Time Response of

First Order Systems

Engr. Ojay DL. Santos

References:
[1] Nise, N. (2011). Control Systems Engineering, 6th
edition
[2] Ogata, K. (2010). Modern Control Engineering,
5th edition
[3] Singh, Y. & Janardhanan, S. (2011). Modern
Control Engineering, 1st edition
FBCON-EE 1
 Time Response
 A time response is the response (output) of a system
as a function of time, when subjected to a given input.

 In practice, the input signals to a control system are

not fully known ahead of time. Hence, test signals are
used as inputs to predict the behavior of the control
system.

FBCON-EE 2
 Time Response
 The characteristics of actual input signals are a
sudden shock, a sudden change, a constant velocity,
and constant acceleration.

 The commonly used standard test signals are the

impulse, step, ramp, and parabolic signals.

FBCON-EE 3
 Standard Test Signal: Impulse
 The impulse signal imitate r(t)

the sudden shock

characteristic of actual input A

signal.
A t 0 t
r (t )   0

0 t0
 If A = 1, the impulse signal is R(𝑠) = 𝐴
called unit impulse signal.
FBCON-EE 4
 Standard Test Signal: Step
 The step signal imitate the r(t)

sudden change characteristic

A
of actual input signal.

A t0
r (t )   t
0 t0 0

 If A = 1, the step signal is 𝐴

called unit step signal. R(𝑠) =
𝑠
FBCON-EE 5
 Standard Test Signal: Parabolic
r(t)
 The parabolic signal imitate
the constant acceleration
characteristic of actual input
signal.  At 2
 t0
r (t )   2 0 t

0 t0

 If A = 1, the parabolic signal 𝐴
is called unit parabolic R(𝑠) = 3
𝑠
signal.
FBCON-EE 6
Relation between Standard Test Signals
A t 0
 Impulse r (t )  
t0
d
0
 dt
A t0
 Step r (t )  
0 t0 d
 dt
 At t  0
 Ramp r (t )  
0 t  0 d
  At 2 dt
 t0
 Parabolic r (t )   2
0 t0

FBCON-EE 7
 Which test signal to use?
 The test signal to use for analyzing system
characteristics may be determined by the form of the
input that the system will be subjected to most
frequently under normal operation.
 If the inputs to a control system are gradually
changing functions of time, then a ramp function
may be a good test signal.
 If a system is subjected to sudden disturbances, a
step function may be a good test signal.
 For a system subjected to shock inputs, an impulse
function may be the best test signal.
FBCON-EE 8
 Time Response of Control Systems

 The time response c(t) of any control system

consists of two parts:
 the transient (natural) response, ctr(t)

 the steady-state (forced) response, css(t)

c(t) = ctr(t) + css(t)

FBCON-EE 9
 Transient Response
 is that part of time
response which tends 6
x 10
-3
Step Response

to zero as time 5
Step Input

Steady State Response

increases. 4

A system in which the Response

Amplitude

 3

transient response do 2
Transient Response
not decay as time 1

increases is an 0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20

Unstable system. FBCON-EE

Time (sec)
10
 Steady-State Response
 is that part of time
-3

response which 6
x 10 Step Response

Step Input
remains after the 5

Steady State Response

transient has died out. 4
Response
Amplitude

2
Transient Response
1

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Time (sec)
FBCON-EE 11
 Order of a System
 The order of a system is given by the order of the
differential equation governing the system.
 Alternatively, order can be obtained from the
transfer function
 The order of a system is highest power of s in
the denominator of the transfer function of the
system.

FBCON-EE 12
 Parameters of 1st Order Systems

input R(s) K output C(s)

G( s) 
 s 1

τ, the time constant, will determine how

quickly the system moves toward steady state.

K, the DC gain of the system, will determine

the size of steady state response when the input
settles out to a constant value.
FBCON-EE 13
 Response of 1st Order Systems

input R(s) K output C(s)

G( s) 
 s 1

 The standard form of first order transfer function

is given by
C(s) K
G s = =
R(s) τs + 1

FBCON-EE 14
 Response of 1st Order Systems
 It is common to write
K Ka
G s = =
τs + 1 s + a
Where: a = 1/τ
K/τ = Ka
a is called exponential frequency

FBCON-EE 15
Impulse Response of 1st Order Systems
 For a unit impulse input, the output is given by
Ka
C s = R(s)G(s) =
s+a
 Taking the inverse Laplace transform, the
impulse response is then
c(t) = Ka e–at
K –t/τ
c(t) = e
τ
FBCON-EE 16
Example #1
Consider a first-order system with the following parameters.

Time constant   0.1s ; DC gain K  20

The problem is to determine the unit impulse response of a
system that has these parameters.

Solution. Using the general form of the impulse response of

first –order systems
K –t/τ
c(t) = e
τ
With the parameters above, the
impulse response is:
K –t/τ 20 –t/0.1
c(t) = e = e = 200e–10t
τ 0.1
FBCON-EE 17
Example #2
Below is the impulse response of a system -
i.e. the response to a unit impulse.

The system starts

with an initial
condition of zero, so
t = 0, c(0) = 20.

Could you compute the parameters of the system? 18

FBCON-EE
Example #2
Solution. Transfer function:
K 44
The general impulse
G( s)  
response of a first-order
system is
 s  1 2.2s  1
K –t/τ (1)
c(t) = e A
τ
From the right figure, we have

at t = 0, c(0) = 20
So we can get
K
 20 (2) With eqns. (2) and (3), we have
 c(2) = 20e–2/τ = 8
How to get K ?
Pick up a point on the response curve: e2/  0.4
Solving the equation yields:

A: at t = 2 sec, c(2) = 8 2 /   ln(0.4)  0.9163

K –2/τ K  20  44
c(2) = e = 8 (3) FBCON-EE   2.2sec
τ 19
 Step Response of 1st Order Systems
 For a unit step input, the output is given by
K𝑎
C s = R(s)G(s) =
s(s + a)
K K
C s = –
s s+a
 Taking the inverse Laplace transform, the step
response is then
c(t) = K(1 – e–at) = K(1 – e–t/τ)
FBCON-EE 20
 Step Response of 1st Order Systems
If the gain is 1:
When t = 0, c(0) = 1 – e0 = 0
When t = 1τ, c(1τ) = 1 – e–1 = 0.632 the time constant
When t = 2τ, c(2τ) = 1 – e–2 = 0.864
is the time it takes
for the step
When t = 3τ, c(3τ) = 1 – e–3 = 0.950
response to rise to
When t = 4τ, c(4τ) = 1 – e–4 = 0.981 63% of its final
When t = 5τ, c(5τ) = 1 – e–5 = 0.993 value.
When t = ∞, c(∞) = 1 – e–∞ = 1
In a time of 5τ, the system is assumed to attained
steady-state. 21
 Step Response of 1st Order Systems
 Time constant, τ
 The time constant can also be evaluated from a

pole plot, the farther the pole from the imaginary

axis, the faster the transient response.

FBCON-EE 22
Example #3
Consider a first-order system with the following
parameters.
Time constant   0.1s ; DC gain K  20
The problem is to determine the unit step response of a
system that has these parameters.

Solution.
Using the general form of the unit-step response of first –order systems

c(t) = K(1 – e–t/τ)

With the parameters above, the step response is:

c(t) = 20(1 – e–t/0.1) = 20(1 – e–10t)

FBCON-EE 23
Example #3
Time constant   0.1s ; DC gain K  20

Solution. Unit-step time response: c(t) = 20(1 – e–10t)

Transfer function of the K 20
first-order system: G( s)  
 s  1 0.1s  1
Using MATLAB to get its
step response
>> num=20;
>> den=[0.1 1];
>> step(num,den)

If we keep   0.1s
but change K,
what will
happen?
FBCON-EE 24
 Time constant   0.1s ;
DC gain K  20  16  10  4

Note: A different gain will not change the characteristics of the transient
response, it will influence only the magnitude of the response. 25
 DC gain K  20
Time constant   0.1s  0.2s  0.3s  0.5s

Note: The smaller the time constant τ, the faster the

system response. FBCON-EE 26
 Transient Response Specifications
 Time constant,  1
- the time it takes for the step response τ=
a
to rise to 63% of its final value.

 Rise time, tr 2.2

tr = = 2.2τ
- the time for the waveform to go from a
0.1 to 0.9 of its final value.

 Settling time, ts 4
ts = = 4τ
- the time for the response to reach, and a
stay within 2% of its final value. FBCON-EE 27
Transient Response Specifications

FBCON-EE 28
 Example #4
 In the case of a simple industrial control system,
Ka
G( s) 
sa
(a) If step input is applied and the output reaches
50% of its final value in 1 second, find a.
(b) If K = 10 and a is the same as obtained in (a),
find the impulse response.

FBCON-EE 29
 Example #7
Find the output response vo(t). Also find the time
constant, rise time, and settling time.

FBCON-EE 30
 Example #8
Find the output response vo(t) if vi = 10u(t). Also
find the time constant, rise time, and settling
time.

FBCON-EE 31
 Example #5
The impulse response of a first order system is
given as:
c(t )  3e 0.5t

Determine: (a) the time constant; (b) the DC

gain; (c) the transfer function; and (d) the step
response.

FBCON-EE 32
 Example #6
Find the step response of the following transfer
functions. Also find the time constant, rise time,
and settling time for each case.
50
(a) G(s) =
s + 50
100
(b) G(s) =
s + 25

FBCON-EE 33
FBCON-EE 34
 Seatwork
Find the output response io(t) if vs = 18u(t) and
𝑣𝑠 = 18. Also find the time constant, rise time,
and settling time.

FBCON-EE 35