• A causal system is one, where the output at any instant of time depends only on

past and current input.

The principle of causality

 The input for t<T

The output at time t=T

 The input for t>T

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• In this course we suppose that our systems are Linear and Time-Invariant.

• A system is called linear if the principle of superposition and homogeneity

apply.

Superposition

Homogeneity
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• In this course we suppose that our systems are Linear and Time-Invariant.

• If the output due to input x(t) is y(t), then the output due to input x(t-T) is y(t-T).
Hence, the system is time invariant because the output does not depend on the
particular time the input is applied.

Linear Time-Invariant Causal Dynamic Systems (LTI Systems)

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 Model dynamic systems
Studying Control Systems
in mathematical terms

• A mathematical model of a dynamic system is defined as a set of equations that

represents the dynamics of the system accurately, or at least fairly well.

• A mathematical model is not unique to a given system.

• The dynamics of many systems, whether they are mechanical, electrical, thermal,
economic, biological, and so on, may be described in terms of differential
equations.

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• One of the most important tasks in the analysis and design of control systems is
mathematical modeling of the systems.

• The two most common methods of modeling linear systems are the transfer
function method and the state-variable method.

• The transfer function is valid only for linear time-invariant systems, whereas the
state equations can be applied to linear as well as nonlinear systems.

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• Transfer functions are commonly used to characterize the input-output
relationships of components or systems.

• Consider the linear time-invariant system defined by the following differential

equation:

• The transfer function of this system is the ratio of the Laplace transformed output
to the Laplace transformed input when all initial conditions are zero.

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• The transfer function of this system is the ratio of the Laplace transformed output
to the Laplace transformed input when all initial conditions are zero.

X(s) Y(s)

Order of a system The highest power of s in the

denominator
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• For a linear, time-invariant system the transfer function G(s) is

• The output Y(s) can be written as the product of G(s) and X(s).

X(s) Y(s)

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• Note that multiplication in the complex domain is equivalent to convolution in the
time domain.

23
• A control system consists of a number of components. To show the functions
performed by each component, in control engineering, we commonly use a
diagram called the block diagram.

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• The output C(s) and input R(s) are related as follows

+
+
+

-
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