Dynamics & Control Stability Analysis

Stability Analysis
A. INTRODUCTION
A very important feature for a control system is that the system should be stable. This means
that if a finite sized input is applied to the system then the output should be finite. This
chapter will discuss the characteristic equation, Routh-Hurwitz criterion, and stability.

Definition of system stability:

Consider a system with a bonded input, such as a unit step input:

R(s) C(s)
G(s)

H(s)

A linear, time-invariant system will be stable if lim c( t )  finate value

t 

C(t) C(t)

0 t 0 t

A linear, time-invariant system will be unstable if lim c( t )  

t 

C(t) C(t)

0 t 0 t

A linear, time-invariant system will be marginally stable if lim c( t )  cons tan t oscillatio n
t 

C(t)

0 t

Page D- 1
Dynamics & Control Stability Analysis

B. DETERMINATION OF STABILITY

1. Based on Time Response

Steps of determining the stability of a closed-loop control system:

1. Find the closed-loop transfer function.
2. Find the output c(t)
3. Find c(t) as t .

Example 1:
Determine the stability of the system shown below.

R(s) C(s)
a. Unit Step

b. R(s) C(s)
Unit Step

c. R(s) C(s)
Unit Step

R(s) C(s)
d. Unit Step

Page D- 2
Dynamics & Control Stability Analysis

2. Based on Roots of Characteristic Equation

Concept of characteristic equation (CE)

Consider a closed-loop control system:

R(s) C(s)
G(s)

H(s)

C(s) G(s)
The closed-loop transfer function: 
R(s) 1  G(s)H(s)
Set 1 + G(s)H(s) = 0  Characteristic equation of the system

Determination of the stability

Steps of determining the stability of a closed-loop control system:
1) Find the Characteristic equation for the system.
2) Determine the roots of the Characteristic equation.
3) Locate the roots on S-plane.
4) System is stable if all the roots are in LHS of S-plane.
5) System is unstable if one or more roots are in RHS of S-plane.
6) System is marginally stable if there is at least one pair of complex-conjugate roots is
on j axis.
Note: If the characteristic equation of the system has a pair of complex-conjugate
roots, the system response will be oscillatory.

Example 2: Refer to example 1, find the stability for all 4 systems.

Question: The CE of a control system is given as:

3s4 + 10s3 +5s2 + 5s + 2 = 0
Is the system stable?
Solution: CE: 3s4 + 10s3 +5s2 + 5s + 2 = 0
Roots: HOW TO SOLVE THE HIGH-ORDER EQUATION?

Page D- 3
Dynamics & Control Stability Analysis

3. Routh-Hurwitz Stability Criterion ( To Check the Absolute Stability)

Steps of determining the stability of a closed-loop control system using R-H criterion:
1) Find CE for the system.
2) Inspect the coefficients of the CE.
 If any of the coefficients are zero or if not all coefficients have the same sign,
there will be roots on or to the right of the j axis. The system will not be stable.
 If all the coefficients are present and have the same sign, the R-H criterion
provides a quick check (Step 3) for determining the absolute, but not relative,
stability from the coefficients, without solving the equation. It shows how many
roots of CE are in RHS or on the j axis.
3) Form R-H array.
CE: ansn + an-1sn-1 + … + a1s + a0 = 0
Routh Array: sn an an-2 an-4 an-6 …
sn-1 an-1 an-3 an-5 an-7 …
sn-2 b1 b2 b3 …
sn-3 c1 c2 c3 …
…
s1
s0
1
Where: b1  (a n1a n2  a n a n3 )
a n1
1
b2  (a n1a n4  a n a n5 )
a n1
1
b3  (a n1a n6  a n a n7 )
a n1
1
c1  (b1a n3  b 2 a n1 )
b1
1
c2  (b1a n5  b 3 a n1 )
b1
4) Check the first column of the Routh array.
 A necessary and sufficient condition for stability is that there be no changes of
sign in the elements of the first column of the array.
 The number of these sign changes = number of roots of CE in the RHS.

Page D- 4
Dynamics & Control Stability Analysis

Example 3:
Find the stability of the system if the CE is given as follows:
(a) 3s4 + 10s3 +5s2 + 5s + 2 = 0

5) Special Case 1:
If the first element in a row is zero but there is at least one non-zero element in the
same row, it is replaced by very small positive number , and the sign changes when 
→ 0 are counted after completing the array.

Example 4: Find the stability of the system if the CE is given as follows:

3s4 + 5s3 + 3s2 + 5s + 8 = 0

6) Special Case 2:
If the first element in a row is zero but there is no non-zero element in the same row,
or equivalently, if all elements in a row are zeros, the CE has roots in RHS or on the
j axis.

Example 5: Find the stability of the system if the CE is given as follows:

s6 + 2s5 + 8s4 + 12s3 + 20s2 + 16s + 16 = 0

C. DETERMINATION THE RANGE OF K FOR STABLE SYSTEM

The Routh-Hurwitz stability criterion can be used to determine the range of k for a
stable system.
Example 6:
For the electromechanical servo modeled blow, find the limits on k for stability.

R(s) C(s)
k

Page D- 5