EE 302: Control Systems

QUIZ-1 Solution
Date: 12/01/2023
Question 1. (A) Give an example of a SISO differential equation whose output shows sustained
oscillations given a unit step input. Calculate the corresponding transfer function and com-
pute the output using Laplace transform. Assume zero initial conditions. Plot the output vs
time
Solution: Consider the following type of system-
ÿ(t) + ay(t) = u(t) (1)
where a is a positive real number, u(t) input which is unit step and y(t) is the output.
Considering a = 1 applying Laplace transform to eq.1 we get-
L {ÿ(t) + y(t)} = L {u(t)}
1
⇒ s2 Y (s) − sy(0) − ẏ(0) + Y (s) =
s
2 1
⇒ (s + 1)Y (s) = , (as intial conditions are zero so ẏ(0) = y(0) = 0)
s
1
⇒ Y (s) = 2
s(s + 1)
1 s
⇒ Y (s) = − 2
s s +1
Taking inverse Lalplace transform-
⇒ y(t) = 1 − cos(t)
Clearly, from y(t) response you can infer that system output sustaining oscillation. Also
Ref. plot below-
Step Response
2

1.8

1.6

1.4

1.2
Amplitude

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0
0 20 40 60 80 100
Time (seconds)

OR
(B) Give an example of a SISO differential equation whose output shows oscillations given a unit
step input. Calculate the corresponding transfer function and compute the output using
Laplace transform. Assume zero initial conditions. Plot the output vs time
Solution: Consider the following type of system-
ÿ(t) + aẏ(t) + by(t) = u(t) (2)
Taking the Laplace transform of the equation 2 we get-
L {ÿ(t) + aẏ(t) + by(t)} = L {u(t)}
1
⇒ s2 Y (s) + asY (s) + bY (s) = , (as initial conditions are zero so ẏ(0) = y(0) = 0)
s
1
⇒ (s2 + as + b)Y (s) =
s
 Now choose the a and b such that s2 +as+b = 0 polynomial have complex root with negative
real part. In this case we are choosing a = 1 and b = 2 So,
1
(s2 + s + 2)Y (s) =
s
1
⇒ Y (s) = 2
s(s + s + 2)
taking inverse Laplace transform-
√ √
1 7t 1 7t
⇒ y(t) = (1 − exp (−t/2)(cos( ) + √ sin ( )))
2 2 7 2
Plot is shown below

Step Response
0.7

0.6

0.5

0.4
Amplitude

0.3

0.2

0.1

0
0 2 4 6 8 10
Time (seconds)

OR
(C) Give an example of a SISO differential equation whose output grows unbounded given a unit
step input. Calculate the corresponding transfer function and compute the output using
Laplace transform. Assume zero initial conditions. Plot the output vs time
Solution: Consider the following system-
ẏ(t) − y(t) = u(t) (3)
Taking Laplace transform of eq.3
L {ẏ(t) − y(t)} = L {u(t)}
1
⇒ sY (s) − sY (s) =
s
1
⇒ Y (s) =
s(s − 1)
Taking inverse transform
⇒ y(t) = exp (t) − 1
Plot is shown below-

10 4 Step Response
2.5

1.5
Amplitude

0.5

0
0 2 4 6 8 10
Time (seconds)