounded input.

Figure 5.2: Marginally stable system

The General necessary conditions for the stability of a system:

The general conditions for a system to be stable is that the coefficients of the characteristic
polynomial should be positive. This means that all the roots of the characteristic equation should
have negative root parts.

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 ROUTH – HURWITZ CRITERION
6. Overview
In control system theory, the Routh – Hurwitz stability criterion is a mathematical test that is a
necessary and sufficient condition for the stability of a linear time invariant control system.

The development of a criterion for testing the stability of linear systems is generally attributed to
Routh. Application of the criterion involves an analysis of the characteristic equation, and
methods for interpreting and applying the criterion are very widely known and used, especially
in control systems analysis. A similar analytical procedure for testing the stability of a system by
analysis of the characteristic equation was developed simultaneously, and quite independently,
by Hurwitz. As a result, both authors share the credit and the procedure is commonly known to
control engineers as the Routh-Hurwitz criterion. The criterion provides an analytical means for
testing the stability of a linear system of any order without having to obtain the roots of the
characteristic equation.

7. The criterion:
The Routh-Hurwitz criterion is a necessary and sufficient criterion for linear system stability.
This criterion is based on the ordering of the coefficients of some characteristic equation

into an array as follows:

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Here,

The Routh-Hurwitz criterion requires that all the elements of the first column be nonzero and
have the same sign. The condition is both necessary and sufficient. For example, we consider the
characteristic equation of a third-order system

The coefficient array is,

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The necessary and sufficient conditions will be,

These conditions are presented in the figure below

Figure 6: (a) Partial conditions. (b) Condition C = C1 ∩ C2 ∩ C3. (c) Nyquist contour

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An array, commonly known as the Routh array, is constructed from the coefficients of the
characteristic equation arranged in descending powers of s as follows:

The first row is written to include alternate coefficients starting with the highest power term; the
second row includes the remaining alternate coefficients starting with the second highest-power
term as indicated. The third row is constructed as follows:

and so on, until all remaining u are zero. The fourth row is constructed similarly from
coefficients in the two rows immediately above as follows:

and so on, until all remaining v are zero. This process is repeated until all remaining rows of the
array are completed. The array is triangular as indicated, and the last two rows comprise only one
term each, y and z, respectively.

The Routh-Hurwitz criterion states:

The number of roots of the characteristic equation with positive real parts (unstable) is equal to
the number of changes of sign of the coefficients in the first column of the array.

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Thus, for the system to be stable, all the coefficients in the first column of the array must have
the same sign, and if it does not have the same sign or there is a sign change, then the number of
sign changes in the first column is equal to the number of roots of the characteristic equation in
the right half of the s-plane i.e. equal to the number of roots with positive real parts.

Special cases

Two special cases which may arise in the application of the Routh-Hurwitz criterion need to be
considered, although they are unlikely to occur in aircraft applications. The first case occurs
when, in the routine calculation of the array, a coefficient in the first column is zero. The second
case occurs when, also in the routine calculation of the array, all coefficients in a row are zero. In
either case no further progress is possible and an alternative procedure is required. The methods
for dealing with these cases are best illustrated by example.

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8. Advantages of Routh- Hurwitz Criterion
1. We can find the stability of the system without solving the equation.
2. We can easily determine the relative stability of the system.
3. By this method, we can determine the range of K for stability.
4. By this method, we can also determine the point of intersection for root locus with an
imaginary axis.

9. Limitations of Routh- Hurwitz Criterion

1. This criterion is applicable only for a linear system.
2. It does not provide the exact location of poles on the right and left half of the S plane.
3. In case of the characteristic equation, it is valid only for real coefficients.

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 CONCLUSION

• Stability is an important aspect to be considered when working with any system. Wild
fluctuations in the arranging of input and output signals may be catastrophic to a
production line, final product and large deviation of product from its original purpose.
• Complex and some simple mechanisms require a control unit where all the functionalities
of every part or line is monitored. This is the Control System. It may be stable or
unstable.
• 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.
• 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.
• If all the roots of the characteristic equation exist to the left half of the ‘s’ plane, then the
control system is stable.
• If at least one root of the characteristic equation exists to the right half of the ‘s’ plane,
then the control system is unstable.
• So, it is required to find the roots of the characteristic equation to know whether the
control system is stable or unstable.

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 REFERENCES
www.tutorialspoint.com/control-systems
www.sciencedirect.com/stability-of-control-system
ME 304 CONTROL SYSTEMS, Prof. Dr. Y. Samim Unlusoy, Sability – 1

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