CHAPTER 6

TIME RESPONSE

1
Content
1. Poles, zeros and system response
2. First-order system
3. Second-order system
4. Underdamped second order system
5. System response with additional pole
6. System response with additional zero
Objectives
Students should be able to:
 Find the time response from the transfer

function
 Use poles and zeros to determine the

response of a control system

 Describe quantitatively the transient response

of first-order and second order systems

RESPONSE CHARACTERISTICS AND
SYSTEM CONFIGURATIONS
 RESPONSE CHARACTERISTICS EXAMPLE –
A Temperature Controller System Model

 Input command : Operator will set the controller at the desired temperature that he / she want.
 Output : The actual temperature of the system.
 Transient response : The changes of temperature from initial temperature to the desired value.
It is a gradual change before the steady state response.
 Steady State response : After the temperature changes from the initial value, the changes will
slow down and stop at the desired value.
 Steady State error : There is probability that the temperature did not stop at the desired value. It
is the difference between actual response & desired response
INTRODUCTION
 In Chapter 2, we learned how transfer functions
can represent linear, time invariant systems.
 In Chapter 3, we did system modeling in order
to obtain selected system transfer function.
 Chapter 4 is devoted to the analysis of system
transient response based from its transfer
function.
POLES, ZEROS AND SYSTEM RESPONSE
 The output response of a system is the sum of two
responses: the forced response and the natural
response.
 Forced response is also called the steady state
error or particular solution.
 Natural response is called the homogenous
solution.
POLES, ZEROS AND SYSTEM RESPONSE
Poles of a Transfer Function
 Value of Laplace transform variable, s that cause the

transfer function to become infinite; or

 Any roots of the denominator of transfer function that are

common to roots of numerator.

 Denoted by ‘X’ in the s-plane.

Zeros of a Transfer Function

 Value of Laplace Transform variable, s that cause the

transfer function to become zero; or

 Any roots of numerator of the transfer function that

common to roots of denominator.

 Denoted by ‘O’ in the s-plane.
POLES, ZEROS AND SYSTEM RESPONSE
Poles and Zeros of a First-Order System
 Example: Given a transfer function as shown below.

 A pole exists at s = -5 and a zero exists at –2.

POLES, ZEROS AND SYSTEM RESPONSE
Example:

C (s) 
( s  2)
A
s  2

2
s( s  5) s  5 s 0
5

( s  2) A B B
s  2

3
C (s)    s 5
s( s  5) s s  5 s  5

2 3
A B 2 3 5t
C (s)    5 5 c(t )   e
s s5 s s5 5 5
POLES, ZEROS AND SYSTEM RESPONSE
From the development summarized in Figure (c), we draw
the following conclusions:
1. A pole of the input function generates the form of the
forced response (i.e., the pole at the origin generated a
step function at the output).
2. A pole of the transfer function generates the form of
the natural response (i.e., the pole at –5 generated e-5t).
3. A pole on the real axis generates a exponential
response of the form , where is the pole location on the
real axis. Thus, the farther to the left a pole is on
negative real axis, the faster exponential transient
response will decay to zero (i.e., again the pole at –5,
see Figure 4.2 for the general case).
4. The zeros and poles generate the amplitudes for both
the forced and natural responses.
POLES, ZEROS AND SYSTEM RESPONSE
POLES, ZEROS AND SYSTEM RESPONSE
Example 4.1
Given the system below, write the output, c(t), in
general terms. Specify the forced and natural parts
of the solution.
POLES, ZEROS AND SYSTEM RESPONSE
Solution:
 By inspection, each system poles generates an

exponential as part of the natural response. The

input’s pole generates the forced response. Thus,
K1 K2 K3 K4
C (s)    
s ( s  2) ( s  4) ( s  5)
 
Forced
    
Natural Response

Response

 Taking inverse transform, we get

c(t )  K1  K 2 e 2t  K 3e 4t  K 4e 5t
  
Forced
 Natural
  
Response
Response
POLES, ZEROS AND SYSTEM RESPONSE
Example 4.2
 A system has a transfer function,

10( s  4)( s  6)
G ( s) 
( s  1)( s  7)( s  8)( s  10)
Write, by inspection, the output, c(t), in general
terms if the input is a unit step.
POLES, ZEROS AND SYSTEM RESPONSE
Example 4.2

c(t )  A  Be t  Ce 7 t  De8t  Ee10t

  
Forced
  Natural
 Response

Response
 FIRST ORDER SYSTEM
 A first order system without zeros can be described
by the transfer function shown in figure (a).
FIRST ORDER SYSTEM
 If the input is a unit step , where

 The Laplace transform of the step response is C(s),

where

 Taking the inverse transform, the step response is

given by,
c(t )  c f (t )  cn (t )  1  e  at
FIRST ORDER SYSTEM
 The input pole at the origin generated the force
response cf (t) = 1 , and the system pole at – a, as
shown in figure (b), generated the natural response
cn (t) = -e –at .
FIRST ORDER SYSTEM
 This equation is then plotted as shown in below.
FIRST ORDER SYSTEM
 Let’s examine the significance of parameter a, the
only parameter needed to describe the transient
response. When t  1
a
e  at  e 1  0.37 (4.3)
t 1 / a
1
or c (t ) t 1 / a
 1  e  1  0.37  0.63 (4.4)

Now we define three transient response performance

specifications.
FIRST ORDER SYSTEM
Time Constant, Tc
 1/a is the time constant of the response.
 From Eq.(4.3), the time constant can be described
as the time for e-at to decay to 37% of its initial
value.
 Alternately, from Eq.(4.4), the time constant is the
time it takes for the step response to rise to 63% of
its final value (Fig.4.5).
 The reciprocal of the time constant has the units
(1/seconds), or frequency.
FIRST ORDER SYSTEM
Time Constant, Tc
 We can call the parameter a the exponential
frequency.
 Since, the derivative of e-at is –a when t = 0, a is the
initial rate of change of the exponential at t = 0.
 Thus, the time constant can be considered a
transient response specification for a first-order
system, since it is related to the speed at which the
system responds to a step input.
FIRST ORDER SYSTEM
Time Constant, Tc
 The time constant can also be evaluated from the
pole plot (Fig.4.4(b)).
 Since, the pole of the transfer function is at –a, we
can say the pole is located at the reciprocal of the
time constant, and the farther the pole from the
imaginary axis, the faster the transient response.
 Thus, the time constant is given by
1
a
time constant
FIRST ORDER SYSTEM
Rise Time, Tr
 Rise time, Tr 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.(4.2) for the
difference in time at c1(t) = 0.9 and c2(t) = 0.1.
 Hence,
2.2
Tr 
a
FIRST ORDER SYSTEM
Rise Time, Tr
 where,
at
and c 2 (t )  1  e  0.1

1 e  at
 0.9 1  e  at  0.1
at
e  1  0.9 e at  1  0.1
 at  ln(1  0.9)  2.3  at  ln(1  0.1)  0.1
2.3 0.1
t  t 
a a
FIRST ORDER SYSTEM
Settling Time, Ts
 Settling time is defined as the time for the
response to reach, and stay within, 2 % of its final
value.
 Letting c(t) = 0.98 in Eq.(4.6) and solving for time t,
we find the settling time to be:
4
Ts 
a
FIRST ORDER SYSTEM
First-Order Transfer Function via Testing
 Since the transfer function is a representation of

the system from input to output, the system’s step

response can lead to a representation even though
the inner construction is not known.
 With a step input, we can measure the time

constant and steady-state value, from which the

transfer function can be calculated.
FIRST ORDER SYSTEM
First-Order Transfer Functions via Testing
 Consider a simple first-order system, G ( s )  K /( s  a )

whose step response is

K K /a K /a
C (s)   
s( s  a) s ( s  a)

If we can identify K and a from laboratory testing,

we can obtain the transfer function of the system.
FIRST ORDER SYSTEM
First-Order Transfer Functions via Testing
For example:
 Assume the unit step response given below.

 It has the first-order characteristics – no overshoot

and nonzero initial slope.

Figure 4.6
FIRST ORDER SYSTEM
First-Order Transfer Functions via Testing
 From response we measure the time constant, that

is, the time for the amplitude to reach 63% of its

final value.

 Since the final value is about 0.72, the time

constant is evaluated where the curve reach 0.63 
0.72 = 0.45, or about 0.13 second.
FIRST ORDER SYSTEM
First-Order Transfer Functions via Testing
 Hence, time constant = 0.13 = 1
1
therefore a  7.7 a
0.13
 To find K, we realize that the forced response reaches a
steady-state value of K / a  0.72
 Substituting the value of a = 7.7, we find K = 0.72  7.7 = 5.54.
 Thus, the transfer function for the system is
5.54
G ( s) 
s ( s  7.7)
 Actually, the response of Figure 4.6 was generated using the
transfer function of
5
G(s) 
s ( s  7)
FIRST ORDER SYSTEM

Example 4.3 50
 A system has a transfer function, G( s) 
( s  50)
 Find the time constant, Tc ; settling time, Ts ; and
rise time, Tr.

Answer:
 T = 0.02 s ; T = 0.08 s, and T = 0.044 s
c s r
 SECOND ORDER SYSTEM
 A second order system exhibits a wide range of
responses that must be analyzed and described.
 Varying a first-order system’s parameter simply
changes the speed of the response; changes in the
parameters of a second order system can change
the form of the response.
 SECOND ORDER SYSTEM
 A second order system can display
characteristics much like a first-order system or,
depending on component values, display
damped or pure oscillations for its transient
response.
 Numerical examples of the second order system
responses are shown in Figure 4.7. All examples
are derived from Fig.4.7(a), the general case,
which has two finite poles and no zeros.
SECOND ORDER SYSTEM
 The term in the numerator is simply a scale or
input-multiplying factor that can take on any
value without affecting the form of derived
results.
 By assigning appropriate values to parameters a
and b, we can show all possible second-order
transient responses.
 The unit step response then can be found using
1
C(s) = R(s) G(s) , where , R( s )  followed by a
s
partial-fraction expansion and the inverse Laplace
transform.
SECOND ORDER SYSTEM

Overdamped Response, Figure 4.7 (b)

 For this response,

9 9
C (s)  2

s ( s  9s  9) s ( s  7.854)( s  1.146)
SECOND ORDER SYSTEM
Overdamped Response, Figure 4.7 (b)
 This function has a pole at the origin that comes

from the unit step input and two real poles that
come from the system.
 The input pole at the origin generates the

constant forced response; each of the two

system poles on the real axis generates an
exponential natural response whose exponential
frequency is equal to the pole location.
SECOND ORDER SYSTEM

Overdamped Response, Figure 4.7 (b)

 The output initially could have been written as ;

7.854t 1.146t
c(t )  K1  K 2e  K 3e
 This response is called overdamped (Figure
4.7(b).
 It seems that the poles could tell the form of
the response without the tedious calculation on
the inverse L-transform.
SECOND ORDER SYSTEM

Underdamped Response, Figure 4.7 (c)

 For this response,
9
C ( s) 
s ( s 2  2s  9)

 This function has a pole at the origin that

comes from the unit step input and two
complex poles that come from the system.
 Compare the response of the second order
system to the poles that generated it.
SECOND ORDER SYSTEM

Underdamped Response, Figure 4.7 (c)

 First compare the pole location to the time

function, and then compare the pole location to

the plot. From Fig.4.7(c), the poles that generate
the natural response are s = -1  j .
 Comparing these values to c(t) in the same

figure, the real part of the pole matches the

exponential decay frequency of the sinusoid’s
amplitude, while the imaginary part of the pole
matches the frequency of the sinusoidal
oscillation.
SECOND ORDER SYSTEM

Underdamped Response, Figure 4.7 (c)

 Let’s compare the pole location to the plot.
SECOND ORDER SYSTEM

Underdamped Response
 Figure 4.8 shows a general, damped sinusoidal

response for a second order system.

SECOND ORDER SYSTEM
Underdamped Response
 The transient response consists of an

exponentially decaying amplitude generated by

the real part of the system pole times a
sinusoidal waveform generated by the
imaginary part of the system pole.
 The time constant of the exponential decay is

equal to the reciprocal of the real part of the

system pole.
 The value of the imaginary part is the actual

frequency of the sinusoid, depicted in (Fig.4.8).

SECOND ORDER SYSTEM

Underdamped Response
 This sinusoidal frequency is called damped

frequency of oscillation, d.

  Finally, the steady-state response (unit step)
was generated by the input pole located at the
origin.
 The type of response shown in Figure 4.8 is
called an underdamped response, one which
approaches a steady-state value via a transient
response that is a damped oscillation.
SECOND ORDER SYSTEM
Example 4.4:
 To demonstrate how a knowledge of the

relationship between the pole location and the

transient response can lead rapidly to the response
form without calculating the inverse Laplace
transform.
Form of underdamped response using poles
 By inspection, write the form of the step response

of the system in Figure 4.9.

SECOND ORDER SYSTEM
Example 4.4:
Solution
 First, we determine that the form of the forced
response is a step.
 Next, find the form of the natural response.
 Factoring the denominator of the transfer function in
Figure 4.9, we find the poles to be s = -5  j13.23.
 The real part, -5, is the exponential frequency for the
damping. It is also the reciprocal of the time constant
of the decay of the oscillations.
 The imaginary part, 13.23, is the radian frequency for
the sinusoidal oscillations.
SECOND ORDER SYSTEM

Example 4.4:
Solution
 Using previous discussion and Figure 4.7(c) as a

guide, we obtain
c(t) = K1 + e-5t ( K2 cos 13.23t + K3 sin 13.23t )
= K1 + K4 e-5t (cos 13.23t -  )
2 2
 where,  = tan-1 K3 / K2 , K4 = K 2  K 3 and
c(t) is a constant plus an exponentially damped
sinusoid.
SECOND ORDER SYSTEM
Undamped Response, Figure 4.7(d)
9
 For this response; C ( s) 
s ( s 2  9)
 This function has a pole at the origin that comes from
the unit step input and two imaginary poles that come
from the system.
 The input pole at the origin generates the constant
forced response, and the two system poles on the
imaginary axis at  j3 generate a sinusoidal natural
response whose frequency is equal to the location of
the imaginary poles.
SECOND ORDER SYSTEM

Undamped Response, Figure 4.7(d)

 Hence, the output can be estimated as c(t) = K
1
+ K4 cos ( 3t -  ).
 The response type shown in Figure 4.7(d) is
called undamped.
 Note that the absence of a real part in the pole
pair corresponds to an exponential that does
not decay.
 Mathematically the exponential is e-0t =1 .
SECOND ORDER SYSTEM

Critically Damped Response, Figure 4.7(e)

 For this response,

9
C (s) 
s ( s 2  6 s  9)
 SECOND ORDER SYSTEM
Critically Damped Response, Figure 4.7(e)
 This function has a pole at the origin that comes from the unit

step input and two multiple real poles that come from the system.
 The input pole at the origin generates the constant forced

response, and the two poles on the real axis at –3 generate a

natural response consisting of an exponential and an exponential
multiplied by time, where the exponential frequency is equal to
the location of the real poles.
 Hence, the output can be estimated as c(t) =K +K e-3t+K t e-3t .
1 2 3

 This type of response, shown in Figure 4.7(e), is called critically

damped.
 Critical damped responses are the fastest possible without the
overshoot that is characteristic of the underdamped response.
SECOND ORDER SYSTEM

Observations summarized
In this section we defined the following natural
responses and found their characteristics:
SECOND ORDER SYSTEM
Overdamped responses :
 Poles : Two real at -1 , -2

 Natural response : cn(t) = K1 e -1t

+ K2 e-2t
 Two exponentials with time constants equal to
the reciprocal of the pole locations, or

cn(t) = K1 e -1t + K2 e-2t

SECOND ORDER SYSTEM
Underdamped responses :
 Poles : Two complex at -d  jd
 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 the
imaginary part of the poles, or
cn(t) = A e -dt cos d t - 
SECOND ORDER SYSTEM

Undamped responses :
 Poles : Two imaginary at  j
1

 cn(t) = A cos (1 t -  )

 Natural response : Undamped sinusoid with
radian frequency equal to the imaginary part of
the poles, or
cn(t) = A cos (1 t -  )
SECOND ORDER SYSTEM
Critically damped responses :
 Poles : Two real at -
1
 c (t) = K e-1t + K te-1t
n 1 2
 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, or

cn(t) = K1 e-1t + K2 te-1t

SECOND ORDER SYSTEM
The step responses for the four cases of damping
discussed in this section are superimposed in figure
below.

Notice that the critically damped case is the division between the overdamped
cases and the underdamped cases and is the fastest response without overshoot.
GENERAL SECOND ORDER SYSTEM
In this section we define two physically meaningful
specifications for second order system.

Natural Frequency, wn
The frequency of oscillation of the system without
damping.

Damping Ratio, 
Defined to be:  
Exponential decay frequency
Natural frequency (rad/sec)
1 Natural period (sec)

2 Exponential time constant
GENERAL SECOND ORDER SYSTEM
Damping Ratio,
 Consider the general system

b
G (s)  2
s  as  b
 Without damping, the poles would be on the jw axis,
and the response would be an undamped sinusoid.
For the poles to be purely imaginary, a=0.
 Hence, by definition, the natural frequency, wn, is
the frequency of oscillation of this system. Since the
poles of this system are on the jw axis at  j b ,
wn  b
GENERAL SECOND ORDER SYSTEM

Damping Ratio,
2
 Hence, b  wn

 Assuming an underdamped system, the complex

poles have a real part,  equal to –a/2. The

magnitude of this value is then the exponential
decay frequency described in section 4.4. Hence,
 a
Exponentia l decay frequency
    2
Natural frequency ( rad / sec) wn wn
 a  2wn
GENERAL SECOND ORDER SYSTEM

Damping Ratio,
 Our general second-order transfer function finally

looks like this:

 Solving the poles of the transfer function, G(s)

yields:
2
s1, 2  wn  wn   1

 The various cases of second-order response are a

function of  and are summarized in Figure 4.11.
GENERAL SECOND ORDER SYSTEM
Example 4.5
Given the transfer function as shown below, find 
and wn. 36
G (s)  2
s  4.2 s  36
Solution:
Compare with the general second-order transfer
function, 36
G(s)  2
s  4.2 s  36

2

G(s)  n

s  2  
2 2

n n
GENERAL SECOND ORDER SYSTEM

Example 4.5
Solution:
 Therefore

  36
n
2
  6
n

4.2
2 n  4.2    0.35
26
GENERAL SECOND ORDER SYSTEM

Example 4.6
For each of the systems shown in Figure 4.12, find
the value of  and give the kind of response
expected.

Answer:
a)   1.555, overdamped response
b)   1, critically damped response
c)   0.894, underdamped response
UNDERDAMPED SECOND ORDER SYSTEM
 A common model for physical problem.
 A plot of this response appears in Figure 4.13 for
various values of  , plotted along a time axis
normalized to the natural frequency.
UNDERDAMPED SECOND ORDER SYSTEM
We have defined two parameters associated with second
order systems,  and wn. Other parameters associated
with the undamped response are percentage overshoot
(%OS), peak time (Tp), settling time (Ts) and rise time (Tr).
These specifications are defined below.
 UNDERDAMPED SECOND ORDER
SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS
1. Peak time, Tp : The time required to reach the first,
or maximum peak.
2. Percent overshoot, %OS : The amount that the
waveform overshoots the steady state, or final value
at the peak time.
3. Settling time, Ts : The time required for the
transient’s damped oscillations to reach and stay
within +2% of the steady state value.
4. 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.
UNDERDAMPED SECOND ORDER SYSTEM

 Evaluation of Tp

Tp 
wn 1   2

 Evaluation of %OS
Cmax  C final  ( 1 2 )
%OS   100  e  100
C final
 ( 1 2 )
Cmax  1  e
where .
C final 1
 For the unit step used; .
 The inverse of this equation allows to solve for by:
 ln(%OS / 100)
 
 2  ln 2 (%OS / 100)
UNDERDAMPED SECOND ORDER SYSTEM
 Evaluation of Ts
4
 For criteria between +2% Ts 
wn
3
 For criteria between +5% Ts 
wn

 Evaluation of Tr - obtained from graph

 wd is the imaginary part of the pole and called the
damped frequency of oscillation, and
d
 is the magnitude of the real part of the pole
and called as exponential damping frequency.
UNDERDAMPED SECOND ORDER SYSTEM

Pole plot for an underdamped second-order system

UNDERDAMPED SECOND ORDER SYSTEM

Example 4.7 (Finding Tp, %OS and Ts from transfer

function)
Given the transfer function
100
G(s)  2
s  15s  100

Find
 , w , T , %OS, T and T .
n p s r
UNDERDAMPED SECOND ORDER SYSTEM

Example 4.7 (Finding Tp, %OS and Ts from transfer

function)
Solution:
2
wn  100 2wn  15
 wn  10 15
 
10  2
  0.75
UNDERDAMPED SECOND ORDER SYSTEM

Example 4.7 (Finding Tp, %OS and Ts from transfer

function)
Solution:
 1 2 )
Tp  %OS  e  (
 100
2
wn 1  
 ( 0.75 1 0.752 )
 %OS  e 100
Tp 
10 1  0.752  %OS  2.838
 T p  0.475
UNDERDAMPED SECOND ORDER SYSTEM

Example 4.7 (Finding Tp, %OS and Ts from transfer

function)
Solution:
4 #From Fig. 4.16, we get
Ts  normalised rise time =2.3,
wn
Tr = 2.3/wn
4 Tr = 2.3/10
Ts 
0.75  10 Tr = 0.23 s
Ts  0.5333 Answer: 0.75, 10, 0.475 s, 2.838%, 0.533 s and
0.23 s respectively.
UNDERDAMPED SECOND ORDER SYSTEM

Ex 4.8 (Finding Tp, %OS and Ts from pole location)

Given the pole plot shown in Figure 4.17, find  ,
wn, Tp, %OS and Ts.
UNDERDAMPED SECOND ORDER SYSTEM

Ex 4.8 (Finding Tp, %OS and Ts from pole location)

Solution:

  cos 
7
1
  cos(tan )
3
  cos(1.166)
  0.394
UNDERDAMPED SECOND ORDER SYSTEM

Ex 4.8 (Finding Tp, %OS and Ts from pole location)

Solution:

wn  7 2  32
 wn  7.616
UNDERDAMPED SECOND ORDER SYSTEM

Ex 4.8 (Finding Tp, %OS and Ts from pole location)

Solution:


Tp 
wn 1   2

Tp 
wd
UNDERDAMPED SECOND ORDER SYSTEM

Ex 4.8 (Finding Tp, %OS and Ts from pole location)

Solution:


Tp 
wn 1   2
 
Tp  
wd 7
T p  0.449 sec
UNDERDAMPED SECOND ORDER SYSTEM

Ex 4.8 (Finding Tp, %OS and Ts from pole location)

Solution:

 ( 1 2 )
%OS  e 100
 ( 0.394 1 0.3942 )
%OS  e 100
%OS  26%
UNDERDAMPED SECOND ORDER SYSTEM

Ex 4.8 (Finding Tp, %OS and Ts from pole location)

Solution:

4
Ts 
wn
4
Ts 
d
UNDERDAMPED SECOND ORDER SYSTEM

Ex 4.8 (Finding Tp, %OS and Ts from pole location)

Solution:

4
Ts 
wn
4 4
Ts  
d 3
Ts  1.333 sec
 SYSTEM RESPONSE WITH ADDITIONAL
POLES

24.542
T1 ( s) 
s 2  4s  24.542
24.542
T2 ( s ) 
( s  10)( s 2  4 s  24.542)
24.542
T3 ( s ) 
( s  3)( s 2  4 s  24.542)

The farthest the third pole from the dominant

poles, the better the approximation to c1(t).
 SYSTEM RESPONSE WITH ADDITIONAL
POLES

 It is assumed that the exponential decay is negligible after 5 time constants.

 If the real pole is 5 times farther to the left than the dominant poles, the system
is assumed to be represented by its dominant second-order pair of poles.
 Thus the second-order specifications can be applied.