Cairo University

Faculty of Engineering
Mechanical Engineering Program
Control Systems Dynamics
MDPN372

Introduction to System Dynamics

Basic definitions
System dynamics deals with the mathematical modeling of dynamic systems and response
analyses.
A system is a combination of components acting together to perform a specific objective.
A component is a single functioning unit of a system.
The controlled variable is the quantity or condition that is measured and controlled. The
controlled variable is the output of the system.
Control means to measure the value of the controlled variable and to set its value to a desired
value.
In a dynamic system, the output changes with time. The output changes due to the variation of
input or disturbances acting on the system.
A disturbance is a signal that tends to adversely affect the value of the output of a system.

Systems configurations
Open loop control systems
Systems in which the output has no effect on the control action. The output is neither measured
nor fed back for comparison with the input. Open-loop systems, then, do not correct for
disturbances and are simply commanded by the input. Example: washing machine, toaster.

Advantages of open-loop control systems:

1. Simple construction and ease of maintenance.
2. Less expensive.
3. There is no stability problem.
4. Convenient when output is hard to measure or measuring the output precisely is
economically not feasible.

Disadvantages of open loop control systems:

1. Disturbances and changes in calibration cause errors, and the output may be different from
what is desired.
2. To maintain the required quality in the output, recalibration is necessary from time to time.

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Closed-Loop (Feedback Control) Systems
The closed-loop system compensates for disturbances by measuring the output response,
feeding that measurement back through a feedback. If there is any difference between the actual
output and desired output, the system drives the plant, via the actuating signal, to make a
correction. Example: refrigerator, electric water heater.

Advantages of closed loop control systems:

1. More accurate to achieve the desired output.
2. Can correct the system response due to external disturbances and internal variations in
system parameters.

Disadvantages of closed loop control systems:

1. Can undergo instability causing oscillations.
2. Higher cost and more complex system.

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System Dynamics Analysis and Design
Analysis is the process by which a system’s performance is determined. Performance is
evaluated by inspecting the transient response and steady-state error to determine if they meet
the desired specifications. Three major objectives of systems analysis and design: producing
the desired transient response, reducing steady-state error, and achieving stability.

Example: Response of a position control system, showing effect of high and low controller
gain on the output response.

Mathematical modeling
Mathematical modeling involves the description of important system characteristics by sets of
equations, by applying physical laws. Physical systems are usually described in terms of
differential equations. The mathematical solution of the set of equations involves the system
behavior which describes the output of the system to the input as function of time.

Linear Time Invariant (LTI) systems

A LTI system is described by differential equation in which a dependent variable and its
derivatives appear as linear combinations. The coefficients of all terms are constant. The
equation must contain no powers or other functions or products of the dependent variables or
its derivatives.
The principle of superposition is applicable on the linear systems. The principle states that the
response of multiple applied inputs is the sum of response for each input.
Example: the solution of the 2nd order differential equation of a suspension system of a car
where the mass, spring, and damper are constant.
𝑑2𝑥 𝑑𝑥
𝑚 2 +𝑐 + 𝑘𝑥 = 𝐹
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡

Linear Time Variant systems

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If the system parameters are time dependent, the system is called ‘Linear Time Variant’. The
equation coefficients are function of time. The dependent variable and its derivatives appear
as linear combinations.
Example: mass of a spacecraft changes due to fuel consumption.
𝑑2𝑥
+ (1 − cos 2𝑡)𝑥 = 0
𝑑𝑡 2

Nonlinear Systems
Nonlinear systems are described by nonlinear differential equations. The equations contain
product of the variables and derivatives, powers, or other functions. The principle of
superposition is not applicable.
The mathematical solution involved with nonlinear systems are more difficult. Frequently, if
possible, it is useful to linearize a nonlinear system near the operating condition.
Example: the equation of a mass suspension system with nonlinear spring
𝑑2𝑥 𝑑𝑥
𝑚 2 +𝑐 + 𝑘𝑥 ± 𝛼𝑥 3 = 𝐹
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡

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 Laplace Transform

The Laplace transform is a method that can be used in solving linear, time-invariant differential
equations. Its main advantage is that differentiation of the time ‘t’ function ‘f(t)’ is transformed
to multiplication of a complex variable ‘s’ as algebraic function ‘F(s)’.

The Laplace transform is defined as:

∞
ʆ[𝑓(𝑡)] = 𝐹(𝑠) = ∫ 𝑓(𝑡)𝑒 −𝑠𝑡 𝑑𝑡
0
The system transformed algebraic equations are solved in the ‘s’ domain. Then, transformed
back to the physical time domain ‘t’ using the inverse Laplace transform ʆ−1 [𝐹(𝑠)] = 𝑓(𝑡).

Unit step function

𝑢(𝑡 − 𝑎) =1 𝑡≥𝑎
=0 𝑡<𝑎

Laplace transform table

Function Plot 𝑓(𝑡) 𝐹(𝑠)

Delta Dirac function

𝛿(𝑡)
(Unit impulse) 1
Defined by unit area

1
Unit step function 𝑢(𝑡)
𝑠

𝑎
Step function 𝑎
𝑠

𝑎
Ramp function 𝑎𝑡
𝑠2

𝑎 𝑛!
𝑎𝑡 𝑛
𝑠 𝑛+1
1
𝑒 −𝑎𝑡
𝑠+𝑎
𝜔
sin 𝜔𝑡
𝑠 + 𝜔2
2
𝑠
cos 𝜔𝑡
𝑠 + 𝜔2
2

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Laplace transform theorems

Theorem 𝑓(𝑡)
Linearity theorem ʆ[𝑘𝑓(𝑡)] = 𝑘𝐹(𝑠)
ʆ[𝑓1 (𝑡) + 𝑓2 (𝑡)] = 𝐹1 (𝑠) + 𝐹2 (𝑠)

Frequency shift theorem ʆ[𝑒 −𝑎𝑡 𝑓(𝑡)] = 𝐹(𝑠 + 𝑎)

Time shift theorem ʆ[𝑓(𝑡)𝑢(𝑡 − 𝑎)] = 𝑒 −𝑎𝑠 𝐹(𝑠)

1 𝑠
Scaling theorem ʆ[𝑓(𝑎𝑡)] = 𝐹( )
𝑎 𝑎

𝑑𝑓
Differentiation theorem ʆ[ ] = 𝑠𝐹(𝑠) − 𝑠𝑓(0)
𝑑𝑡
𝑑2 𝑓
ʆ [ 2 ] = 𝑠 2 𝐹(𝑠) − 𝑠𝑓(0) − 𝑓 ′ (0)
𝑑𝑡
𝑛
𝑑𝑛 𝑓
ʆ [ 𝑛 ] = 𝑠 𝑛 𝐹(𝑠) − ∑ 𝑠 𝑛−𝑘 𝑓 𝑘−1 (0)
𝑑𝑡
𝑘=1

𝑡
𝐹(𝑠)
Integration theorem ʆ [∫ 𝑓(𝜏)𝑑𝜏] =
0 𝑠

Final value theorem 𝑓(∞) = lim 𝑠𝐹(𝑠)

𝑠→0

Initial value problem 𝑓(0) = lim 𝑠𝐹(𝑠)

𝑠→∞

Transfer function
Consider the linear time-invariant system defined by the following differential equation,

𝑎0 𝑦 𝑛 + 𝑎1 𝑦 𝑛−1 + ⋯ + 𝑎𝑛−1 𝑦 ′ + 𝑎𝑛 𝑦
= 𝑏0 𝑥 𝑚 + 𝑏1 𝑥 𝑚−1 + ⋯ + 𝑏𝑚−1 𝑥 ′ + 𝑏𝑚 𝑥 𝑛≥𝑚

where ‘y’ is the output of the system and ‘x’ is the input.
Taking Laplace of the differential equations and setting the initial conditions to zero.

[𝑎0 𝑠 𝑛 + 𝑎1 𝑠 𝑛−1 + ⋯ + 𝑎𝑛−1 𝑠 + 𝑎𝑛 ]𝑌(𝑠) = [𝑏0 𝑠 𝑚 + 𝑏1 𝑠 𝑚−1 + ⋯ + 𝑏𝑚−1 𝑠 + 𝑏𝑚 ]𝑋(𝑠)

𝑌(𝑠) 𝑏0 𝑠 𝑚 + 𝑏1 𝑠 𝑚−1 + ⋯ + 𝑏𝑚−1 𝑠 + 𝑏𝑚

𝑇𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑓𝑒𝑟 𝑓𝑢𝑛𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 = 𝑇(𝑠) = =
𝑋(𝑠) 𝑎0 𝑠 𝑛 + 𝑎1 𝑠 𝑛−1 + ⋯ + 𝑎𝑛−1 𝑠 + 𝑎𝑛

The transfer function of a linear, time-invariant, differential equation system is defined as the
ratio of the Laplace transform of the output (response function) to the Laplace transform of the
input (driving function) under the assumption that all initial conditions are zero.

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By using the concept of transfer function, it is possible to represent system dynamics by
algebraic equations in s. If the highest power of s in the denominator of the transfer function is
equal to n, the system is called an nth order system.
The transfer function can be represented as a block diagram,

Finding the system response

The system response ‘y(t)’ is obtained by making the inverse the inverse Laplace
transformation such that,
𝑦(𝑡) = ʆ−1 [𝑇(𝑠)𝑋(𝑠)]

Partial-fraction expansion method is used for finding inverse Laplace transforms.

In case of distinct poles, the function can be expanded into a sum of simple partial fractions,
𝐵(𝑠) 𝑎1 𝑎2 𝑎𝑛
𝑇(𝑠) = = + + ⋯+
𝐴(𝑠) 𝑠 + 𝑝1 𝑠 + 𝑝2 𝑠 + 𝑝𝑛

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