Control Systems 4’th Year

Chapter Two:
Mathematical models of control systems I
(Electrical systems)

2.1 Mathematical Models

In studying control systems, the reader must be able to model dynamic
systems in mathematical terms and analyze their dynamic characteristics.
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.
Note that a mathematical model is not unique to a given system. A system
may be represented in many different ways and, therefore, may have many
mathematical models, depending on one’s perspective.
The dynamics of many systems, whether they are mechanical, electrical,
thermal, economic, biological, and so on, may be described in terms of
differential equations. Such differential equations may be obtained by using
physical laws governing a particular system—for example, Newton’s laws
for mechanical systems and Kirchhoff’s laws for electrical systems.
We must always keep in mind that deriving reasonable mathematical models
is the most important part of the entire analysis of control systems.
In obtaining a mathematical model, we must make a compromise between
the simplicity of the model and the accuracy of the results of the analysis.
In deriving a reasonably simplified mathematical model, we frequently find
it necessary to ignore certain inherent physical properties of the system.
In general, in solving a new problem, it is desirable to build a simplified
model so that we can get a general feeling for the solution. A more complete
mathematical model may then be built and used for a more accurate analysis.

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Control Systems 4’th Year

2.1.1 Linear Systems.

In linear system, the response to several inputs can be calculated by treating

one input at a time and adding the results. It is this principle that allows one
to build up complicated solutions to the linear differential equation from
simple solutions.
In an experimental investigation of a dynamic system, if cause and effect
are proportional, thus implying that the principle of superposition holds,
then the system can be considered linear.

2.1.2 Linear Time-Invariant System.

A differential equation is linear if the coefficients are constants or functions

only of the independent variable. Dynamic systems that are composed of
linear time-invariant lumped-parameter components may be described by
linear time-invariant differential equations—that is, constant-coefficient
differential equations. Such systems are called linear time-invariant (or
linear constant-coefficient) systems.

2.1.3 Linear Time-Varying Systems.

Systems that are represented by differential equations whose coefficients

are functions of time are called linear time-varying systems. An example
of a time-varying control system is a spacecraft control system. (The mass
of a spacecraft changes due to fuel consumption.)

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Control Systems 4’th Year

2.2 Mathematical models of electrical systems

Basic laws governing electrical circuits are Kirchhoff’s current law and
voltage law.
Kirchhoff’s current law (node law) states that:
The algebraic sum of all currents entering and leaving a node is zero. (This
law can also be stated as follows: The sum of currents entering a node is
equal to the sum of currents leaving the same node.)
Kirchhoff’s voltage law (loop law) states that:
At any given instant the algebraic sum of the voltages around any loop in an
electrical circuit is zero. (This law can also be stated as follows: The sum of
the voltage drops is equal to the sum of the voltage rises around a loop.)
A mathematical model of an electrical circuit can be obtained by applying
one or both of Kirchhoff’s laws to it.
The basic passive elements of electrical systems are resistance, inductance
and capacitance as shown in figure below.

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Control Systems 4’th Year

2.2.1 Mathematical Model for LRC Circuit.

Consider the electrical circuit shown in Figure below. The circuit consists
of an inductance L (henry), a resistance R (ohm), and a capacitance C
(farad).

Applying Kirchhoff’s voltage law to the system, we obtain the following

equations:

Equations above give a mathematical model of the circuit.

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Control Systems 4’th Year

A transfer-function model of the circuit can also be obtained as follows:

Taking the Laplace transforms of above equations, assuming zero initial
conditions, we obtain:

If ei is assumed to be the input and eo the output, then the transfer function
of this system is found to be:

2.2.2 Mathematical Model of Cascaded Elements.

Many feedback systems have components that load each other. Consider the
system shown in figure below. Assume that ei is the input and eo is the
output. The capacitances C1 and C2 are not charged initially.

It will be shown that the second stage of the circuit (R2C2 portion) produces
a loading effect on the first stage (R1C1 portion). The equations for this
system are:

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Control Systems 4’th Year

Taking the Laplace transforms of equations above, using zero initial

conditions, we obtain

Eliminating I1(s) from first two equations and writing Ei(s) in terms of I2(s),
we find the transfer function between Eo(s) and Ei(s) to be

The term (R1C2 s) in the denominator of the transfer function represents the
interaction of two simple RC circuits.
Since

the two roots of the denominator of equation above are real.

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The present analysis shows that, if two RC circuits are connected in cascade
so that the output from the first circuit is the input to the second, the overall
transfer function is not the product of and .
The reason for this is that, when we derive the transfer function for an
isolated circuit, we implicitly assume that the output is unloaded. In other
words, the load impedance is assumed to be infinite, which means that no
power is being withdrawn at the output. When the second circuit is
connected to the output of the first, however, a certain amount of power is
withdrawn, and thus the assumption of no loading is violated.
Therefore, if the transfer function of this system is obtained under the
assumption of no loading, then it is not valid. The degree of the loading
effect determines the amount of modification of the transfer function.

2.3 Mathematical Model of Complex Impedance.

In deriving transfer functions for electrical circuits, we frequently find it

convenient to write the Laplace-transformed equations directly, without
writing the differential equations. Consider the system shown in figure
below.

In this system, Z1 and Z2 represent complex impedances. The complex

impedance Z(s) of a two-terminal circuit is
Z(s) = E(s) / I(s).
under the assumption that the initial conditions are zero.

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Control Systems 4’th Year

If the two-terminal element is a resistance R, capacitance C, or inductance

L, then the complex impedance is given by R, 1/Cs, or Ls, respectively.
If complex impedances are connected in series, the total impedance is the
sum of the individual complex impedances.
Consider the circuit shown in figure below.

Assume that the voltages ei and eo are the input and output of the circuit,
respectively. Then the transfer function of this circuit is

If

Then the transfer function can be written as:

Which is exactly same as that found in section 2.2.1 for L R C circuit.

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Control Systems 4’th Year

Example (2.1): Consider again the system shown in figure below. Obtain
the transfer function Eo(s)/Ei(s) by use of the complex impedance
approach.

(Capacitors C1 and C2 are not charged initially.)

Solution:
The circuit shown in above figure can be redrawn as that shown in figure
below:

Which can be further modified to figure below:

In last figure, the current I is divided into two currents I1 and I2.
Noting that:

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Control Systems 4’th Year

Substituting:

Z1=R1, Z2=1/C1s, Z3=R2, and Z4=1/C2s

into this last equation, we get:

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Control Systems 4’th Year

2.4 Mathematical Model of Non-loading Cascaded Elements.

The transfer function of a system consisting of two non-loading cascaded

elements can be obtained by eliminating the intermediate input and output.
For example, consider the system shown in figure below.

The transfer functions of the elements are

If the input impedance of the second element is infinite, the output of the
first element is not affected by connecting it to the second element. Then the
transfer function of the whole system becomes

The transfer function of the whole system is thus the product of the transfer
functions of the individual elements. This is shown in figure below.

As an example, consider the system shown in figure below.

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Control Systems 4’th Year

The insertion of an isolating amplifier between the circuits to obtain non-

loading characteristics is frequently used in combining circuits. Since
amplifiers have very high input impedances, an isolation amplifier inserted
between the two circuits justifies the non-loading assumption.
The two simple RC circuits, isolated by an amplifier as shown in figure
above, have negligible loading effects, and the transfer function of the entire
circuit equals the product of the individual transfer functions. Thus, in this
case,

2.5 Mathematical Model of Operational Amplifiers.

Operational amplifiers, often called op amps, are frequently used to amplify

signals in sensor circuits. Op amps are also frequently used in filters used
for compensation purposes. Figure below shows an op amp. It is a common
practice to choose the ground as (0 volt) and measure the input voltages e1
and e2 relative to the ground. The input e1 to the minus terminal of the
amplifier is inverted, and the input e2 to the plus terminal is not inverted.
The total input to the amplifier thus becomes (e2 - e1).

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Control Systems 4’th Year

Hence, for the circuit shown above, we have

Where the inputs e1 and e2 may be dc or ac signals and K is the differential

gain (voltage gain).
The magnitude of K is approximately 105 ~ 106 for dc signals and ac signals
with frequencies less than approximately 10 Hz. (The differential gain K
decreases with the signal frequency and becomes about unity for
frequencies of 1 MHz ~ 50 MHz.)
Note that the op amp amplifies the difference in voltages e1 and e2. Such an
amplifier is commonly called a differential amplifier. Since the gain of the
op amp is very high, it is necessary to have a negative feedback from the
output to the input to make the amplifier stable. (The feedback is made from
the output to the inverted input so that the feedback is a negative feedback.)
In the ideal op amp, no current flows into the input terminals, and the output
voltage is not affected by the load connected to the output terminal. In other
words, the input impedance is infinity and the output impedance is zero.
In an actual op amp, a very small (almost negligible) current flows into an
input terminal and the output cannot be loaded too much.
In our analysis here, we make the assumption that the op amps are ideal.

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Control Systems 4’th Year

2.5.1 Inverting Amplifier.

Consider the operational-amplifier circuit shown in figure below.

Let us obtain the output voltage eo.

The equation for this circuit can be obtained as follows: Define

Since only a negligible current flow into the amplifier, the current i1 must
be equal to current i2. Thus

Since

e’ must be almost zero, or Hence we have

Or

Thus the circuit shown is an inverting amplifier. If R1=R2, then the op-amp
circuit shown acts as a sign inverter.

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Control Systems 4’th Year

2.5.2 Noninverting Amplifier.

Figure below shows a noninverting amplifier.

A circuit equivalent to this one is shown in the next figure:

For the circuit of last figure, we have

where K is the differential gain of the amplifier. From this last equation, we
get

This equation gives the output voltage eo. Since eo and ei have the same
signs, the op-amp circuit shown in last two figures is noninverting.
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Control Systems 4’th Year

2.6 PID Controller Using Operational Amplifiers.

Figure below shows an electronic proportional-plus-integral-plus-derivative

controller (a PID controller) using operational amplifiers.

The transfer function is given by

Where:

Thus:

Noting that:

We have:

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Notice that the second operational-amplifier circuit acts as a sign inverter as

well as a gain adjuster.
PID controller is expressed as:

Kp is called the proportional gain, Ki is called the integral gain, and Kd is

called the derivative gain. For this controller

Table below shows a list of operational-amplifier circuits that may be used

as controllers or compensators.

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