Second order systems

Generally, second order systems have the highest power of s being two. The
transfer function of general second order system is given by:
𝐶(𝑠) 𝜔𝑛 2 𝑝(𝑠)
= 2 =
𝑅(𝑠) 𝑠 + 2𝛿𝜔𝑛 𝑠 + 𝜔𝑛 2 𝑞(𝑠)
Where:
𝛿= damping factor (ratio)
𝜔𝑛 = undamped natural frequency.
The time response of any system is characterized by the roots of the denominator
polynomial 𝑞(𝑠) which is in fact the poles of the transfer function. The denominator
𝑞(𝑠) is therefore called the characteristic polynomial.
𝑞(𝑠) = 0 is called the characteristic equation. Hence we have:

𝑠 2 + 2𝛿𝜔𝑛 𝑠 + 𝜔𝑛 2 = 0
The roots of the characteristic equation are given by:
(𝑠 2 + 2𝛿𝜔𝑛 𝑠 + 𝜔𝑛 2 ) = (𝑠 − 𝑠1 )(𝑠 − 𝑠2 )
Where:

−𝑏 ± √𝑏 2 − 4𝑎𝑐
𝑠1 , 𝑠2 =
2𝑎
𝑠1 , 𝑠2 = −𝛿𝜔𝑛 ± 𝑗𝜔𝑛 √1 − 𝛿 2
𝑠1 , 𝑠2 = −𝛿𝜔𝑛 ± 𝑗𝜔𝑑
Where:

𝜔𝑑 = 𝜔𝑛 √1 − 𝛿 2 is called damped natural frequency. The value of 𝛿 varies and

we have:
𝛿 < 1; 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑑𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑑
𝛿 = 1; 𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑑𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑑
𝛿 > 1; 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑑𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑑
Time response for second order systems
We have:
𝐶(𝑠) 𝜔𝑛 2
=
𝑅(𝑠) 𝑠 2 + 2𝛿𝜔𝑛 𝑠 + 𝜔𝑛 2
For unit step input we have:
𝜔𝑛 2
𝐶(𝑠) =
𝑠(𝑠 2 + 2𝛿𝜔𝑛 𝑠 + 𝜔𝑛 2 )
Through partial fractions we have:
𝐴 𝐵𝑠 + 𝐶 𝜔𝑛 2
+ =
𝑠 𝑠 2 + 2𝛿𝜔𝑛 𝑠 + 𝜔𝑛 2 𝑠(𝑠 2 + 2𝛿𝜔𝑛 𝑠 + 𝜔𝑛 2 )
Hence we get:
𝐴𝑠 2 + 𝐴2𝛿𝜔𝑛 𝑠 + 𝐴𝜔𝑛 2 + 𝐵𝑠 2 + 𝐶𝑠 = 𝜔𝑛 2
𝐴+𝐵 =0
𝐴2𝛿𝜔𝑛 + 𝐶 = 0
𝜔𝑛 2 𝐴 = 𝜔𝑛 2
Therefore we have:
𝐴=1
𝐵 = −1
𝐶 = −2𝛿𝜔𝑛
Therefore we get:
1 𝑠 + 2𝛿𝜔𝑛
𝐶(𝑠) = − 2
𝑠 𝑠 + 2𝛿𝜔𝑛 𝑠 + 𝜔𝑛 2
1 𝑠 + 2𝛿𝜔𝑛
𝐶(𝑠) = −
𝑠 (𝑠 + 𝛿𝜔𝑛 )2 + 𝜔𝑛 2 (1 − 𝛿 2 )
1 𝑠 + 𝛿𝜔𝑛 𝛿𝜔𝑛
𝐶(𝑠) = − −
𝑠 (𝑠 + 𝛿𝜔𝑛 )2 + 𝜔𝑛 2 (1 − 𝛿 2 ) (𝑠 + 𝛿𝜔𝑛 )2 + 𝜔𝑛 2 (1 − 𝛿 2 )
Taking Laplace transform we get:
𝛿
𝑐(𝑡) = 1 − 𝑒 −𝛿𝜔𝑛𝑡 (𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜔𝑑 𝑡 + 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜔𝑑 𝑡)
√1 − 𝛿 2
Using the following right angled triangle we get:

1
√1 − 𝛿 2
∅

𝑠𝑖𝑛∅ = √1 − 𝛿 2
𝑐𝑜𝑠∅ = 𝛿

√1 − 𝛿 2
𝑡𝑎𝑛∅ =
𝛿
Rearranging the expression for 𝑐(𝑡) we get:

𝑒 −𝛿𝜔𝑛𝑡
𝑐(𝑡) = 1 − (√1 − 𝛿 2 × 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜔𝑑 𝑡 + 𝛿𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜔𝑑 𝑡)
√1 − 𝛿2
𝑒 −𝛿𝜔𝑛𝑡
𝑐(𝑡) = 1 − (𝑠𝑖𝑛∅𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜔𝑑 𝑡 + 𝑐𝑜𝑠∅𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜔𝑑 𝑡 )
√1 − 𝛿 2
𝑒 −𝛿𝜔𝑛𝑡
𝑐(𝑡) = 1 − sin(𝜔𝑑 𝑡 + ∅)
√1 − 𝛿 2
𝑒 −𝛿𝜔𝑛𝑡 √1 − 𝛿 2
𝑐(𝑡) = 1 − sin (𝜔𝑛 √1 − 𝛿 2 𝑡 + 𝑡𝑎𝑛−1 )
√1 − 𝛿 2 𝛿
Below are characteristics for various damping factors:
 𝑐(𝑡)

Under damped

Critically damped

Over damped

The response of the under damped is the one of great significance in control
systems. Below are its specifications:
𝑐(𝑡)

𝑀𝑝 Tolerance band
1

0.5

t
𝑡𝑑

𝑡𝑟
𝑡𝑝
𝑡𝑠

Where:
𝑡𝑑 = Delay time: Time required for the response to reach 50% of the final value
𝑡𝑟 = Rise time: Time required for the response to rise from 0 to 100% for the under
damped case.
𝑡𝑝 = Rise time: Time required for the response to reach peak overshoot.
𝑡𝑠 = Settling time: Time required for the response to reach and stay within specified
tolerance band.
𝑀𝑝 = Peak overshoot: it indicates normalized difference between the time response
peak and steady state output.
Specification expressions
Rise time (𝒕𝒓 )
It is obtained when 𝑐(𝑡) reaches unity for the first time.

𝑒 −𝛿𝜔𝑛𝑡𝑟
𝑐(𝑡𝑟 ) = 1 − sin(𝜔𝑑 𝑡𝑟 + ∅) = 1
√1 − 𝛿2
𝑒 −𝛿𝜔𝑛𝑡𝑟
− sin(𝜔𝑑 𝑡𝑟 + ∅) = 0
√1 − 𝛿 2
sin(𝜔𝑑 𝑡𝑟 + ∅) = 0
𝜔𝑑 𝑡𝑟 + ∅ = 𝑠𝑖𝑛−1 0 = 𝜋, 2𝜋, ⋯
Considering the first time we get:
𝜔𝑑 𝑡𝑟 + ∅ = 𝜋
𝜋−∅
𝑡𝑟 =
𝜔𝑑
Peak time (𝒕𝒑 )
It is obtained from the first turning point. Hence differentiating 𝑐(𝑡) with respect to
𝑡 and equating to zero we get:
𝑑𝑐(𝑡) 𝑑 𝑒 −𝛿𝜔𝑛𝑡𝑝
= (1 − sin(𝜔𝑑 𝑡𝑝 + ∅)) = 0
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡 √1 − 𝛿 2
𝛿𝜔𝑛 −𝛿𝜔𝑛 𝑡𝑝
𝑒 −𝛿𝜔𝑛𝑡𝑝
= 𝑒 sin(𝜔𝑑 𝑡𝑝 + ∅) − 𝜔𝑑 cos(𝜔𝑑 𝑡𝑝 + ∅) = 0
√1 − 𝛿 2 √1 − 𝛿 2
𝑒 −𝛿𝜔𝑛 𝑡𝑝
𝜔𝑛 is common. Hence dividing all both sides with it we get:
√1−𝛿 2

𝛿 sin(𝜔𝑑 𝑡𝑝 + ∅) − √1 − 𝛿 2 cos(𝜔𝑑 𝑡𝑝 + ∅) = 0
Using the following right angled triangle we get:

1
√1 − 𝛿 2
∅

𝑠𝑖𝑛∅ = √1 − 𝛿 2
𝑐𝑜𝑠∅ = 𝛿

√1 − 𝛿 2
𝑡𝑎𝑛∅ =
𝛿
Hence we can rewrite the equation as:
𝑐𝑜𝑠∅ sin(𝜔𝑑 𝑡𝑝 + ∅) − 𝑠𝑖𝑛∅ cos(𝜔𝑑 𝑡𝑝 + ∅) = 0
Expanding we get:
(𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜔𝑑 𝑡𝑝 𝑐𝑜𝑠∅𝑐𝑜𝑠∅ + 𝑠𝑖𝑛∅𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜔𝑑 𝑡𝑝 𝑐𝑜𝑠∅) − (𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜔𝑑 𝑡𝑝 𝑐𝑜𝑠∅𝑠𝑖𝑛∅ − 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜔𝑑 𝑡𝑝 𝑠𝑖𝑛∅𝑠𝑖𝑛∅) = 0

𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜔𝑑 𝑡𝑝 𝑐𝑜𝑠 2 ∅ + 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜔𝑑 𝑡𝑝 𝑠𝑖𝑛2 ∅ = 0

𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜔𝑑 𝑡𝑝 (𝑐𝑜𝑠 2 ∅ + 𝑠𝑖𝑛2 ∅) = 0
𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜔𝑑 𝑡𝑝 = 0
𝜔𝑑 𝑡𝑝 = 𝜋, 2𝜋, ⋯
𝜋
𝑡𝑝 =
𝜔𝑑
For the first overshoot.
Peak overshoot (𝑴𝒑 )
𝑀𝑝 = 𝑐(𝑡) − 1
 𝑒 −𝛿𝜔𝑛𝑡𝑝
𝑀𝑝 = − sin(𝜔𝑑 𝑡𝑝 + ∅)
√1 − 𝛿 2
𝑒 −𝛿𝜔𝑛𝑡𝑝 √1 − 𝛿 2
𝑀𝑝 = − sin (𝜔𝑛 √1 − 𝛿 2 𝑡𝑝 + 𝑡𝑎𝑛−1 )
√1 − 𝛿 2 𝛿
For small value of 𝛿 we have:
𝑒 −𝛿𝜔𝑛𝑡𝑝 𝜔𝑑
𝑀𝑝 ≅ − sin ( 𝜋 + 𝑡𝑎𝑛−1 ∞)
1 𝜔𝑑
𝜋
−𝛿𝜔𝑛 𝜔
𝑀𝑝 = −𝑒 𝑑 sin(𝜋 + 90)
𝛿𝜋
−
𝑀𝑝 = 𝑒 √1−𝛿 2
𝛿𝜋
− 2
𝑀𝑝 % = 100 × 𝑒 √1−𝛿 %
Settling time (𝒕𝒔 )
The output 𝑐(𝑡) oscillates between a pair of envelops before reaching a steady state,
the transient consist of an exponentially decaying term given by:
𝑒 −𝛿𝜔𝑛𝑡
√1 − 𝛿 2
The oscillating term is given by:
sin(𝜔𝑑 𝑡 + ∅)
Considering only the exponentially decaying envelop for a tolerance band of 2% the
settling time is given by:
𝑒 −𝛿𝜔𝑛𝑡𝑠
= 0.02
√1 − 𝛿 2
For low values of 𝛿 we have:
𝑒 −𝛿𝜔𝑛𝑡𝑠 = 0.02
𝑙𝑛(𝑒 −𝛿𝜔𝑛𝑡𝑠 ) = 𝑙𝑛(0.02)
𝛿𝜔𝑛 𝑡𝑠 = 4
 4
𝑡𝑠 = = 4𝑇
𝛿𝜔𝑛
Where:
1
𝑇 = 𝛿𝜔 is the time constant of the exponential envelop.
𝑛

Considering only the exponentially decaying envelop for a tolerance band of 5% the
settling time is given by:
𝑙𝑛(𝑒 −𝛿𝜔𝑛𝑡𝑠 ) = 𝑙𝑛(0.05)
𝛿𝜔𝑛 𝑡𝑠 = 3
3
𝑡𝑠 = = 3𝑇
𝛿𝜔𝑛
The steady state value of 𝑐(𝑡) is given by:

𝑐𝑠𝑠 = lim 𝑐(𝑡)

𝑡→∞

𝑒 −𝛿𝜔𝑛𝑡
𝑐𝑠𝑠 = lim (1 − sin(𝜔𝑑 𝑡 + ∅))
𝑡→∞ √1 − 𝛿 2
𝑐𝑠𝑠 = 1
𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 𝑒(𝑡) = 𝑟(𝑡) − 𝑐(𝑡)

𝑒 −𝛿𝜔𝑛𝑡
𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 𝑒(𝑡) = 1 − (1 − sin(𝜔𝑑 𝑡 + ∅))
√1 − 𝛿 2
𝑒 −𝛿𝜔𝑛𝑡
𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 𝑒(𝑡) = sin(𝜔𝑑 𝑡 + ∅)
√1 − 𝛿 2
Steady state error is given by:
𝑒𝑠𝑠 = lim 𝑒(𝑡)
𝑡→∞

𝑒 −𝛿𝜔𝑛𝑡
𝑒𝑠𝑠 = lim sin(𝜔𝑑 𝑡 + ∅)
𝑡→∞ √1 − 𝛿2
𝑒𝑠𝑠 = 0