Automatic Control Systems, 3432

Department of Mechatronics Engineering, German Jordanian University

TIME RESPONSE
When determining the solution to an equation of motion (eom) or an ordinary differential
equation (ode), it is most important to understand the characteristics of the solution. The
behavior of the solution is called the “time response” of the system, which is the way the
states of a system (x(t)) evolve with time.
Example
Consider the following eom for a system:
x  7 x  12 x  0
The initial conditions are x(0)  3 and x(0)  11. Using Laplace transformation
s 2 X ( s)  sx(0)  x (0)  7 sX ( s)  x(0)  12 X ( s)  0
s 2 X ( s)  3s  (11)  7 sX ( s)  3  12 X ( s)  0
Then,
3s  10
X ( s) 
s  7 s  12
2

To derive the partial fraction representation of the response, we will first determine the
roots of the denominator of the response in the s-domain;
s 2  7s  12  0
The roots are s  3 and s  4 .
Then the response in the s-domain can be written as
3s  10
X ( s) 
( s  3)(s  4)

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Automatic Control Systems, 3432
Department of Mechatronics Engineering, German Jordanian University

Using partial fractions

1 2
X ( s)  
s3 s4
The response in the t-domain can be obtained using inverse Laplace Transform as
x(t )  e 3t  2 e 4t
Notice that the denominator of each partial fraction determines the response associated
with that particular partial fraction. For example, the denominator of the partial fraction
2 resulted in an exponentially decaying response (damped response) with a decay factor of
s4
4.
On the other hand, the denominators of the partial fractions are determined by the roots of
the denominator of the response X(s) in the s-domain. Hence, the response of the system in
the time domain x(t) is governed by the roots of the denominator of the response X(s) in
the s-domain.
The denominator of the response X(s) in the s-domain is called the “Characteristic Equation”.
This is because this equation characterizes the behavior of the system in the time domain.
Example
Consider the mass-spring system shown. When the mass ( m  10 kg ) is given an initial
displacement of 1 cm then released from rest. The spring constant is k  1000 N/m .
The eom can be derived from the free-body-diagram using Newton’s 2nd law.
 F  ma
 kx  mx
Then the eom is

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Automatic Control Systems, 3432
Department of Mechatronics Engineering, German Jordanian University

x  mk x  0
x  100 x  0

Using Laplace transform and the initial conditions x(0)  0.01 and x (0)  0 , the eom
becomes
s 2 X (s)  s(0.01)  0  100 X (s)  0
Then
s
X ( s)  0.01
s  100
2

The inverse Laplace is

x(t )  0.01cos(10t )

Another approach is to start by finding the roots of the characteristic equation s 2  100 ,
which are s   j10 . The response in the s-domain can now be presented as
s
X ( s)  0.01
( s  j10)(s  j10)
The partial fractions are

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Automatic Control Systems, 3432
Department of Mechatronics Engineering, German Jordanian University

 A B 
X ( s)  0.01  
 ( s  j10) ( s  j10) 
Solving for A and B, we get
1 1
A and B
2 2
Then
 1  1  1  1 
X ( s)  0.01     
 2  s  j10  2  s  j10 
Using inverse Laplace, the response in the time domain is
1 1 
x(t )  0.01 e j10t  e  j10t 
2 2 
Recall that

cos  
2

1 j   j
e e 
sin  
j2

1 j  j
e e 
Then the time response of the mass-spring system is
x(t )  0.01cos(10t )
Therefore, the imaginary root  j10 of the characteristic equation determined that the
response is a harmonic response with a frequency of 10 rad/s.

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Automatic Control Systems, 3432
Department of Mechatronics Engineering, German Jordanian University

Example
For the mass-spring-damper system shown, at time t  0 , spring is unstretched and the
velocity of the mass is 1 m/s. determine the response of the mass as a function of time. Use
the following values:
m  10 kg
c  100 N.s/m
k  1000 N/m
r (t )  0

The equation of motion of the mass-spring-damper system was derived earlier which can be
written as
mx  cx  kx  0
Using the values given above the eom becomes
x  10 x  100 x  0
with the initial conditions x(0)  0 , and x (0)  1
The Laplace transform of the eom is
s 2 X (s)  sx(0)  x (0)  10sX (s)  x(0)  100 X (s)  0
Substitute the initial conditions in the above equation and solve for X(s) we get
1
X ( s) 
s 2  10s  100

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Automatic Control Systems, 3432
Department of Mechatronics Engineering, German Jordanian University

Complete the squares in the denominator of X(s)

1
X ( s) 
( s  10s  25)  25  100
2

1

( s  5) 2  75
1 75

75 ( s  5) 2  75
From the Laplace transformation table, the inverse Laplace is
1  5t
x(t )  e sin( 75 t )
75
The resulting sinusoidal response has a frequency   75 rad/s and a damping factor of 5.
0.12

1
0.1 e 5t
75
1/sqrt(75)exp(-5t)

0.08

0.06

0.04

0.02

0
0 0.25 0.5 0.75 1 1.25 1.5

-0.02

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Automatic Control Systems, 3432
Department of Mechatronics Engineering, German Jordanian University

On the other hand, the roots of the characteristic equation s 2  10s  100  0 are found using
the relationship
 b  b 2  4ac
s1, 2 
2a
 5  j 75
Then X(s) can be written as
1
X ( s) 
s  10s  100
2

1

( s  (5  j 75 ))(s  (5  j 75 ))
A B
 
s  (5  j 75 ) s  (5  j 75 )
Solving for A and B, we get
1 1
A and B 
j 2 75 j 2 75
Then
1 1 1 1
X ( s)  
j 2 75 s  (5  j 75 ) j 2 75 s  (5  j 75 )
The inverse Laplace transformation of the above equation is

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Automatic Control Systems, 3432
Department of Mechatronics Engineering, German Jordanian University
1 1
x(t )  e ( 5 j 75 ) t
 e ( 5 j 75 ) t
j 2 75 j 2 75


1
j 2 75

e 5t e j 75t
 e 5t e  j 75t


1
j 2 75

e 5t e j 75t
 e j 75t


1 5t  1 j 75t  j
e  e e  75t

75 2 j 
1 5t
 e sin( 75t )
75
Notice that the real component of the roots indicates exponential response while the
imaginary component indicates that this exponential response has an oscillatory nature with
a frequency of 75 rad/s, which is the imaginary component of the roots.
All previous examples lead to one important result, which is that “the behavior of a system is
determined by the roots of its characteristic equation”.

TYPES OF RESPONSE
In designing a control system, the one of the most important aspect of the system response
is its characteristics (the way it responds to external excitation (forces) and initial
conditions). For example, a system with a characteristic equation that has one root at s  0 ,
which means that the system response in the s-domain is
A
X ( s) 
s
The inverse Laplace of the above is

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Automatic Control Systems, 3432
Department of Mechatronics Engineering, German Jordanian University

x(t )  L {X (s)}  A
-1

x (t )
A

A system with a characteristic equation that has one root at s  2 , which means that the
system response in the s-domain is
A
X ( s) 
s2
The inverse Laplace of the above is
x(t )  L -1
{X (s)}  A e 2t
x (t )
A

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Automatic Control Systems, 3432
Department of Mechatronics Engineering, German Jordanian University

We can now construct the following table based on the location of the roots for the
characteristic equation;

Complex plane Time response

x(t )  constant

x(t )  A e at

x(t )  A e at

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Automatic Control Systems, 3432
Department of Mechatronics Engineering, German Jordanian University

x(t )  A sin(bt   )

x(t )  A e at sin(bt   )

x(t )  A e at sin(bt   )

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Automatic Control Systems, 3432
Department of Mechatronics Engineering, German Jordanian University

x(t )  A  Bt

x(t )  ( A  Bt ) e at

x(t )  ( A  Bt ) e at

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Automatic Control Systems, 3432
Department of Mechatronics Engineering, German Jordanian University

x(t )  ( A  Bt ) sin(bt   )

CONCLUSIONS
 The real component of a root determines whether the response associated with this root
is stable (-ve value) or unstable (+ve value).
 Roots with imaginary components lead an oscillatory response. The sign of the real
component determines whether this oscillatory response is stable or not.
 Response associated with a pure imaginary root is marginally stable (does not decay or
grow).
 Double roots on the imaginary axis, including zero, lead to an unstable response.

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