Root Locus Analysis (1)

Hany Ferdinando
Dept. of Electrical Eng.
Petra Christian University
 General Overview
 This section discusses how to plot the
Root Locus method
 Step by step procedure is used inline with
an example
 Finally, some comments are given as the
complement for this section
 Why Root Locus
 Closed-loop poles’ location determine the
stability of the system
 Closed-loop poles’ location is influenced
as the gain is varied
 Root locus plot gives designer information
how the gain variation influences the
stability of the system
 Plot Example
Root Locus
4

1
Imaginary Axis

-1

-2

-3

-4
-6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2
Real Axis
 Important Notes:
 Poles are drawn as ‘x’ while zeros are
drawn as ‘o’
 Gain at poles is zero, while gain at zeros is
infinity
 Pole is the starting point and it must finish
at zero; therefore, for every pole there
should be corresponding zero
 Root locus is plot on the s plane
 Standardization
R(s) + G(s) C(s)
-

H(s)
C ( s) G (s)

R( s) 1  G ( s) H ( s)
1 + G(s)H(s) = 0

Find Characteristic Equation!!

 How to make it?
1. Start from the characteristic equation
2. Locate the poles and zeros on the s plane
3. Determine the root loci on the real axis
4. Determine the asymptotes of the root loci
5. Find the breakaway and break-in points
6. Determines the angle of departure (angle of
arrival) from complex poles (zeros)
7. Find the points where the root loci may cross
the imaginary axis
 Example (1)
K
G(s)  H (s)  1
s ( s  1)( s  2)

K
1 0
s ( s  1)( s  2)

1. Start from the characteristic equation

 Example (2)
1.5

0.5
Imaginary Part

-0.5

-1

-1.5
-3 -2.5 -2 -1.5 -1 -0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5
Real Part

2. Locate the poles and zeros on the s plane

 Example (3)
1.5

0.5
Imaginary Part

-0.5

-1

-1.5
-3 -2.5 -2 -1.5 -1 -0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5
Real Part

3. Determine the root loci on the real axis

 Example (4a)

180 (2k  1)
o
 
30

[0  (1)  (2)]  [0]

   1
30

4. Determine the asymptotes of the root loci

 Example (4b)
1.5

0.5
Imaginary Part

-0.5

-1

-1.5
-3 -2.5 -2 -1.5 -1 -0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5
Real Part

4. Determine the asymptotes of the root loci

 Example (5)
From the characteristic equation, find
K   ( s 3  3s 2  2 s )

then calculate…
dK
 (3s 2  6 s  2)  0
ds

s = -0.4266 and s = -1.5744

5. Find the breakaway and break-in point

 Example (6)
This example has no complex
poles and zeros, therefore,
this step can be skipped!!!

pole = 0 – sum from pole + sum from zero

zero = 0 – sum from zero + sum from pole
6. Determine the angle from complex pole/zero
 Example (7)
Do this part by substituting j for all s in the
characteristic equation

( j )3  3( j ) 2  2( j )  K  0
( K  3 2 )  j (2   3 )  0

 = ±√2, K = 6 or  = 0, K = 0

7. Find the points where the root loci may cross the
imaginary axis
 Example (8)
Root Locus

1.5

0.5
Imaginary Axis

-0.5

-1

-1.5
-3 -2.5 -2 -1.5 -1 -0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5

Real Axis
 Comments

 nth degree algebraic equation in s

 If n-m≥2 then a1 is negative sum of the roots of
the equation and is independent of K
 It means if some roots move on the locus toward the
left as K increased then the other roots must move
towards the right as K is increased
 Root Locus in Matlab

Function rlocus(num,den) draws the Root Locus

of a system. Another version in state space is
rlocus(A,B,C,D)
num
The characteristic equation 1  0
den

Those functions are for negative

feedback (normal transfer function)
 Next…

Topic for the next meeting is Root Locus

in positive feedback