Digital Control Systems

Sampling operation in sampled data and digital control system is used to model either the
sample and hold operation or the fact that the signal is digitally coded. If the sampler is used
to represent S/H (Sample and Hold) and A/D (Analog to Digital) operations, it may involve
delays, finite sampling duration and quantization errors. On the other hand if the sampler is
used to represent digitally coded data the model will be much simpler. Following are two
popular sampling operations:

1. Single rate or periodic sampling

2. Multi-rate sampling

We would limit our discussions to periodic sampling only.

1.1 Finite pluse width sampler

In general, a sampler is the one which converts a continuous time signal into a pulse
modulated or discrete signal. The most common type of modulation in the sampling and hold
operation is the pulse amplitude modulation.

The symbolic representation, block diagram and operation of a sampler are shown in
Figure 1. The pulse duration is p second and sampling period is T second. Uniform rate
sampler is a linear device which satisfies the principle of superposition. As in Figure 1, p(t) is
a unit pulse train with period T.

where 𝑢𝑠 (𝑡) represents unit step function. Assume that leading edge of the pulse at t
= 0 coincides with t = 0. Thus 𝑓𝑝∗ (𝑡) can be written as

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Figure : Finite pulse with sampler : (a) Symbolic representation (b) Block diagram (c) Operation

According to Shannon's sampling theorem, "if a signal contains no frequency higher

than wc rad/sec, it is completely characterized by the values of the signal measured at instants
of time separated by T = π/wc sec."

Sampling frequency rate should be greater than the Nyquist rate which is twice the highest
frequency component of the original signal to avoid aliasing.

If the sampling rate is less than twice the input frequency, the output frequency will be
different from the input which is known as aliasing. The output frequency in that case is
called alias frequencyand the period is referred to as alias period.

The overlapping of the high frequency components with the fundamental component in the
frequency spectrum is sometimes referred to as folding and the frequency ws/2 is often
known as folding frequency. The frequency wc is called Nyquist frequency.

A low sampling rate normally has an adverse effect on the closed loop stability. Thus, often
we might have to select a sampling rate much higher than the theoretical minimum.

Ideal Sampler : In case of an ideal sampler, the carrier signal is replaced by a train of unit
impulses as shown in Figure 2. The sampling duration p approaches 0, i.e., its operation is
instantaneous.

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the output of an ideal sampler can be expressed as

One should remember that practically the output of a sampler is always followed by a hold
device which is the reason behind the name sample and hold device. Now, the output of a
hold device will be the same regardless the nature of the sampler and the attenuation
factor p can be dropped in that case. Thus the sampling process can be be always
approximated by an ideal sampler or impulse modulator.

Z- Transform
Let the output of an ideal sampler be denoted by f*(t)
∞

𝐿 𝑓 ∗ (𝑡) = 𝑓 ∗ (𝑠) = 𝑓(𝐾𝑇) 𝑒 −𝐾𝑇𝑠

𝐾=0
If we substitute 𝑍 = 𝑒 𝑇𝑠 ,then we get F(z), is the Z-transform of f(t) at the sampling
instants k

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Z - Transforms of some elementary functions

Unit step function is defined as:

Assuming that the function is continuous from right

The above series converges if 𝑍 > 1

Unit ramp function is defined as:

The Z-transform is:

The above series converges if 𝑍 > 1

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For a polynomial function 𝒙 𝒌 = 𝒂𝒌

The Z-transform is:

With ROC: 𝑍 > 𝑎

Exponential function is defined as:

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Properties of Z-transform

Inverse Z-transforms

f(t) is the continuous time function whose Z-transform is F(z). Then the inverse transform
is not necessarily equal to f(t), rather it is equal to f(kT) which is equal to f(t) only at the
sampling instants. Once f(t) is sampled by an the ideal sampler, the information between
the sampling instants is totally lost and we cannot recover actual f(t) from F(z).

The transform can be obtained by using

1. Partial fraction expansion

2. Power series
3. Inverse formula.

The Inverse Z-transform formula is given as:

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MATLab Code to Obtain the inverse Z transform (filter)
Example

𝑧(𝑧+2)
Obtain the inverse z transform of 𝑋 𝑧 =
(𝑧−1)2

X(z) can be written as

𝑧 2 + 2𝑧
𝑋 𝑧 =
𝑧 2 − 2𝑧 + 1
num=[1 2 0];
den=[1 -2 1];
u=[1 zeros(1,30)];%If the values of x(k) for k=0,1,2,....,30 are desired
filter(num,den,u)

ans =

Columns 1 through 15

1 4 7 10 13 16 19 22 25 28 31 34 37 40 43

Columns 16 through 30

46 49 52 55 58 61 64 67 70 73 76 79 82 85 88

Column 31

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Application of Z-transform in solving Difference Equation

One of the most important applications of Z-transform is in the solution of linear difference
equations. Let us consider that a discrete time system is described by the following difference
equation.

The initial conditions are y(0) = 0, y(1) = 0 .

We have to find the solution y(k) for k > 0.
Taking z-transform on both sides of the above equation:

Using partial fraction expansion:

To emphasize the fact that y(k) = 0 for k < 0 , it is a common practice to write the solution
as:

where 𝑢𝑠 (𝑘) is the unit step sequence.

Relationship between s-plane and z-plane

In the analysis and design of continuous time control systems, the pole-zero configuration of
the transfer function in s-plane is often referred. We know that:

. Left half of s-plane Stable region.

. Right half of s-plane Unstable region.

For relative stability again the left half is divided into regions where the closed loop transfer
function poles should preferably be located.

Similarly the poles and zeros of a transfer function in z-domain govern the performance
characteristics of a digital system.

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One of the properties of F*(s) is that it has an infinite number of poles, located periodically with
intervals of ±𝑚𝑤𝑠 with m = 0, 1, 2,......, in the s-plane where 𝑤𝑠 is the sampling frequency in
rad/sec.

If the primary strip is considered, the path, as shown in Figure below, will be mapped into a unit
circle in the z-plane, centered at the origin.

Figure : Primary and complementary strips in s-plane

The mapping is shown in Figure below.

Figure : Mapping of primary strip in z-plane

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 Since

where m is an integer, all the complementary strips will also map into the unit circle.
Mapping guidelines

1. All the points in the left half s-plane correspond to points inside the unit circle in z-plane.
2. All the points in the right half of the s-plane correspond to points outside the unit circle.
3. Points on the jw axis in the s-plane correspond to points on the unit circle 𝑍 = 1 in the z-
plane.

Pluse Transfer Function

Pulse transfer function relates Z-transform of the output at the sampling instants to the Z-
transform of the sampled input.

When the same system is subject to a sampled data or digital signal r*(t), the corresponding
block diagram is given in Figure 1 .

Figure 1: Block diagram of a system subject to a sampled input

The output of the system is C(s) = G(s)R*(s). The transfer function of the above system is
difficult to manipulates because it contains a mixture of analog and digital components.
Thus, for ease of manipulation, it is desirable to express the system characteristics by a
transfer function that relates r*(t) to c*(t), a fictitious sampler output, as shown in Figure 1.

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One can then write:
∞

𝐶 ∗ (𝑠) = 𝑐(𝐾𝑇) 𝑒 −𝐾𝑇𝑠

𝐾=0
Since c(kT) is periodic,
∞
1
𝐶∗ 𝑠 = 𝐶 𝑠 + 𝑗𝑛𝑤𝑠 𝑤𝑖𝑡𝑕 𝐶 0 = 0
𝑇
𝑛 =−∞
The detailed derivation of the above expression is omitted. Similarly,

Since R*(s) is periodic R*( s + jnws ) = R*(s). Thus

If we define

is known as pulse transfer function. Sometimes it is also referred to as the starred

transfer function.
If we now substitute z = eTs in the previous expression, we will directly get the z-transfer
functionG(z) as
𝐶(𝑧)
𝐺 𝑧 =
𝑅(𝑧)

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Pulse transfer of discrete data systems with cascaded elements

1. Cascaded elements are separated by a sampler

The block diagram is shown in Figure below.

Figure: Discrete data system with cascaded elements, separated by a sampler

The input-output relations of the two systems G1 and G2 are described by

and

Thus the input-output relation of the overall system is

We can therefore conclude that the z-transfer function of two linear system separated by a
sampler are the products of the individual z-transfer functions.

2. Cascaded elements are not separated by a sampler

The block diagram is shown in Figure below

Figure : Discrete data system with cascaded elements, not separated by a sampler
The continuous output C(s) can be written as

The output of the fictitious sampler is

z-transform of the product G1(s)G2(s)s is denoted as

Note:

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The overall output is thus,

Pluse Transfer Function of Closed Loop Systems

A simple single loop system with a sampler in the forward path is shown in Figure below.

Figure : Block diagram of a closed loop system with a sampler in the forward path

The objective is to establish the input-output relationship. For the above system, the output of
the sampler is regarded as an input to the system. The input to the sampler is regarded as
another output. Thus the input-output relations can be formulated as

Taking pulse transform on both sides of E(s)

We can write from equation (3),

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Taking pulse transformation on both sides of C(s)

Now, if we place the sampler in the feedback path, the block diagram will look like the
Figure 2.

Figure 2: Block diagram of a closed loop system with a sampler in the feedback path
The corresponding input output relations can be written as:
𝐸 𝑠 = 𝑅 𝑠 − 𝐻 𝑠 𝐶 ∗ (𝑠) … … … … … … . (4)
𝐶 𝑠 = 𝐺 𝑠 𝐸 𝑠 = 𝐺 𝑠 𝑅 𝑠 − 𝐺 𝑠 𝐻 𝑠 𝐶∗ 𝑠 … … … … … (5)
Taking pulse transformation of equations (4) and (5)

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 𝐶 ∗ (𝑠)
We can no longer define the input output transfer function of this system by either or
𝑅 ∗ (𝑠)
𝐶(𝑧)
.
𝑅(𝑧)
Since the input r(t) is not sampled, the sampled signal 𝑟 ∗ (𝑡) does not exist.
The continuous-data output C(s) can be expressed in terms of input as.

Stability Analysis of closed loop system in z-plane

Similar to continuous time systems, the stability of the following closed loop system

can also be determined from the location of closed loop poles in z-plane which are the
roots of the characteristic equation

1.For the system to be stable, the closed loop poles or the roots of the characteristic
equation must lie within the unit circle in z-plane. Otherwise the system would be unstable.

2. If a simple pole lies at 𝑧 = 1, the system becomes marginally stable. Similarly if a pair
of complex conjugate poles lie on the 𝑧 = 1 circle, the system is marginally stable.
Multiple poles at the same location on unit circle make the system unstable.

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Two stability tests can be applied directly to the characteristic equation without solving for
the roots.
→ Jury Stability test
→ Routh stability coupled with bi-linear transformation.
Jury Stability Test
Assume that the characteristic equation is as follows,

Where 𝑎0 > 0

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Example : The characteristic equation is

Next we will construct the Jury Table.

Jury Table

Rest of the elements are also calculated in a similar fashion. The elements are b1=-0.0756

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All criteria are satisfied. Thus the system is stable.

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