Republic of Iraq

Ministry of Higher Education

& Scientific Research
University of Mosul \ College of Engineering

Root Locus

M.Sc. Report

Noor M. Qassim Amna S. Mahmoud

Supervised by

Dr. Mohammed Obaid

 Introduction:
The root locus is a graphical method that helps to understand and analyze the behavior
of the closed-loop control system. It is widely used in both analog and digital control
systems. The root locus provides a graphical representation of the pole locations of the
closed-loop system as the gain is varied. This report will discuss the similarities and
differences between root locus in analog and digital control systems.

Root Locus in Analog Control Systems:

In analog control systems, the root locus is drawn on the s-plane, which is the complex
plane used to represent Laplace transforms. The root locus shows the variation of the
closed-loop poles as the gain of the system is varied. The root locus is symmetric about
the real-axis and the angle of departure and angle of arrival of the locus is always 180
degrees.

The steps to draw the root locus in analog control systems are:

1. Determine the transfer function of the system

2. Find the open-loop poles and zeros of the system
3. Determine the number of branches of the root locus based on the number of poles
and zeros
4. Determine the starting point and ending point of each branch
5. Draw the asymptotes
6. Determine the breakaway and break-in points
7. Draw the root locus branches

Root Locus in Digital Control Systems:

In digital control systems, the root locus is drawn on the z-plane, which is the complex
plane used to represent z-transforms. The root locus shows the variation of the closed-
loop poles as the gain of the system is varied. The root locus is symmetric about the unit
circle and the angle of departure and angle of arrival of the locus is always 180 degrees.

The steps to draw the root locus in digital control systems are :
1. Determine the transfer function of the system
2. Find the open-loop poles and zeros of the system in the z-domain
3. Determine the number of branches of the root locus based on the number of poles
and zeros
4. Determine the starting point and ending point of each branch on the unit circle or at
infinity
5. Draw the asymptotes
6. Determine the breakaway and break-in points on the unit circle or at infinity
7. Draw the root locus branches
Rules of Root Locus :
The steps to draw the root locus plot are as follows:

1. Determine the transfer function of the open-loop control system in terms of the
system parameters.
2. Write the characteristic equation of the closed-loop control system.
3. Determine the values of the system parameters that make the characteristic
equation unstable (i.e., have roots in the right half of the s-plane).
4. Determine the number of poles and zeros of the open-loop transfer function.
5. Determine the angles of departure and arrival of the root locus branches at each
pole and zero.
6. Determine the breakaway and break-in points of the root locus branches.
7. Sketch the root locus branches on the s-plane.

The equations of the root locus can be derived using the following formula:

σ = (∑poles - ∑zeros) / N

where σ is the location of the centroid of the root locus on the real axis, N is the
number of poles and zeros of the open-loop transfer function, and the summations are
taken over all the poles and zeros of the transfer function.

The angle of departure of the root locus branch from a pole or zero is given by:

θd = 180° - Σθp + Σθz

where θd is the angle of departure, θp is the angle between the real axis and the line
connecting the pole to the centroid, and θz is the angle between the real axis and the
line connecting the zero to the centroid.

The angle of arrival of the root locus branch at a pole or zero is given by:

θa = 180° + Σθp - Σθz

where θa is the angle of arrival.

The breakaway and break-in points of the root locus branches are given by the roots of
the following equations:

dK(s)/ds = 0

d²K(s)/ds² + K(s)[dN(s)/ds - dD(s)/ds] = 0

where K(s) is the gain of the open-loop transfer function and N(s) and D(s) are the
numerator and denominator polynomials, respectively.
Example 2: Sketch the root locus diagram ,shown in figure
7-14 .determine the breakaway points ,the value of k for
marginal stability and the unit circle crossover .
Similarities and Differences:

The root locus in both analog and digital control systems serve the same purpose of
analyzing the behavior of the closed-loop system. The root locus in both cases shows the
variation of the closed-loop poles as the gain of the system is varied.

However, there are some differences between the root locus in analog and digital
control systems. In analog control systems, the root locus is drawn on the s-plane, while
in digital control systems, the root locus is drawn on the z-plane. The root locus in analog
control systems is symmetric about the real-axis, while in digital control systems, it is
symmetric about the unit circle.

Conclusion:

The root locus is an important tool for analyzing the behavior of closed-loop control
systems. It provides a graphical representation of the pole locations of the closed-loop
system as the gain is varied. In both analog and digital control systems, the root locus
serves the same purpose, but there are differences in the way it is drawn due to the
different planes used for the representation of Laplace transforms and z-transforms.
Understanding the root locus and its application in both analog and digital control
systems is crucial for control system design and analysis.

References:

[1] Advanced Control Engineering/Raland S.Burns/2001/Chapter 7.

[2] Digital control Systems/Anastasia Veloni;Nikolas I. Miridakis/2018/Chapter 6.

[3] Digital control and State Variable Method/ M Gopal /second edition / Chapter 4.

[4] Modern Control Engineering Fifth Edition Katsuhiko Ogata