Steady-State Response Analysis

 Steady-state is the part of the total time response which remains after the transients completely
vanish from the total time response.

Mainly the steady-state response has following two specifications,

i) How much time the system takes to reach steady-state which is called settling time, ts.

ii) How far away actual output is reached from its desired value which is called steady-state
error, ess.

Now, let us see on which factors it depends, how to calculate it and how to reduce it.

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 Steady-state error, ess: is the difference between the desired output (input signal) and the actual
output (feedback signal) when conditions are in steady-state.

Many steady-state errors in control systems arise from imperfection (non linearities) in the
system components, such as static friction, backlash in gears and amplifier drift or a motor
that will not moves unless the input voltage exceeds a threshold as well as aging or
deterioration.

In this course, however, we will investigate a type of a steady-state error that is caused by the
incapability of a system to follow particular types of inputs.

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 A system may have no steady-state error to a step input, but the same system may exhibit non
zero steady state error to a ramp input. (The only way we may be able to eliminate this error is
to modify the system structure)
Whether a given system will exhibit steady state error for a given type of input depends on the
type of open-loop transfer function of the system

 A simple open-loop control system is shown below in the Figure

R 𝑆 C 𝑆 E(S)= 𝑅 𝑆 − 𝐶 𝑆 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝐶 𝑆 = 𝐺(𝑆)𝑅 𝑆
𝐺(𝑆)
E(S)= 𝑹 𝑺 (𝟏 − 𝑮 𝑺 ) … … … … … … … … … … … … … … . . … (1)

 A simple closed-loop control system using feedback is shown below in the Figure

R 𝑆 E 𝑆 C 𝑆
+ 𝐺(𝑆) E(S)= 𝑅 𝑆 − 𝐵 𝑆 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝐶 𝑆 =𝐺 𝑆 𝐸 𝑆
-
B 𝑆 =𝐻 𝑆 𝐶 𝑆
B 𝑆
𝑹 𝑺
H(𝑆) E(S)= 𝟏+𝑮 … … … … … … … … … … … … … … . . … (2)
𝑺 𝑯(𝑺)

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Now, steady-state of the system is that state which remains as time approaches infinity.

𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑦 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟, 𝑒𝑠𝑠 = lim 𝑒(𝑡) …………………… Now, we can relate this in S domain
𝑡→∞
(Laplace) by using final value theorem,
which states that
lim 𝐹(𝑡) = lim 𝑆𝐹(𝑆)
𝑡→∞ 𝑆→0

Where, 𝐹(𝑆) = ℒ 𝐹(𝑡)

Therefore,
𝒆𝒔𝒔 = 𝐥𝐢𝐦 𝒆 𝒕 = 𝒍𝒊𝒎 𝑺𝑬(𝑺) … … … … … … … … … … … … … … . . … … … … … … … … … … … … . (3)
𝒕→∞ 𝑺→𝟎

Where, E(𝑆) = ℒ 𝑒(𝑡)

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 For open-loop control system

𝑒𝑠𝑠 = lim 𝑒 𝑡 = 𝑙𝑖𝑚 𝑆𝐸(𝑆) Where, E(S)= 𝑅 𝑆 (1 − 𝐺 𝑆 )

𝑡→∞ 𝑆→0
= 𝑙𝑖𝑚 𝑆 𝑅 𝑆 (1 − 𝐺 𝑆 )
𝑆→0

𝒆𝒔𝒔 = 𝒍𝒊𝒎 𝑺𝑹 𝑺 [𝟏 − 𝑮 𝑺 ] … … … … … … … … … … … … … … . . … … … … … … … … … … … … … . (4)

𝑺→𝟎

 For closed-loop control system

𝑅 𝑆
𝑒𝑠𝑠 = lim 𝑒 𝑡 = 𝑙𝑖𝑚 𝑆𝐸(𝑆) Where, E(S)= 1+𝐺
𝑡→∞ 𝑆→0 𝑆 𝐻(𝑆)
𝑅 𝑆
= 𝑙𝑖𝑚 𝑆
𝑆→0 1 + 𝐺 𝑆 𝐻(𝑆)
𝑺𝑹 𝑺
𝒆𝒔𝒔 = 𝒍𝒊𝒎 … … … … … … … … … … … … … … . . … … … … … … … … … … … … … (5)
𝑺→𝟎 𝟏 + 𝑮 𝑺 𝑯(𝑺)

For closed-loop control system, from equation (5) we can be concluded that steady-state error
depends on the following factors
I. Type and magnitude of the input signals, i.e. 𝑅 𝑆
II. Open-loop transfer function, i.e. 𝐺 𝑆 𝐻(𝑆)
Sultan M.nur III. The presence of any dominant non-linearities.
Now, we will study the effect of change in input R 𝑆 and product 𝐺 𝑆 𝐻(𝑆) on the value of
steady-state error 𝑒𝑠𝑠 . As transfer function approach is applicable to only linear systems, the
effect of non-linearities is not discussed.

Effect of Input Signal (Type and Magnitude) on Steady-State Error

(Static Error Coefficient Method):
Control systems may be classified according to their ability to follow Step inputs, Ramp inputs,
Parabolic inputs, and so on.

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a) Step Input of Magnitude A: • Name: Step
• Time function: 𝐴, 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡 ≥ 0
𝑟(𝑡) =
0, 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡 < 0

• Wave form:

𝑆 𝐴 𝑆
𝑒𝑠𝑠 = 𝑙𝑖𝑚
𝑆→0 1 + 𝐺 𝑆 𝐻(𝑆)
• Physical interpretation: constant position
𝐴
𝑒𝑠𝑠 = 𝑙𝑖𝑚
𝑆→0 1 + 𝐺 𝑆 𝐻(𝑆) • Laplace transform: 𝐴
𝐴 𝑨 ℒ 𝑟(𝑡) = 𝑅 𝑆 =
𝒆𝒔𝒔 = = … … … … (6) 𝑆
1 + lim 𝐺 𝑆 𝐻(𝑆) 𝟏 + 𝒌𝒑
𝑆→0

For a selected system, lim 𝐺 𝑆 𝐻(𝑆) is a constant and called Positional Error Coefficient of
𝑆→0
the system denoted by 𝑘𝑝
Positional Error Coefficient= 𝑘𝑝 = lim 𝐺 𝑆 𝐻(𝑆) … … … … … … … … … … … … … … . . … … … … … … … … … … … … … . (7)
𝑆→0
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b) Ramp Input of Magnitude A: • Name: Ramp
• Time function: 𝐴𝑡, 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡 ≥ 0
𝑟(𝑡) =
0, 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡 < 0

• Wave form:

𝑆 𝐴2
𝑒𝑠𝑠 = 𝑙𝑖𝑚 𝑆
𝑆→0 1 + 𝐺 𝑆 𝐻(𝑆)
• Physical interpretation: constant velocity
𝐴 𝐴
𝑒𝑠𝑠 = 𝑙𝑖𝑚 = 𝑙𝑖𝑚
𝑆→0 𝑆 1 + 𝐺 𝑆 𝐻(𝑆) 𝑆→0 𝑆 + 𝑆𝐺 𝑆 𝐻(𝑆) • Laplace transform: 𝐴
𝐴 𝑨 ℒ 𝑟(𝑡) = 𝑅 𝑆 =
𝒆𝒔𝒔 = = … … … … . . … … … (8) 𝑆2
lim 𝑆𝐺 𝑆 𝐻(𝑆) 𝒌𝒗
𝑆→0

For a selected system, lim 𝑆𝐺 𝑆 𝐻(𝑆) is a constant and called Velocity Error Coefficient of the
𝑆→0
system denoted by 𝑘𝑣
Velocity Error Coefficient= 𝑘𝑣 = lim 𝑆𝐺 𝑆 𝐻(𝑆) … … … … … … … … … … … … … … . . … … … … … … … … … … … … … . (9)
𝑆→0
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 c) Parabolic Input of Magnitude A: • Name: Parabolic
𝐴 2
• Time function: 𝑡 , 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡 ≥ 0
𝑟(𝑡) = 2
0, 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡 < 0

• Wave form:

𝑆 𝐴 3
𝑒𝑠𝑠 = 𝑙𝑖𝑚 𝑆
𝑆→0 1 + 𝐺 𝑆 𝐻(𝑆)
• Physical interpretation: constant acceleration
𝐴 𝐴
𝑒𝑠𝑠 = 𝑙𝑖𝑚 = 𝑙𝑖𝑚
𝑆→0 𝑆 2 1 + 𝐺 𝑆 𝐻(𝑆) 𝑆→0 𝑆 2 + 𝑆 2 𝐺 𝑆 𝐻(𝑆) • Laplace transform: 𝐴
𝐴 𝑨 ℒ 𝑟(𝑡) = 𝑅 𝑆 =
𝒆𝒔𝒔 = = … … … … . . … … … (10) 𝑆3
lim 𝑆 2 𝐺 𝑆 𝐻(𝑆) 𝒌𝒂
𝑆→0

For a selected system, lim 𝑆 2 𝐺 𝑆 𝐻(𝑆) is a constant and called Acceleration Error Coefficient
𝑆→0
of the system denoted by 𝑘𝑎
Acceleration Error Coefficient= 𝑘𝑎 = lim 𝑆 2 𝐺 𝑆 𝐻(𝑆) … … … … … … … … … … … … … … . . … … … … … … … … … … … … … . (11)
𝑆→0
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 Example
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