Chapter 4.

Characteristics of ClosedLoop Systems

Prof. Yangmin Li
EME/FST/UM
http://www.cis.umac.mo/~yangmin

4.1 Introduction

r(t)

G(s)

c(t)

r(t)

+ ea(t)
-

G(s)

c(t)

H(s)

(a) Open-loop system

(b) Closed-loop system

For the open-loop system: C (s) G(s) R( s)

For the closed-loop system: C ( s) G( s) Ea ( s)

G( s) R( s) H ( s)C ( s)
2

Hence,

G( s)
C ( s)
R( s )
1 G ( s) H ( s)
The actuating error is given by

1
Ea ( s)
R( s )
1 G( s) H ( s)
To reduce the error, G( s) H ( s) 1
3

4.2 Sensitivity to parameter variations

In the design of control systems, it is important that the

closed-loop system transfer function be relatively
insensitive to small changes in the values of the
parameters.
Let be a parameter of G(s). The sensitivity of G(s)
with respect to the parameter is defined as

d (ln G) dG / G dG
S

d (ln ) d / G d
G

G
SG lim G
0

Since the closed-loop transfer function is

C ( s)
G(s)
T ( s)

R( s ) 1 G ( s ) H ( s )

we have

Hence

d (ln T ) dT (1 GH ) dT dG

d (ln ) T d
G
dG d
(1 GH ) dG
1

G
d (1 GH ) 2
dG
1

G d (1 GH )

ST

1
S
SG
1 G( s) H ( s)
T

Let be a parameter of the feedback transfer function H(s).

Then

dT dT dH dH H dT
S

T d T dH d H d T dH
T

2
H
(

G
)
G
H
(1

GH
)
G
H
SH

T (1 GH ) 2
G
(1 GH ) 2
GH
H
S
1 GH
7

Example 4.1
r(t)

+
-

K
s(s+)

c(t)

We shall assume that the nominal value of the gain

constant K is 10, is 2, and the feedback parameter is
equal to 1.

K
G( s)
, H ( s)
s( s )
8

K dG
1
S .
s(s )
1
G dK
s(s )
dG s(s )
K

G
S

2
G d
K
s(s )
s
dH
H
S
1
H d
G
S
1
s( s )
T
K
SK

1 G( s) H (s) 1 G(s) H (s) s(s ) K

G
K

s 2 2s
2
s 2s 10

G
S

s(s )
T

.
1 G( s) H ( s)
s s( s ) K

2s
2
s 2s 10
GH
K
S S .
2
1 GH
s s K
T

10
2
s 2s 10
10

Now consider the effect of a 5 percent change in the

parameter K. The resulting change in the closed-loop
transfer function is
T ( s)
2

T
(
s
)

K
s
2s
T
(
s
)
T (s)
T

0.05
SK
K
2
K
T ( s)
K
s 2s 10
K
T ( s)

0.5s( s 2)

2s 10

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If the reference input to the system is given by

r (t ) 2cos 0.5t
Since

K
G(s)
K
s( s )
T ( s)

1 G( s) H (s) 1 K s(s ) K
s( s )

when K = 10, = 1, = 2

10
T ( s) 2
s 2s 10
12

s j
For the nominal case,

10
T (0.5 j ) 2
1.02 0.102
s 2s 10 s 0.5 j
The steady-state response is given by
css (t ) T (0.5 j )r (t ) 2.04cos(0.5t 0.102)
For a 5 percent change in K, the change in the closedloop transfer function is given by

0.5s( s 2)
T (0.5 j ) 2
( s 2s 10)2

0.005 4.672
s 0.5 j

13

The steady-state response is

css (t ) 0.01cos(0.5t 4.672)

which is less than 0.5 percent of the steady-state response
for the nominal case.

12/09/2016
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4.3 Transient response

The transient response of a closed-loop system is easily
altered by changing the loop gain.
r(t)

+
-

C ( s)
K
2
R( s ) s 2s K

K
s(s+2)

c(t)

(4.25)

K can be adjusted by changing the gain of an amplifier.

15

When K = 1, 2 and 10 respectively, the poles are located at

1, 1, 1 j1, and 1 j3 accordingly.
c(t)
K = 10
1

K=2
K=1

t
Fig. 4.5 Step responses for different values of K
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The damping ratio of a pair of complex poles is defined as

cos
j
n

By varying K, one can adjust the damping ratio of the closedloop poles and thus alter the transient response.
17

4.4 Effect of disturbance signals

Most control systems are subject to unwanted disturbance
signals.

Fig. 4.8. System with disturbance

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Applying superposition, we get

KG ( s)( R( s ) H ( s )C ( s )) N ( s ) C ( s )
C ( s) KG ( s) H ( s)C ( s) KG ( s ) R( s ) N ( s )
(1 KG ( s) H ( s))C ( s) KG ( s ) R( s ) N ( s )
KG ( s)
1
C ( s)
R( s)
N (s)
1 KG ( s) H ( s)
1 KG ( s) H ( s)
By increasing the loop gain, we can alleviate the effect of
disturbances occurring at the output level.
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4.5 Steady-State Error

For a unity-feedback closed-loop system, the output is
given by
G( s)
C ( s)
R( s )
1 G( s)
For a unit step input, the output is given by

G( s) 1
C (s)
1 G( s) s

The error is

1 1 G( s)
1 1
E ( s ) R( s ) C ( s )

s s 1 G(s) s 1 G(s)

1
The steady-state error is ess lim sE ( s)
s 0
1 G(0)

20

If the dc loop gain G(0) is increased,

the steady-state error can be reduced
to a desired level.

21

4.6 Disadvantages of Feedback

The main disadvantages are given below.

Since feedback decreases the overall gain, this must be made
up by an increase in the loop gain of the system, requiring
additional hardware and increased complexity.
The components in the feedback path must be made more
accurate because feedback does not reduce the sensitivity to
the variations in these parameters. The result is a further
increase in the overall cost.
The sensors required for the feedback path may introduce a
small amount of noise in the system, thereby reducing the
overall accuracy.

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The introduction of feedback may lead to instability of the

closed-loop system, even though the open-loop system
may be stable. This is caused by inherent time lags within
the system, with the result that what was intended as
negative feedback may turn out to be positive feedback at
some higher frequency. A thorough understanding of the
Nyquist criterion of stability leads to the solution of this
problem.

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4.7 Summary

We have learned the various advantages and disadvantages

of the introduction of feedback.
The main advantages are:
(1) Reduction in sensitivity to variations of parameters in
the forward path.
(2) Control over the transient response as well as steadystate accuracy by adjusting the loop gain.
(3) Reduction of noise or disturbance at the output level.

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The main disadvantages are the need for additional

hardware with consequent increase in price as well as the
possibility of instability due to phase lags in the feedback
loop. The latter disadvantage is not serious and can be
offset by proper design. The cost of additional hardware
is often worthwhile due to the overall improvement in
performance. Hence, it is fair to say that the advantages
of feedback are much more significant than the

disadvantages.

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