Stability

Eka Iskandar
• INTRODUCTORY CONCEPTS OF STABILITY
• Definitions of Stability
• Practical Issues in Process Dynamics and Control
• STABILITY OF LINEAR SYSTEMS
• DYNAMIC BEHAVIOR OF OPEN-LOOP UNSTABLE SYSTEMS
• STABILITY OF DYNAMIC SYSTEMS UNDER FEEDBACK CONTROL
• SUMMARY
INTRODUCTORY CONCEPTS OF STABILITY
When a process is "disturbed" from an initial steady state, say, by
implementing a change in the input forcing function, it will, in general,
respond in one of three ways:
• Response l : Proceed to a steady state and remain there, or
• Response 2 : Fail to attain to steady-state conditions because its
output grows indefinitely, or
• Response 3 : Fail to attain steady-state conditions because the
process oscillates indefinitely with a constant amplitude.
INTRODUCTORY CONCEPTS OF STABILITY
INTRODUCTORY CONCEPTS OF STABILITY
Definitions of Stability
• Definition of BIBO Stability
• Definition of Marginal Stability
BIBO Stability

Definition of BIBO Stability

An unconstrained linear dynamic system is said
to be stable if the output response is bounded
for all bounded inputs.

Dynamical
System
INPUT OUTPUT

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Marginal Stability
Definition of Marginal Stability
An input-output dynamic system is defined marginally stable if
only certain bounded inputs will result in a bounded output.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marginal_stability

• This latter case occurs when there are poles with single
multiplicity on the stability boundary, i.e. the imaginary axis.

➢ A marginally stable system may exhibit an output response that

neither decays nor grows, but remains strictly constant or displays a
sustained oscillation.

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Practical Issues in Process Dynamics and
Control
There are several practical questions concerning system stability that
arise in process dynamics and control. Some of the most important are:
• When is a linear system stable?
• When is a nonlinear system stable?
• Can a system that is unstable by itself (i.e., a "naturally unstable"
system) be made stable by addition of a control system?
• Can a "naturally stable" system be made unstable by the addition of a
control system?
We will apply the stability concepts just discussed in order to answer
these questions in this chapter.
STABILITY OF LINEAR SYSTEMS
hat the open-loopt stability of a linear transfer function g*(s) is not
affected by the presence of a time delay 𝑒 −𝛼𝑠 . Thus the open-loop
stability character of g*(s) is the same as that of g*(s) 𝑒 −𝛼𝑠 .
STABILITY OF LINEAR SYSTEMS
 Open-loop BIBO stability
For systems with proper rational transfer functions

BIBO Stability Theorem:

1. a system is (asymptotically) stable if all of its poles have negative real parts

2. a system is unstable if at least one pole has a positive real part or if it has
one or more poles with multiplicity larger than 1 on the imaginary axis

3. a system is marginally stable if it has one or more poles with unit

multiplicity on the imaginary axis and all remaining poles with a negative real
part
• Most industrial processes are stable without feedback control. Thus, they are said to be
open-loop stable or self-regulating.
• An open-loop stable process will return to the original steady state after a transient
disturbance (one that is not sustained) occurs.
• By contrast there are a few processes, such as exothermic chemical reactors, that can be
open-loop unstable.
BIBO Stability of Linear Dynamic OL Systems
The location of the poles of a proper rational transfer function gives us the first
criterion for checking the stability of a system.

If the transfer function of a dynamic system has

even one pole with a positive real part, the system
is unstable.

Im  Stability boundary

Re

☺ Stable Region 
Unstable
Region
 BIBO Stability:
Example of Linear 2nd order OL Systems
Unit step input
R(s) = 1/s
u(t)

b=9 a=9
t

a=2

Marginally stable
 Note the poles on a=0
the imaginary axis!

a=6
DYNAMIC BEHAVIOR OF OPEN-LOOP
UNSTABLE SYSTEMS
• Exponential Instability
DYNAMIC BEHAVIOR OF OPEN-LOOP
UNSTABLE SYSTEMS
• Oscillatory Instability
STABILITY OF DYNAMIC SYSTEMS UNDER
FEEDBACK CONTROL
STABILITY OF DYNAMIC SYSTEMS UNDER
FEEDBACK CONTROL
• fact that a system that is stable by itself
can be made unstable by the addition
of feedback controllers.
BIBO Stability:
Example of Linear 3rd order CL System
step input

Closed-loop poles (x) Time response

☺ stable system

 unstable system
SUMMARY
• we have provided methods for determining the stability character of
linear systems.
• For a linear system to be stable, we have found that the poles of the
transfer function must all lie in the left half of the complex plane.
• open-loop-unstable system is one whose transfer function possesses
at least one RHP pole.
• exponential instability, when the RHP poles are real,
• and oscillatory instability, when the RHP poles occur as complex
conjugates.