Chapter 2.

2
Dynamic Characteristics of Instruments

October 2023 AAiT SECE Teshome Hambissa 1

 Dynamic Characteristics

 Describes the behavior of a system with time when some input is given to the
system.
 Mathematical modeling of the given problem is required using some ideal
conditions.
 Dynamic response to the given modeling is also important.
 To study the responses, the transfer function is helpful.
Properties of transfer functions
1) The transfer function is a general relation between the Laplace transforms of the
output and input quantities 𝑄0 𝑠 and 𝑄𝑖 𝑠 . It is not the ratio of the time-
varying quantities 𝑞0 𝑡 and 𝑞𝑖 𝑡 .
2
 Contd…

 Example: the current and emf in the LRC circuit.

𝑑𝑖(𝑡) 1
𝑒 𝑡 =𝐿 + 𝑅𝑖 𝑡 + න 𝑖 𝑡 𝑑𝑡
𝑑𝑡 𝐶

Taking Laplace transform. We get,

𝐼(𝑠)
ℒ 𝑒(𝑡) = 𝐸 𝑠 = 𝑠𝐿𝐼 𝑠 + 𝑅𝐼 𝑠 +
𝑠𝐶
Therefore the transfer function,

𝐼(𝑠) 1
𝐺 𝑠 = =
𝐸(𝑠) 𝑠𝐿 + 𝑅 + 1Τ𝑠𝐶
3
 Contd…

2) The transfer function does not give any insight into the structure of the system.
3) It offers a symbolic picture of the dynamic characteristics of the system
4) If the transfer function of an individual is known, the overall characerstics is
obtained by their product.

𝐾𝑇
Temperature 𝐾𝑇 Pen movement
𝐾𝐴 𝑠 2 2𝜁𝑠
𝜏𝑠 + 1 + +1
𝑤𝑛2 𝑤𝑛
Transducer Amplifier Recorder

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Contd…

5
 Contd…

Sensor Output signal

Input signal
x(t) or y(t)
system

 In many situations, we must use y(t) to infer x(t), therefore a qualitative understanding
of the operation that the sensor or measurement system performs is imperative to
understanding the input signal correctly.

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 Contd…

 The response of a measurement system subjected to a time varying input can be divided
into two parts:
1. the transient response and
2. the steady state response.
 If 𝑐(𝑡) is the total response of the system, then in general
y 𝑡 = 𝑦𝑡 𝑡 + 𝑦𝑠𝑠 (𝑡)
 Where 𝑦𝑡 𝑡 the transient response and
𝑦𝑠𝑠 (𝑡) be the steady state response
Remark: In many applications, the transient response of the system i.e. the way the system
settles down to its final steady state conditions is more important than the steady state
response.

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Mathematical models of measurement systems
 A measurement system is a physical system.

 Therefore, before one can analyze the system, one must be able to determine the
mathematical model of the system.

 The input-output relations which define the dynamics of an instrument can be written in a
differential equation.

 Consider a linear time-invariant system which is defined by an 𝑛𝑡ℎ order differential

equation with constant coefficient is given by the form:
d n y (t ) d n 1 y (t ) dy (t ) d m x(t ) d m 1 x(t ) dx(t )
an n
 a n 1 n 1
   a1  a 0 y (t )  bm m
 bm 1 m 1
   b1  b0 x(t )
dt dt dt dt dt dt

F(t) = forcing function

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 Contd...
Where m ≤ n
y(t) = output from the system
x(t) = input to the system
t = time
a’s and b’s = system physical parameters, assumed constant

y(0)
The solution 𝑦 𝑡 = 𝑦𝑐𝑓 + 𝑦𝑝𝑖
x(t) y(t)
Measurement
system
Where ycf = complementary-function part of solution
ypi = particular-integral part of solution

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Complementary-Function Solution

10
 Particular Solution
Method of undetermined coefficients:

𝑦𝑝𝑖 = 𝐴𝑓 𝑡 + 𝐵𝑓ሶ 𝑡 + 𝐶 𝑓ሷ 𝑡 ⋯

Where f(t) = the function that describes input quantity

A, B, C = constant which can be found by substituting ypi into ODEs
Important Notes
After a certain-order derivative, all higher derivatives are zero.
After a certain-order derivative, all higher derivatives have the same functional form as
some lower-order derivatives.
Upon repeated differentiation, new functional forms continue to arise.

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 Zero-order Systems
All the a’s and b’s other than a0 and b0 are zero.
𝑎𝑜 𝑦 𝑡 = 𝑏0 𝑥 𝑡 → 𝑦 𝑡 = 𝐾𝑥(𝑡) 𝑊ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝐾 = 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦 = 𝑏𝑜 Τ𝑎𝑜

 The behavior is characterized by its static sensitivity, K and remains constant regardless
of input frequency (ideal dynamic characteristic).
𝑥
xm 𝑉 = 𝑉𝑟 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒, 𝐾 = 𝑉𝑟 Τ𝑥𝑚
𝑥𝑚
+
y=V Where 0  x  xm and Vr is a reference voltage
x=0 -

A linear potentiometer used as position sensor is a zero-order sensor.

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Contd…

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 Contd…
 A linear potentiometer used as position sensor is a zero-order sensor.
 Remark: In zero-order instruments, there is no frequency dependency in between the
input and the output. The change in amplitude is uniform across the spectrum of all
possible frequency thus it is impossible to have such device practically except in limited
range of operation.

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 First-Order Systems
 All the a’s and b’s other than a1, a0 and b0 are zero.
𝑑𝑦(𝑡)
𝑎1 + 𝑎𝑜 𝑦 𝑡 = 𝑏𝑜 𝑥(𝑡)
𝑑𝑡
𝑎1 𝑑𝑦(𝑡) 𝑏𝑜 𝑌(𝑠) 𝐾
+ 𝑦 𝑡 = 𝑥(𝑡) =
𝑎𝑜 𝑑𝑡 𝑎𝑜 𝑋(𝑠) 𝑠𝜏 + 1

𝑦 𝐾
𝐷 =
𝑥 𝜏𝐷 + 1

Where K = b0/a0 is the static sensitivity

 = a1/a0 is the system’s time constant (dimension of time)
eg. Mercury Thermometer, thermocouple,RL and RC circuits...

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 First-Order Systems
 The natural or un-driven response for above equation is given as:

𝑏0 −𝑎𝑎0 𝑡
𝑦 𝑡 = 𝑒 1
𝑎1

𝑏0 −𝑡ൗ 𝐾
= 𝑒 𝜏 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑐𝑦 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑒 𝑌 𝑗𝑤 =
𝑎1 𝑗𝑤𝜏 + 1
 With a initial value,we can easily solve for K to get the solution of
the initial value problem.
 In particular,if the initial value is given for time 𝑡 = 0, 𝑦 0 =
𝐾. 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑦 𝑡 = 𝑦(0)𝑒 −𝜏𝑡

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First-Order Systems

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 First-Order Systems: Step Response
 Let a step input with magnitude A be applied to a first order system.
0 t  0 
dy (t )
 y (t )  KAU (t )
x(t )  AU (t )   y (t )  Ce  t /  KA
A t  0 dt

The complete solution:

𝐶𝑒 −𝑡Τ𝜏 … 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑒
𝐾𝐴 … 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑦 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑒
Applying the initial condition, we get 𝐶 = 𝑦𝑜 − 𝐾𝐴, thus gives
y(t )  KA  ( y0  KA)e t /

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 First-Order Systems: Step Response
 Asignment 1: Let a unit step input be applied to a first order system.

𝟏 𝟏 𝝉
𝒀 𝒔 =𝑮 𝒔 𝑿 𝒔 = = −
𝒔(𝝉𝒔 + 𝟏) 𝒔 𝟏 + 𝝉𝒔

U(t)

0
-1 0 1 2 3 4 5
Time, t

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 First-Order Systems: Step Response
Taking the inverse Laplace transform: 𝑦 𝑡 = 1 − 𝑒 −𝑡Τ𝜏
i. Plot and the response to see that the reponse rises exponentially from zero value to
the final value of unity by using MATLAB for 𝜏 = 1 , 2 𝑎𝑛𝑑 4 . Plot the results for
these 𝜏 values on the same plot
ii. What is the initial slope of the curve?
iii. Pridict the steady state and dynamic state error of this system.
iv. At what time t be the output of the system reads 63.2%?

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 First-Order Systems: Ramp Response
 If a system is subjected to a ramp input 𝑥 𝑡 = 𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡 > 0, then the output is
𝑘 1 𝐴 𝐵 𝐶
 𝑌 𝑠 =𝐺 𝑠 𝑋 𝑠 = = + + ⋯ 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝐴 = −𝑘𝜏 , 𝐵=𝑘 , 𝐶=
𝑠𝜏+1 𝑠 2 𝑠 𝑠2 𝑠𝜏+1

𝑘𝜏 2
 Taking the inverse Laplace transform, we get: y(t) = 𝑘 −𝜏 + 𝑡 + 𝜏𝑒 −𝑡Τ𝜏 ⋯ 𝐻𝑂𝑊? ? ?
 The dynamic and steady state errors are respectively:
 𝑒 𝑡 = 𝑥 𝑡 − 𝑦 𝑡 = 𝜏 1 − 𝑒 −𝑡Τ𝜏 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑘 = 1

 𝑒𝑠𝑠 = lim 𝑒 𝑡 = 𝜏
𝑡→∞
Therefore, the first order system will track the unit ramp input with a steady state error of
𝜏.
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First-Order Systems: Ramp Response

10

Output signal, y/K 8

6
Steady state
time lag = 𝜏
4

Steady state
2 error =

0
0 2 4 6 8 10
t/

Non-dimensional ramp response of first-order instrument

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 First-Order Systems: Impulse Response
 Let the system be subjected to an input 𝑟 𝑡 = 𝐴𝛿(𝑡), then
𝐾 Laplace transform of important functions
 𝑌 𝑠 =𝐺 𝑠 𝑋 𝑠 = 𝐴
𝑠𝜏+1

 Taking inverse Laplace transform, we have,

𝐾𝐴
 𝑦 𝑡 = (𝑒 −𝑡 )
𝜏
 First-Order Systems: Frequency Response
From the response of first-order system to sinusoidal inputs,we have

x(t )  A sin t

dy
  y  KA sin t D  1y(t )  KA sin t
dt

The complete solution: y (t )  Ce t / 

KA

sin t  tan 1  
1  ( ) 2

Transient Steady state Frequency

response response = response

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 First-Order Systems: Frequency Response

If we do interest in only steady state response of the system, we can write the
equation in general form

y (t )  Ce  t /  B( ) sin t   ( )

KA
B( ) 
1  ( ) 
2 1/ 2

 ( )   tan 1 

Where B() = amplitude of the steady state response and () = phase shift
B 1
M ( )  

KA 1   2 1/ 2 
 First-Order Instrument: Frequency Response
1
The amplitude ratio M ( )  The phase angle is  ( )   tan 1 ( )
( ) 2  1
1.2 Dynamic error 0
-10
1.0 0
-20

Phase shift, ()

Amplitude ratio

-30

Decibels (dB)
.8 -2
-3 dB
0.707 -40
.6 -4
-50
-6
.4 -8 -60
-10 -70
.2 Cutoff frequency -80
-20
0.0 -90
.01 .1 1 10 100 .01 .1 1 10 100

 

Frequency response of the first order system...Bode Plot

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 First-Order Instrument: Frequency Response
* Dynamic error, () = M(): a measure of an inability of a system to adequately
reconstruct the amplitude of the input for a particular frequency
* Frequency Response describe how the ratio of output and input changes with the
input frequency. (sinusoidal input)
* Dynamic error, () = 1- M() a measure of the inability of a system or sensor to
adequately reconstruct the amplitude of the input for a particular frequency
* Bandwidth the frequency band over which M()  0.707 (-3 dB in decibel unit)
* Cutoff frequency: the frequency at which the system response has fallen to 0.707 (-
3 dB) of the stable low frequency. 0.35
tr 
fc

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 Second-Order Systems
In general, a second-order measurement system subjected to arbitrary input, x(t)
𝑑 2 𝑦(𝑡) 𝑑𝑦(𝑡) 1 𝑑2 𝑦 𝑡 2𝜉 𝑑𝑦 𝑡
𝑎2 2
+ 𝑎1 + 𝑎0 𝑦 𝑡 = 𝑏0 𝑥 𝑡 2 𝑑𝑡 2 + + 𝑦 𝑡 = 𝐾𝑥 𝑡
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡 𝑤𝑛 𝑤𝑛 𝑑𝑡

The essential parameters

𝑏0
Taking the Laplace transform, we
𝐾= 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦 obtain the transfer function:
𝑎0
𝑎1
𝜉= 𝑑𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜, 𝑑𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑒𝑠𝑠
2 𝑎0 𝑎2

 The standard form of the 2nd order ODE is:

𝑎0
𝑤𝑛 = 𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦
𝑎2
𝑑 2 𝑦(𝑡) 𝑑𝑦(𝑡) 2 𝑦 𝑡 = 𝑤 2 𝑢(𝑡)
+ 2𝜉𝑤𝑛 + 𝑤𝑛 𝑛
𝑑𝑡 2 𝑑𝑡

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 Second-Order Systems

Depending on the value of , three forms of complementary solutions are possible

Overdamped ( > 1) −𝜉+ 𝜉 2 −1 𝑤𝑛 𝑡 −𝜉− 𝜉 2 −1 𝑤𝑛 𝑡
𝑦𝑐 𝑡 = 𝐶1 𝑒 + 𝐶2 𝑒

Critically damped ( = 1) 𝑦𝑐 𝑡 = 𝐶1 𝑒 −𝑤𝑛 𝑡 + 𝐶2 𝑡𝑒 −𝑤𝑛 𝑡

Underdamped (< 1) 𝑦𝑐 𝑡 = 𝐶𝑒 −𝜉𝑤𝑛𝑡 sin 𝑤𝑛 1 − 𝜉 2 𝑡

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Second-Order Systems

Case I Underdamped (< 1) Case 2 Overdamped ( > 1)

S1, 2   n  n  2  1  
S1, 2      2  1 n
   j d

yt Case 3 Critically damped ( = 1):

t S1, 2  n

Ae
yt
t
 1
sin( d t   )

 1

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 Second-Order Systems
Further Reading: Solve and :
i. plot the poles (roots of the characteristic equation) in the 𝑆 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑒,
ii. sketch step responses,
iii. characterize each cases based on the speed of response and comment on the
presence or absence of oscillation.

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Second-Order Systems

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Second-Order Systems

33
Dynamic Characteristics
Dynamic Characteristics
1.4
overshoot
1.2

Output signal, y(t)/KA

1.0 100%  5%

.8

.6

.4
settling
time
.2
rise time
0.0
0 5 10 15 20
Time, t (s)
Typical response of the 2nd order system

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 Dynamic Characteristics
 Speed of response: indicates how fast the sensor (measurement system) reacts to changes in
the input variable. (Step input)
 Rise time: the length of time it takes the output to reach 10 to 90% of full response when a
step is applied to the input
 Time constant: (1st order system) the time for the output to change by 63.2% of its maximum
possible change.
 Settling time: the time it takes from the application of the input step until the output has
settled within a specific band of the final value.
 Dead time: the length of time from the application of a step change at the input of the sensor
until the output begins to change

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