CHAPTER TWO

Mathematical modeling of physical system

 Introduction

Mathematical model describes the system in terms of

mathematical concept.
The process of developing mathematical Model is
known as Mathematical Modelling.
Modelling is the process of writing a differential
equation to describe a physical situation.
The basis for mathematical model is provided by the
fundamental physical laws that govern the behaviour
of system.
It uses laws like Kirchhoff’s law for electrical
system, Newton’s law for mechanical system.
 Cont..
One of the most important tasks in the analysis and design of
control systems is mathematical modelling of the systems.
The two most common methods are the transfer function
approach and the state equation approach.
 The transfer function method is valid only for linear time-
invariant systems, whereas the state equations are first-order
to use transfer functions and linear state equations the system
must first be linearized, or its range of operation must be
confined to a linear range.
 Mechanical System

Most feedback control systems contain mechanical

as well as electrical components.
From a mathematical viewpoint, the descriptions
of electrical and mechanical elements are
analogous.
 For a given an electrical device, there is usually
an analogous mechanical counterpart, and vice
versa.
 The analogy, of course, is a mathematical one;
that is, two systems are analogous to each other if
they are described mathematically by similar
equations.
 Cont..
 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.
 Due to the applied force, mass M will displace by an amount
x(t) in the direction of the force F(t) as shown in the fig.2.1.
 Fig. 2.1
According to Newton’s law of motion, applied force will
cause displacement x(t) in spring, acceleration to mass M
against frictional force having constant B.
where,

Taking Laplace,

This is equilibrium equation for the given system.

 1)Translational motion

• 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.
According to this law, the product of mass and
acceleration is equal to the algebraic sum of forces
acting on it.
• 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.
2.Rotational
Elements of Mechanical System
1. Mass:
 A Force applied to the mass produces an
acceleration of the mass.
 The function of mass in linear motion is to store
kinetic energy but cannot store potential energy
 Suppose a force is applied to mass M as shown in
Fig. 2.1, the mass starts moving in x direction.
 assume other forces such as friction, etc. to be
zero.
 Hence, according to Newton’s law
2. Spring:
The reaction force F on each end of the spring is the
same and is equal to the product of stiffness k and
the amount of deformation of the spring.
 A spring can store potential energy. In a system,
there may be a spring where some components
such as elastic string, cable, etc. may work as a
spring.
Strictly speaking, a spring is a non-linear element.
However, we can assume it to be linear for small
deformations.
3. Damper:
 The viscous damper, dissipates energy.
 The reaction damping force FB is approximated by
the product of damping B and the relative velocity
of the two ends of the dashpot.
 The direction of this force depend on the relative
magnitude and direction of the velocity Dye and
Dyf
Electrical System
 The Electrical System is made with element like
Resistor, Capacitor and Inductor we can use
mathematical modelling to check the behaviour of
any electrical system.
1. Resistor:
 Resistor is a passive two-terminal electrical
component that implements electrical
resistance as a circuit element.
 This relationship is represented by Ohm's law.

Where
 Units of current(I) is amperes (A),
 Units of Voltage(V) is volts(v), and
 Units of resistance(R) is ohms(Ω).
2. Capacitor:
 A device used to store electric charge consisting of
one or more pairs of conductors separated by an
insulator.
 The time domain expression relating voltage and
current for the Capacitor is given as
3. Inductor:
 An inductor is characterized by its inductance, the
ratio of the voltage to the rate of change of
current, which has units of Henry (H).
 Many inductors have a magnetic core made of iron
or ferrite inside the coil, which serves to increase
the magnetic field.
The time domain expression relating voltage and current for
the inductor is given as:

It is always advantageous to obtain electrical analogous of

the given mechanical system as we are well familiar with the
methods of analysing electrical network than mechanical
systems.
 There are two methods of obtaining electrical analogous
networks, namely,
1.Force-voltage Analogy, i.e. Direct Analogy.
2. Force-current Analogy, i.e. Inverse Analogy.
1.Force-voltage Analogy (Loop Analysis)
In this method, to the force in mechanical system, voltage is
assumed to be analogous one. Accordingly we will try to
derive other analogous terms.
Consider electric network as shown in the Fig. 2.3.
 The equation according to Kirchhoff’s law can be written
as.

Fig. 2.3
The equation according to Kirchhoff’s current law
for above system is,

 Let node voltage be V,

Taking Laplace,
 But to get this equation in the similar form as that
of F(s) we will use,

Substituting in equation for I(s)

Comparing equations for F(s) and I(s) it is clear that,
(i) Capacitor ‘C’ is analogous to mass M.
1
(ii) Reciprocal of resistance is analogous to frictional
𝑅
constant B.
1
(iii) Reciprocal of inductance is analogous to spring
𝐿
constant K.
Table 2.1. Force-Current Analogy
Example
Obtain the differential equations describing the
complete dynamics of the mechanical system shown
below.
Solution: The mechanical network diagram

Node′𝒙𝟏 ’
Node’𝑥2 ’

 The electrical analogy based on force-voltage

analogy.
 The electrical analogy circuit is drawn with the help
of electrical analogy equations which are obtained
from nodal equations in Laplace domain.
 The electrical analogy equations are.
and
where Q = charge
 Converting the above equations into differential
equation form

and
Table2.2:Force-velocity, force-displacement, and impedance
translational relationships for springs, viscous dampers, and mass
 Transfer Function
• Is the ratio of output to input of the system.
• It allow us to algebraically combine mathematical
representations of subsystems to yield a total system
representation.
• Let us begin by writing a general nth-order, linear, time-
invariant differential equation,
 Taking the Laplace transform of both sides.

 If we assume that all initial conditions are zero, the above

equation reduces to.

𝑎𝑛 𝑠 𝑛 + 𝑎𝑛−1 𝑠 𝑛−1 + ⋯ + 𝑎0 𝐶 𝑠
= 𝑏𝑚 𝑠 𝑚 + 𝑏𝑚−1 𝑠 𝑚−1 + ⋯ + 𝑏0 R(s)
 Now form the ratio of the output transform, C(s),
divided by the input transform, R(s)

𝐶(𝑠) 𝑏𝑚 𝑠 𝑚 + 𝑏𝑚−1 𝑠 𝑚−1 + ⋯ + 𝑏0

=𝐺 𝑠 =
𝑅(𝑠) 𝑎𝑛 𝑠 𝑛 + 𝑎𝑛−1 𝑠 𝑛−1 + ⋯ + 𝑎0

 We call this ratio, G(s), the transfer function and

evaluate it with zero initial conditions.
 The transfer function can be represented as a block
diagram,
We can summarize the properties of the transfer function as
follows:
1. Transfer function is defined only for a linear time-
invariant system. It is meaningless for nonlinear
systems.
2. The transfer function between an input variable and an
output variable of a system is defined as the Laplace
transform of the impulse response.
Alternately, the transfer function between a pair of input and
output variables is the ratio of the Laplace transform of the
output to the Laplace transform of the input.
3. When defining the transfer function, all initial conditions
of the system are set to zero.
4. The transfer function is independent of the input of the
system.
5. Transfer function is expressed only as a function of the
complex variable s. It is not a function of the real variable,
time, or any other variable that is used as the independent
variable.
 Block Diagram and Signal Flow Graph

• Block Diagram is defined as a pictorial

representation of functions performed by each
component of a system and that of flow of signals.
• Each block is characterized by an input–output
description as shown below.
• The block diagram consists of blocks, arrows, take (pick) off
points and summing points

Fig. 2.2 Basic elements of block diagram

Terminology

Fig. 2.3 Block diagram components

Regarding the closed-loop control system shown in Fig. 2.3,
we can define the following terms;
1)Plant: A physical object to be controlled. The Plant
G2 (s), is the controlled system, of which a particular
quantity or condition is to be controlled.
2)Feedback Control System (Closed‐loop Control
System): A system which compares output to some
reference input and keeps output as close as possible
to his reference.
3)Open‐loop Control System: Output of the system is
not feedback to the system.
4)Control Element G1(s), also called the controller, are the
components required to generate the appropriate control
signal M (s) applied to the plant.
5)Feedback Element H(s):is the component required to
establish the functional relationship between the primary
feedback signal B(s) and the controlled output C(s).
6)Reference Input R (s):is an external signal applied to a
feedback control system in order to command a specified
action of the plant. It often represents ideal plant output
behaviour.
7)Controlled Output C(s):is that quantity or condition of
the plant which is controlled.
8)Actuating Signal E(s):also called the error or control
action, is the algebraic sum consisting of the reference input
R(s) plus or minus (usually minus) the primary feedbackB (s)
9)Manipulated Variable M (s) (control signal): is that
quantity or condition which the control elements G1 (s) apply
to the plant G2 (s).
10)Disturbance U (s): is an undesired input signal which
affects the value of the controlled output C(s). It may enter
the plant by summation with M (s), or via an intermediate
point, as shown in the block diagram of the figure above.
11)Forward Path: is the transmission path from the
actuating signal E(s) to the output C(s).
12)Feedback Path: is the transmission path from the
output C(s) to the feedback signal B (s).
13)Summing Point: A circle with a cross is the symbol
that indicates a summing point. The (+) or (−) sign at
each arrowhead indicates whether that signal is to be
added or subtracted.
14)Branch(pick/take off) Point: A branch point is a
point from which the signal from a block goes
concurrently to other blocks or summing points.
• We can conclude the above information by the following
definitions:
• According to the control system shown in Fig 2.4;

Fig. 2.4 Block diagram of a closed‐loop system with a feedback element.

 Block Diagrams & Their Simplification
1) Cascade (Series) Connection

Fig. 2.5 (a) Original Block Diagram (b) Equivalent Block Diagram
2)Parallel Connection

Fig. 2.6 (a) Original Block Diagram (b) Equivalent Block Diagram
3)Feedback Connections

Fig. 2.7 Feedback connection

We know that C(s) =G(s) E(s) & B(s) = H(s)C(s)

Where E (s) =R(s) − B(s) = R(s) − H(s)C(s)
• Eliminating E(s) from these equations gives
C(s) = G(s) *R(s)−H(s)C(s)+ This can be written in the form
[1+G(s) H (s)] C(s) = G(s) R(s) OR

The Characteristic equation of the system is defined

as an equation obtained by setting the denominator
polynomial of the transfer function to zero.
Block Diagram Algebra for Summing points(Same
with next page slide)
4)Block Diagram Algebra for Summing points

• C=G(R+X)
• C=GR+GX

• C=RG±𝑋
• C=R±X/G
5)Block Diagram Algebra for Pick/take off points(need
attention)
 Block Diagram Reduction Rules
• In many practical situations, the block diagram of a
Single Input‐Single Output (SISO), feedback control
system may involve several feedback loops,
summing points and/or take off points.
• In principle, the block diagram of (SISO) closed loop
system, no matter how complicated it is, it can be
reduced to the standard single loop form
(Canonical form) shown in Fig. 2.7
The basic approach to simplify a block diagram can
be summarized in the following Table;
1. Combine all cascade blocks
2. Combine all parallel blocks
3. Eliminate all minor (interior) feedback loops
4. Shift summing points to left
5. Shift take off points to the right
6. Repeat Steps 1 to 5 until the canonical form is
obtained
Some Basic Rules with Block Diagram Transformation
Example 1
Example 2
Example 3
The main problem here is the feed‐forward of V3(s).
Solution is to move this pickoff point forward.
Solution
Example 4
Example 5:
Use block diagram reduction to simplify the block
diagram below into a single block relating Y(s) to R(s).
 Multiple‐Inputs cases
• In feedback control system, we often encounter multiple
inputs to represent a disturbance or something else.
• For a linear system, we can apply the superposition
principle to solve this type of problems, i.e. to treat each
input one at a time while setting all other inputs to zeros,
and then algebraically add all the outputs as follows:

1 Set all inputs to zero except one

2 Transform the block diagram to solvable form
3 Find the output response due to the chosen input action alone

4 Repeat Steps 1 to 3 for each of the remaining inputs

5 Algebraically sum all the output responses obtained in Step 3

1 Set all inputs to zero except one

2 Transform the block diagram to solvable form

3 Find the output response due to the chosen input action alone

4 Repeat Steps 1 to 3 for each of the remaining inputs

5 Algebraically sum all the output responses obtained in Step 3

Example 6: Determine the output C(S) of the following
system

solution
Using the superposition principle, the procedure is
illustrated in the following steps:
Step1: Put D(s) ≡ 0 as shown in
Fig.(a).
Step2: Reduce The block
diagrams to the block shown in
Fig. (b)
Step 3: The output CR due to
input R(s) is shown in Fig. (c)
and is given by the relationship
• Step 4: Put R(s) ≡ 0 as
shown in Fig. (d).
• Step 5: Put ‐1 into a block,
representing the negative
feedback effect as shown in
Fig. (d)
• Step 6: Rearrange the
block diagrams as shown in
Fig. (e).
Step 7: Let the ‐1 block be absorbed into the summing
point as shown in Fig. (f).
Step 8: The output CD due to input D(S) is :

The total output is C:

Example 7:Find the output C(S) of the control system
shown below.
For Input R1:
For input R2:
END