Control Systems - Mathematical Models

 The control systems can be represented with a set of mathematical equations known
as mathematical model.
 These models are useful for analysis and design of control systems.
 Analysis of control system means finding the output when we know the input and
mathematical model.
 Design of control system means finding the mathematical model when we know the
input and the output.
 The following mathematical models are mostly used.:

1. Differential equation model

2. Transfer function model
3. State space model
1. Differential Equation Model
 Differential equation model is a time domain mathematical model of control systems.
 Follow these steps for differential equation model.
 Apply basic laws to the given control system.
 Get the differential equation in terms of input and output by eliminating the
intermediate variable(s).
Example :
 Consider the following electrical system as shown in the following Fig. 1.
 This circuit consists of resistor, inductor and capacitor.
 All these electrical elements are connected in series.
 The input voltage applied to this circuit is vi and the voltage across the capacitor is the
output voltage vo.

Fig. 1: RLC series circuit.

 Mesh equation for this circuit is

 Substitute, the current passing through capacitor in the above equation.

 The above equation is a second order differential equation.

2. Transfer Function Model
 Transfer function model is an s-domain mathematical model of control systems.
 The Transfer function of a Linear Time Invariant (LTI) system is defined as the ratio of
Laplace transform of output and Laplace transform of input by assuming all the initial
conditions are zero.
 If x(t) and y(t are the input and output of an LTI system, then the corresponding Laplace
transforms are X(s) and Y(s).
 The mathematical expression of transfer function is give by
Y ( s)
G ( s) 
X (s)
 The transfer function model of an LTI system is shown in the following Fig. 2.

Fig. 2: Block diagram of transfer function model of an LTI system.

2. Transfer function models
Impulse Response
 Consider that a linear-invariant system has the input δ(t) and output y(t).
 The system can be characterized by its impulse response g(t), which is defined as the
output when the input is a unit-impulse function δ(t).
y(t) = g(t) δ(t).
Definition of transfer function inters of impulse response
 The transfer function is defined as the Laplace transform of the impulse response of
the system, with all the initial conditions set to zero.
 Then the transfer function is defined as
G(s) = £ [g(t)]
Transfer function of a linear time-invariant differential equation system

 Let us consider that the input-output relation of a linear time-invariant system is

described by the following n-th order differential equation

d n y(t ) d n1 y(t ) dy(t ) d m r (t ) d m1r (t ) dr (t )

 an 1    a1  a y (t )  bm  bm-1    b1  b0 r (t ) (n  m)
dt m1
0
dt n dt n-1 dt dt m dt

 The coefficients a0, a1, a2 . . . , an-1 and b0, b1, b2 . . . , bm are real constants.
 To taken the Laplace transform on both sides of the above equation and assume zero
initial conditions.

s nY ( s )  an-1s n-1Y ( s )    a1sY ( s )  a0Y ( s)  bm s m R( s)  bm-1s m-1 R( s )    b1sR ( s)  b0 R( s)

 ( s n  an-1s n-1    a1s  a0 )Y ( s )  (bm s m  bm-1s m-1    b1s  b0 ) R ( s )

 The transfer is given by

Y ( s) bm s m  bm-1s m-1    b1s  b0
G(s)   ( n  m)
R(s) s n  an-1s n-1    a1s  a0
Characteristic Equation
 The characteristic equation of a linear system is defined as the equation obtained by
setting the denominator polynomial of the transfer function to zero.
 Thus the characteristic equation of the system determined by

s n  an -1s n -1    a2 s  a1s  a0  0

Properties of the transfer function

 The properties of the transfer function are summarized as follows:

1. The transfer function of a system is the mathematical model expressing the
differential equation that relates the output to input of the system.
2. The transfer function is defined only form a linear time-invariant system.
3. It is not defined for non-linear system.
4. All initial conditions of the system are set to zero.
5. The transfer function of a continuous system is expressed only as a function of
the complex variable s.
 Mathematical Models of Physical Systems
A. Electrical Systems
1. Transfer function of a R-C circuit
 Let us consider a R-C series circuit as shown in Fig. 3.
 Applying the KVL in the circuit and obtained the differential
equating as follows
1 1 Fig3: R-C series circuit
Vin (t )  Ri (t )   i (t )dt and Vo (t )   i(t )dt
C C
 Taking Laplace transform and assuming all initial conditions are set to zero, we have
 1  1
Vin ( s )   R   I ( s) and Vo ( s )  I ( s)
 Cs  Cs
 1 
 I ( s )  C sVo ( s ) Vin ( s )   R 
and  CsVo ( s)  [ RCs  1]Vo ( s )
 Cs
 The transfer function of the R-C circuit is
Vo ( s) 1 1
G ( s)   
Vin ( s) RCs  1  s  1
where  = RC, is the time constant of the R-C circuit.
2. R-L-C Series Network
 The transfer function of the R-L-C circuit shown in Fig.4
is obtained by writing the KVL equations
di ( t ) 1
Vin ( t )  Ri ( t )  L
dt

C  i (t ) dt and

1 Fig. 4: R-L-C series circuit

Vo (t ) 
C  i (t ) dt
 Taking Laplace transform on both sides of the equations and assuming all initial
conditions are set to zero, we have
 1  1
Vin ( s )   R  Ls   I ( s ) and Vo ( s )  I ( s)
 C s  Cs
 I ( s )  C sVo ( s )
and Vin ( s )  [ L C s 2  RCs  1] Vo ( s )

 The transfer function of the R-L-C circuit is

Vo ( s ) 1
G (s)  
Vin ( s ) LCs 2  RCs  1
Mechanical System-1
 The mass-spring-damper system is shown Fig. 5.
 The linear motion concerned is in the vertical direction.
 Application of force f(t) to the mass, results in a
displacement of x(t).
 The equation of motion for the system is obtained by
applying Newton’s Second law of translation motion:
d 2 x(t ) dx(t )
f (t )  M  B  K x(t )
dt 2
dt Fig. 5: Mass-spring-damper system.
d 2 x (t )
Here, M  Inertia force,
dt 2
dx(t )
B  Damping force,
dt
K x(t )  Spring restoring force,
and f(t) = Applied force.
 Taking Laplace transform of the equation, with initial conditions are zero, we have
F ( s )  [ M s 2  Bs  K ] X ( s )
 The transfer function of the mechanical system is
Y ( s) 1
G(s)  
F ( s ) Ms 2  B s  K
Mechanical System - 2
 A mechanical system shown in Fig. 6.

Fig. 6: Mechanical system 2.

 The equations of the balancing forces on M1 and M2 respectively are
d 2 x2 dx d
f (t )  M 2 2  B2 2  B12 ( x2  x1 )  K12 ( x2  x1 ) (1)
dt dt dt
d 2 x1 dx d
0  M1 2  B1 1  K1 x1  B12 ( x1  x2 )  K12 ( x1  x2 ) (2)
dt dt dt
 Taking Laplace Transform of the both equation (1) and (2), we get

F ( s)  (M 2 s 2  B2 s  B12 s  K12 ) X 2 ( s)  ( B12 s  K12 ) X1 ( s) (3)

0  ( M1s 2  B1s  B12 s  K12  K1 ) X1 ( s)  ( B12 s  K12 ) X 2 ( s) (4)

 From Eq.(4), we are find the X1(s),
( B12 s  K12 ) X 2 ( s)
 X1 ( s)  (5)
M1s 2  B1s  B12 s  K12  K1

 Substituting the value of X1(s) in Eq. (3), we get

( B12 s  K12 )( B12 s  K12 )

F ( s )  ( M 2 s 2  B2 s  B12 s  K12 ) X 2 ( s )  X 2 ( s)
M1s 2  B1s  B12 s  K12  K1

 (M s2
2

 B2 s  B12 s  K12 )( M1s 2  B1s  B12 s  K12  K1 )  ( B12 s  K12 )2 X 2 ( s )

 F ( s )( M1s 2  B1s  B12 s  K12  K1 )

 Here, F(s) is the input and X2(s) is the output of the mechanical system, then the
transfer function is

X 2 (s) M 1s 2  B1s  B12 s  K12  K1

 (6)
F ( s ) ( M 2 s 2  B2 s  B12 s  K12 )( M 1s 2  B1s  B12 s  K12  K1 )  ( B12 s  K12 ) 2
Block Diagram
 Block diagrams consist of a single block or a combination of blocks.
 These are used to represent the control systems in pictorial form.

Basic Elements of Block Diagram

 The basic elements of a block diagram are a block, the summing point and the take-off
point.
 Let us consider the block diagram of a closed-loop control system as shown in the
following figure to identify these elements.
 The above block diagram consists of two
blocks having transfer functions G(s) and
H(s).
 It is also having one summing point and one
take-off point.
 Arrows indicate the direction of the flow of
signals. Let us now discuss these elements
one by one.
Fig. 1: Block diagram of a closed-loop system.
Transfer Function of a Closed-Loop System
 The block diagram of a linear closed-loop feedback control system is shown in Fig.2.
 The closed-loop transfer function M(s) can be expressed as the ratio G(s) and H(s).
 From the Fig. 3, we can write
Y (s) = G (s) E (s)  (1)
B (s) = H (s) Y (s)  (2)
E (s) = R (s)  B(s)  (3)

 From equations (2) and (3), we have

Fig. 2 : General block diagram of a
E ( s)  R(s)  H (s) Y ( s)  (4) closed loop system.
 Again, from equations (4) and (1), we have
Y ( s)  G (s ) R(s ) - G (s) H (s ) Y (s)
Y ( s)  1  G (s ) H (s )   G (s) R(s)
Y ( s) G ( s)
 
R(s) 1  G(s ) H (s )

 The overall transfer function of the closed-loop system is

Y (s) G( s)
M (s)  
R( s ) 1  G ( s ) H ( s)
Block Diagram Representation of a Electrical System

 Consider an electrical circuit shown in Fig. 3.

 The equations for this circuit are

1
i1 (t )  [vi (t )  v1 (t )]  (1)
R1
1
v1 (t )   i1 (t )  i2 (t ) dt  (2)
C1 Fig. 3 : A electrical circuit.
1
i2 (t )  v1 (t )  vo (t )  (3)
R2
1
 (4)
C2 
vo (t )  i2 (t ) dt

 Taking the Laplace transform of equations with all initial conditions are zero, then

1 1
I1 ( s)   Vi ( s)  V1 ( s)   (5) V1 ( s)   I1 ( s)  I 2 ( s)   (6)
R1 C1s
1 1
I 2 ( s)   V1 ( s)  Vo (s )   (7) Vo ( s )  I 2 ( s)  (8)
R2 C2 s
 The block diagram representation of this four equations (11) to (13) are shown in Fig.
5(a), (b), (c), and (d) respectively.
1
I1 ( s )   Vi ( s)  V1 ( s )   (5)
R1
1
V1 ( s )   I1 ( s)  I 2 ( s)   (6)
C1s
1
I 2 ( s)   V1 ( s)  Vo ( s)   (7)
R2
1
Vo ( s )  I 2 ( s)  (8)
C2 s

Fig. 5 : Block diagram representation of equations (5) to (8).

 The block diagram of interacted system is shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 4: Block diagram representation of the electrical system.

Block-diagram algebra
 The rules of block-diagram algebra are shown in the following table:
Table 1 : Original block diagram and equivalent block diagram
Table 1 : Original block diagram and equivalent block diagram
Example 1 : Find the transfer function of electrical system of the electrical circuit in Figure.

Solution :
 The the transfer function of the electrical system is
Example 2: Consider the system shown below, simplify this diagram and find the overall
transfer function using block diagram algebra.

Solution :
 The transfer function of the system is
Y(s) G1G2G3

R(s) 1  G1G2H1  G2G3H2  G1G2G3
Signal Flow Graphs (SFG)

 The signal flow graph is the case and effect graphical representation of linear
systems that are modeled by algebraic equations.
 Signal flow graph is a graphical representation of algebraic equations.

Basic Elements of Signal Flow Graph

1. Node
2. Branch
3. Forward Path
4. Forward Path Gain
5. Loop
6. Loop Gain
7. Non-touching Loops
8. Over all gain
1. Node
 Node is a point which represents either a variable or a signal.
 There are three types of nodes
1. input node,
2. output node and
3. mixed node.
1. Input Node − It is a node, which has only outgoing branches.
2. Output Node − It is a node, which has only incoming branches.
3. Mixed Node − It is a node, which has both incoming and outgoing branches.

Example : Let us consider the following signal flow

graph to identify these nodes.
 The nodes present in this signal flow graph
are y1, y2, y3 and y4.
Fig. 1 : A signal flow graph.
 y1 and y4 are the input node and output
node respectively.
 y2 and y3 are mixed nodes.
2. Branch
 Branch is a line segment which joins two nodes.
 It has both gain and direction.
 For example, there are four branches in the above
signal flow graph. Fig. 1 : A signal flow graph.

 These branches have gains of a, b, c and -d.

3. Forward Path: A forward path is a path from an input node to an output node that does
not cross any nodes more than once.
4. Forward Path Gain: The forward path gain is the product of the branch transmittances
of a forward path.
5. Loop: A loop is a closed path which originates and terminates at the same node.
6. Loop Gain: The loop gain is the product of the branch transmittances of a loop.
7. Non-touching Loops: Loops are non-touching if they do not possess any common
nodes.
8. Overall Gain : Overall gain means the transfer function of the total system.
Construction of Signal Flow Graph
 Let us construct a signal flow graph by considering the following algebraic equations
y2  a12 y1  a42 y4
y3  a23 y2  a53 y5
y4  a34 y3
y5  a45 y4  a35 y3
y6  a56 y5
 There will be six nodes and eight branches in this signal flow graph.
 The nodes are y1, y2, y3, y4, y5 and y6.
 The gains of the branches are a12, a23, a34, a45, a56, a42, a53 and a35.
 To get the overall signal flow graph, draw the signal flow graph for each equation, then
combine all these signal flow graphs and then follow the steps given below :

Step 1 : Signal flow graph for y2 = a13y1 + a24y4 is shown in the following figure.
Step 2 : Signal flow graph for y3 = a23y2 + a53y5y5 is shown in the following figure.

Step 3 : Signal flow graph for y4 = a34y3 is shown in the following figure.

Step 4 : Signal flow graph for y5 = a45y4 + a35y3 is shown in the following figure.

Step 5 : Signal flow graph for y6 = a56y5 is shown in the following figure.
Step 6 : Signal flow graph of overall system is shown in the following figure.

Conversion of Block Diagrams into Signal Flow Graphs

 Follow these steps for converting a block diagram into its equivalent signal flow graph.
 Represent all the signals, variables, summing points and take-off points of block
diagram as nodes in signal flow graph.
 Represent the blocks of block diagram as branches in signal flow graph.
 Represent the transfer functions inside the blocks of block diagram as gains of the
branches in signal flow graph.
 Connect the nodes as per the block diagram. If there is connection between two nodes
(but there is no block in between), then represent the gain of the branch as one.
 For example, between summing points, between summing point and takeoff point,
between input and summing point, between take-off point and output.
Example
 Let us convert the following block diagram into its equivalent signal flow graph

 The following figure shows the equivalent signal flow graph.

Mason’s Gain Formula for Signal Flow Graph

 The relationship between an input variable and output variable of a signal flow graph is
given by the net gain between the input and the output nodes is known as the overall
gain of the system.
 Mason’s gain formula for the determination of the overall system gain is given below:
k
Pk Δ k
M(s)   Δ
k 1

where, M = overall gain of the system,

Pk = path gain or transmittance of k-th forward path,
 = determination of graph,
= 1   L a   L bL c   L d L e L f  

 L = sum of all individual loop gains

a

 L L = sum of gain products of all possible combinations of two nontuching loop

b c

 L d L e L f = sum of gain products of all possible combinations of three nontuching loops

Δk = the value of  for that part of the graph not touching the k-th forward path.
Example 1: Consider the system shown in figure. Draw the signal flow graph and find the
overall transfer function from the following block diagram.

Fig. 3: Block diagram of a closed-loop system.

Solution : The signal flow graph of the block diagram is shown below:

Fig. 4: Signal flow graph of the block diagram.

 The forward path gains are
P1  G1G2G3 , P2  G4

 The individual loop gains are Fig. 4

L1  G1 H1 , L2  G2 H 2 , L3  G3 H 3 , L4  G4 H 3 H 2 H1

 Loop L1 does not touch loop L3 , then the non touching loop gain is
L1 L3  G1H1G3 H 3
 The determinant ∆ is given by
  1   L1  L2  L3  L4    L1L3 
 1  G1H1  G2 H 2  G3 H 3  G4 H 3 H 2 H1  G1H1G3 H 3
 The forward path cofactors are
1  1, and  2  1  L2  1  G2 H 2
 The closed-loop transfer function Y(s)/R(s) is given by
Y ( s) P1  P2 (1  L2 )
 
R( s) 1  ( L1  L2  L3  L4 )  L1L3
G1G2G3  G4  G2 H 2G4

1  G1H1  G2 H 2  G3 H 3  G4 H 3 H 2 H1  G1H1G3 H 3
Example 2 : Draw the signal flow graph and find the overall transfer function from the
following block diagram as shown in figure.

Solution: The signal flow graph of the block diagram is shown below:

 The forward path gains are

P1  G 1G 2 G 3 G 4 G 5 P2  G 1G 2 G 7 P3  G 1G 6 G 4 G 5
 The individual loop gains are
L1   G 4 H1 L 2  G 2 G 3 G 4 G 5 H 2 L 3  G 2 G 7 H 2 L 4  G 6 G 4 G 5 H 2
 The non touching loop gain is
L 1 L 3  G 4 H 1G 2 G 7 H 2

 The determinant ∆ is given by

  1 - (L 1  L 2  L 3 )  L 1 L 3

 The forward path cofactors are

1  1,  2  1  L1 , 3  1

 The closed-loop transfer function Y(s)/R(s) is given by

Y(s)
Y(s) P1  P2 (1  L1 )  P3

R (s) 1  (L1  L 2  L 3 )  L1 L 2
Example 3 : Find the transfer function from the following signal flow graph shown in figure.

Solution:
 The forward path gains are
P1  G1G3G5 P2  G2G4G6 P3  G1G7G6 P4  G2G8G5
P5  G1G7 H 2G8G5 P6  G2G8 H1G7G6

 The individual loop gains are

L1   G3 H1 L2  G4 H 2 L3  G7 H 2G8 H1
 The non touching loop gain is
L1L2  G3 H1G4 H 2
 The determinant ∆ is given by

  1  ( L1  L2  L3 )  L1L2

 The forward path cofactors are

1  1- L2 ,  2  1- L1 , 3  1,  4  1,  5  1 and  6  1

 The closed-loop transfer function is

Y (s) P1 (1  L2 )  P2 (1  L1 )  P3  P4  P5  P6

R( s) 1  ( L1  L2  L3 )  L1L2
G1G3G5 (1  G4 H 2 )  G2G4G6 (1  G3 H1 )  G1G7G6  G2G8G5  G1G7G8G5 H 2  G2G8G7G6 H1

1  G3 H1  G4 H 2  G7 H 2G8 H1  G3G4 H1H 2