18/10/2020 How to find the transfer function of a system – x-engineer.

org

MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE  / GENERAL ENGINEERING  /

AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERING  / QUIZ ! / NEWS / PROJECTS

HOME  GENERAL ENGINEERING  SIGNALS & SYSTEMS 

CONTROL SYSTEMS 
How To Find The Transfer Function Of A System

CONTROL SYSTEMS

Recent Comments
How to nd the transfer function
of a system Anthony Stark on How to
calculate the torque capacity
of a clutch
In control engineering and control theory the transfer function of a
Sam Hemesley on The
system is a very common concept.  A transfer function is determined pressure-volume (pV)
using Laplace transform and plays a vital role in the development of the diagram and how work is
automatic control systems theory. produced in an ICE

nugr budi on On-off control

By the end of this tutorial, the reader should know:
system

how to nd the transfer function of a SISO system starting from Alexander Yudell on How to
the ordinary differential equation calculate the torque capacity
how to simulate a transfer function in an Xcos block diagram of a clutch
how to simulated a transfer function using Scilab dedicated
herve Bernad on What is a
functions signal ?

A system can be de ned as a  mathematical relationship between the

input, output and the states of a system. In control theory, a system is Patreon
represented a a rectangle with an input and output.

Loading [MathJax]/jax/output/HTML-CSS/fonts/TeX/AMS/Regular/Main.js
where:
https://x-engineer.org/graduate-engineering/signals-systems/control-systems/find-transfer-function-system/ 1/11
18/10/2020 How to find the transfer function of a system – x-engineer.org

u(t) – input
y(t) – output Recent Posts

Both input and output are variable in time. A system with only one input
and output is called SISO (Single Input Single Output) system. Control Linear interpolation and
extrapolation with calculator
theory also applies to MIMO (Multi Input Multi Output) systems, but for
an easier understanding of the concept we are going to refer only to Vehicle acceleration and
SISO systems. performance online
calculator
The simplest representation of a system is through Ordinary Differential
How to calculate wheel and
Equation (ODE). When dealing with ordinary differential equations, the
vehicle speed from engine
dependent variables are function of a positive real variable t (often speed
time). By applying Laplace’s transform we switch from a function of
time  to a function of a complex variable s (frequency) and the How to calculate the centroid
of an area
differential equation becomes an algebraic equation.
Random password generator
with algorithm

Categories

The transfer function de nes the relation between the output and the
input of a dynamic system, written in complex form (s variable). For a Select Category
dynamic system with an input u(t) and an output y(t), the transfer
function H(s) is the ratio between the complex representation (s
variable) of the output Y(s) and input U(s). Pages

About
Contact

Cookie Policy
For a better understanding we are going to have a look at two example,
Privacy Policy
two dynamic systems, for which we are going to nd (determine) their
transfer functions. These systems are: Terms and Conditions

mechanical: single translational mass with spring and damper

electrical: series RL circuit

Laplace Transform of Derivative

Before going into practical examples, let’s recall Laplace transform for a
function, rst order derivative and second order derivative.
Loading [MathJax]/jax/output/HTML-CSS/fonts/TeX/AMS/Regular/Main.js

https://x-engineer.org/graduate-engineering/signals-systems/control-systems/find-transfer-function-system/ 2/11
18/10/2020 How to find the transfer function of a system – x-engineer.org

For a given continuous and differentiable function f(t),  the following

Laplace transforms properties applies:

\begin{split} \mathcal {L} [f(t)] &= F(s)\\ \mathcal {L} [f'(t)] &= sF(s)-
f(0)\\ \mathcal {L} [f”(t)] &= s^2F(s)-sf(0)-f'(0) \end{split}

Mechanical system
Example. Find  the transfer function for a single translational mass
system with spring and damper.

Image: Translational mass with spring and damper

The methodology for nding the equation of motion for this is system is
described in detail in the tutorial  Mechanical systems modeling using
Newton’s and D’Alembert equations.

The ordinary differential equation describing the dynamics of the

system is:

F(t) = m \frac{d^2 x(t)}{dt^2}+c \frac{dx(t)}{dt}+ kx(t) \tag{1}

where:

m [kg] – mass
k [N/m] – spring constant (stiffness)
c [Ns/m] – damping coe cient
F [N] – external force acting on the body (input)
x [m] – displacement of the body (output)

The input of the system is the external force F(t) and the output is the
displacement x(t). First we’ll apply the Laplace transform to each of the
terms of the equation (1):

\begin{split} \mathcal {L} \left [ \frac{d^2 x(t)}{dt^2} \right ] &= s^2 X(s)-
sx(0)- \frac{dx(0)}{dt}\\ \mathcal {L} \left [ \frac{d x(t)}{dt} \right ] &= s
X(s)-x(0)\\ \mathcal {L} \left [ x(t) \right ] &= X(s)\\ \mathcal {L} [F(t)] &=
F(s)\\[MathJax]/jax/output/HTML-CSS/fonts/TeX/AMS/Regular/Main.js
Loading \end{split}

https://x-engineer.org/graduate-engineering/signals-systems/control-systems/find-transfer-function-system/ 3/11
18/10/2020 How to find the transfer function of a system – x-engineer.org

The initial conditions of the mass position and speed are:

\begin{split} x(0) &= 0\\ \frac{dx(0)}{dt} &= 0 \end{split}

Replacing the Laplace transforms and initial conditions in the equation
(1) gives:

\begin{split} F(s) &= ms^2X(s)+csX(s)+kX(s)\\ F(s) &= X(s) \left ( ms^2

+ cs + k \right )\\ \frac{X(s)}{F(s)} &= \frac{1}{ms^2 + cs + k} \end{split}
We have now found the transfer function of the translational mass
system with spring and damper:

\bbox[#FFFF9D]{H(s) =\frac{X(s)}{F(s)} =\frac{1}{ms^2 + cs + k}}

To prove that the transfer function was correctly  calculated, we are
going to use a simple Xcos block diagram to simulate the step response
of the system.

Image: Mass-spring-damper transfer function – Xcos block

diagram

With the following parameters:


m = 2; // [kg]
c = 1; // [Ns/m]
k = 2; // [N/m]

and running the Xcos simulation for 20 s , gives the following

graphical window:

Loading [MathJax]/jax/output/HTML-CSS/fonts/TeX/AMS/Regular/Main.js

https://x-engineer.org/graduate-engineering/signals-systems/control-systems/find-transfer-function-system/ 4/11
18/10/2020 How to find the transfer function of a system – x-engineer.org

Image: Mass-spring-damper system position response

The response given by the transfer function is identical with the

response obtained by integrating the ordinary differential equation of
the system. This gives con dence in the calculation method for the
transfer function.

We could  also use the Scilab function  syslin() to de ne a  transfer

function. Also, with the function csim() , we can plot the system’s
response to a unitary step input.


// Define system parameters
m = 2; // [kg]
c = 1; // [Ns/m]
k = 2; // [N/m]

// Define simulation time

t=0:0.01:20; // [s]

// Define transfer function

s=poly(0,'s');
H=[1/(m*s^2+c*s+k)];
sys=syslin('c',H)

// Run unitary step response

x_m = csim('step',t,H);
plot(t,x_m), xgrid()
xlabel('t [s]')
ylabel('x [m]')

By running the above Scilab instructions, we get the following graphical

Loading [MathJax]/jax/output/HTML-CSS/fonts/TeX/AMS/Regular/Main.js
window:

https://x-engineer.org/graduate-engineering/signals-systems/control-systems/find-transfer-function-system/ 5/11
18/10/2020 How to find the transfer function of a system – x-engineer.org

Image: Mass-spring-damper system position response – csim()

As expected, we have the same system response as in the Xcos block

diagram transfer function simulation.

We have now de ned the same mechanical system as a differential

equation and as a transfer function. Both representations are correct
and equivalent.

Image: Mass-spring-damper system – transfer function

Electrical system
Example. Find the transfer function of a series RL circuit connected to a
continuous current voltage source.

Image: Series RL circuit schematic

The methodology
Loading for nding the electrical current equation 
[MathJax]/jax/output/HTML-CSS/fonts/TeX/AMS/Regular/Main.js for the
system is described in detail in the tutorial  RL circuit – detailed
https://x-engineer.org/graduate-engineering/signals-systems/control-systems/find-transfer-function-system/ 6/11
18/10/2020 How to find the transfer function of a system – x-engineer.org

mathematical analysis.

The ordinary differential equation describing the dynamics of the RL

circuit is:

u(t) = L \frac{di(t)}{dt} +R i(t) \tag{2}

where:

R [Ω] – resistance
L [H] – inductance
u [V] – voltage drop across the circuit
i [A] – electrical current through the circuit

The input of the system is the voltage  u(t) and the output is the
electrical current  i(t). First we’ll apply the Laplace transform to each of
the terms of the equation (2):

\begin{split} \mathcal {L} \left [ \frac{d i(t)}{dt} \right ] &= s I(s)-i(0)\\

\mathcal {L} \left [ i(t) \right ] &= I(s)\\ \mathcal {L} [u(t)] &= U(s)\\
\end{split}
The initial condition of the electrical current is:

i(0) = 0
Replacing the Laplace transforms and initial conditions in the equation
(2) gives:

\begin{split} U(s) &= LsI(s)+RI(s)\\ U(s) &= I(s) \left ( Ls + R \right )\\
\frac{I(s)}{U(s)} &= \frac{1}{Ls + R} \end{split}
We have now found the transfer function of the series RL circuit:

\bbox[#FFFF9D]{H(s) =\frac{I(s)}{U(s)} =\frac{1}{Ls + R}}

To prove that the transfer function was correctly calculated, we are
going to use a simple Xcos block diagram to simulate the step response
of the system.

Image: RL series circuit transfer function – Xcos block diagram

Loading [MathJax]/jax/output/HTML-CSS/fonts/TeX/AMS/Regular/Main.js

https://x-engineer.org/graduate-engineering/signals-systems/control-systems/find-transfer-function-system/ 7/11
18/10/2020 How to find the transfer function of a system – x-engineer.org

With the following parameters:


E = 12; // [V]
R = 0.3; // [Ohm]
L = 0.04; // [H]

and running the Xcos simulation for 2 s , gives the following graphical
window:

Image: RL series circuit current response

The response given by the transfer function is identical with the

response obtained by integrating the ordinary differential equation of
the system. This gives con dence in the calculation method for the
transfer function.

We could also use the Scilab function syslin() to de ne a transfer

function. Also, with the function csim() , we can plot the system’s
response to voltage step input.


// Define system parameters
E = 12; // [V]
R = 0.3; // [Ohm]
L = 0.04; // [H]

// Define simulation time

t = 0:0.01:2; // [s]

// Define transfer function

Loading [MathJax]/jax/output/HTML-CSS/fonts/TeX/AMS/Regular/Main.js
s=poly(0,'s');
H=[1/(L*s+R)];
https://x-engineer.org/graduate-engineering/signals-systems/control-systems/find-transfer-function-system/ 8/11
18/10/2020 How to find the transfer function of a system – x-engineer.org
sys=syslin('c',H)

// Define input function

deff('u=step(t)','u=E')

// Run step response

x_m = csim(step,t,H);
plot(t,x_m), xgrid()
xlabel('t [s]')
ylabel('i [A]')

By running the above Scilab instructions, we get the following graphical

window:

Image: RL series circuit current response – csim()

As expected, we have the same system response as in the Xcos block

diagram transfer function simulation.

We have now de ned the same electrical  system as a differential

equation and as a transfer function. Both representations are correct
and equivalent.

Image: RL series circuit – transfer function

At the end of this tutorial, the reader should know:

how to nd the transfer function of a SISO system starting from

the ordinary differential equation
how to simulate a transfer function in an Xcos block diagram
Loading [MathJax]/jax/output/HTML-CSS/fonts/TeX/AMS/Regular/Main.js

https://x-engineer.org/graduate-engineering/signals-systems/control-systems/find-transfer-function-system/ 9/11
18/10/2020 How to find the transfer function of a system – x-engineer.org

how to simulated a transfer function using Scilab dedicated

functions

For any questions, observations and queries regarding this article, use
the comment form below.

Don’t forget to Like, Share and Subscribe!

 PREV ARTICLE NEXT ARTICLE 

4 Comments

Mel Pama 

How to convert this result into the ABCD matrix and the associated
Matrix of each Impedance in the circuit to obtain the output matrix for
the H(w) components?

suraj 

How to nd transfer function of single capacity tank system

magic badza 

very educative and clear to follow. thank you very much

enrico_ita 

thank you so much, now the transfer function is so easy to understand.

have a nice day

Loading [MathJax]/jax/output/HTML-CSS/fonts/TeX/AMS/Regular/Main.js

https://x-engineer.org/graduate-engineering/signals-systems/control-systems/find-transfer-function-system/ 10/11
18/10/2020 How to find the transfer function of a system – x-engineer.org

Leave a Reply

Comment Text*

Name*

Email*

Website

No soy un robot
reCAPTCHA
Privacidad - Condiciones

SUBMIT YOUR COMMENT

x-engineer.org     
Engineering Tutorials

Copyright © 2020 x-engineer.org Powered by Ubuntu and Scilab

Loading [MathJax]/jax/output/HTML-CSS/fonts/TeX/AMS/Regular/Main.js

https://x-engineer.org/graduate-engineering/signals-systems/control-systems/find-transfer-function-system/ 11/11