UNIT 4

Time-domain Analysis of Control System

Lec10: Objectives

At the end of the lecture, I should be able to:

Describe quantitatively the transient response of first-order
systems
First-order Systems

A first-order system can

be describes by the
transfer function shown in
the figure.

If the input is a unit step,

where R(s) = 1/s,
the Laplace transform of a
the step response is C(s), C ( s) R( s)G( s)
where: s( s a)
Taking the inverse Laplace
at
transform, the step response
is given by
c(t ) c f (t ) cn (t ) 1 e
First-order Systems
at
c(t ) c f (t ) cn (t ) 1 e
Output

Plotting the step response:

1

Let us examine the signification of

parameter a, the only parameter
needed to describe the transient
response. When t 1 / a, Time

e at e1 0.37
or

c(t ) 1 e1 1 0.37 0.63

The Time Constant,

When t 1 / a,
e at e1 0.37 Output
or
c(t ) 1 e1 1 0.37 0.63 1

We call 1/a the

time constant, , Time

of the response.
The Time Constant,

Time constant, = 1/a

= the time for e-at to decay to
37% of its initial value or the
time it takes for the step
response to rise to 63% of its
final value.
The Rise Time,Tr

Rise time, Tr
= the time for the waveform
to go from 0.1 to 0.9 of its
final value.
2.2
Tr
a
The Settling Time, Ts

Settling time, Ts
= the time for the response to
reach and stay within 2% of
its final value.
4
Ts 4
a
Effect of varying time constant

, the time constant: will determine how quickly

the system moves toward steady state.
Time Constants - Where are
they found?
Electrical Systems.
Resistor-Capacitor circuits have time constants.
Resistor-Inductor circuits have time constants.
Mechanical Systems
Many motions exhibit time-constant behavior. For example when a
motor speeds up, the measurements of speed would reveal time-
constant behavior.
Thermal Systems
Heating up and cooling down in simple thermal systems shows
time-constant behavior. Lakes cooling off after the summer slow
down the approach of winter near the lake, and later lakes slowly
heating up in the spring retard the approach of summer. That
behavior can be explained using time constants.
Physiological Systems
The inner ear has dynamics that can be explained using two time
constants
Psychological Systems
Psychologists have measured the time constant that determines
how much learned material you retain as a function of time after
learning.