Universit di Pisa

Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile ed Industriale

AEROSPACE SYSTEMS ANALYSIS

Lecture 14
SECOND-ORDER SYSTEMS Part 2

Step response characterisation of underdamped systems

o Rise time
o Peak time
o Maximum overshoot
o Settling time

Effect of a zero on a second-order system response

o Zero in the LHP
o Zero in the RHP

Ing. G. Di Rito

Page 1 / 15

Aerospace Systems Analysis - Lecture 14 Second-Order Systems Part 2

Universit di Pisa

Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile ed Industriale

Second-order dynamic systems: step-response characterisation of underdamped systems (1 of 6)

Let us consider again the case of an underdamped system (0 < < 1) with zero initial state receiving a unit-step input:

Ys ( s ) = Yzs s ( s ) =

n2
s ( s 2 + 2n s + n2 )

We have seen that the system response is provided by the expression:

y s (t ) = 1 e

n t

1 2

e n t
2
2
2
sin 1 n t = 1
sin 1 n t + arctan
cos 1 n t +
2
2

1
1

In dynamic system analysis, a set of parameters are introduced to characterise this time-depending function (also refer to
the plot at the next page):
td : delay time, i.e. time needed to achieve the 50% of the steady state value
tr : rise time, i.e. time needed to achieve for the first time the steady state value
tp : peak time, i.e. time needed to achieve the peak value
tsX : settling time, i.e. time needed to have an oscillating term amplitude lower than X% of the steady-state value
Mp : maximum overshoot, i.e. the difference between the peak and the steady-state value of the response

Page 2 / 15

Aerospace Systems Analysis - Lecture 14 Second-Order Systems Part 2

Universit di Pisa

Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile ed Industriale

Second-order dynamic systems: step-response characterisation of underdamped systems (2 of 6)

Underdamped second-order systems: step-response characterisation
1.5

tp

Detail for the 2% settling

time definition

Mp
1

1.05

tr

1.04
1.03
1.02
1.01

td
0.5

ts 2

1
0.99
0.98

ys (t) @ =0.3
0

0.97

ys (t) @ =0.3

0.96

n
1-e
/sqrt(1-0.3 )
-0.3 nt
2
1+e
/sqrt(1-0.3 )

0.95

10

15
t
n

Page 3 / 15

20

25

-0.3 t

10

15

20

25

n t

Aerospace Systems Analysis - Lecture 14 Second-Order Systems Part 2

Universit di Pisa

Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile ed Industriale

Second-order dynamic systems: step-response characterisation of underdamped systems (3 of 6)

Rise time ( tr ):
The rise time is defined as the time needed for the system to achieve for the first time its steady state.
We noted that the system response reaches its steady state value a number of times, settling to it when t . Let us
define trk the k-th time at which the response reaches its steady state value:

1 2
2
y s (trk ) = 1
sin 1 n trk + arctan
2

e n trk

= 1

The above condition is obtained each time the oscillating term is zero, i.e.

1 2
sin 1 2 n trk + arctan

t rk =

= 0

1 2
k arctan

1 2 n

1 2
1 2 n trk + arctan

= k

k = 0,1,2,...

Since we obtain an impossible solution for k =0 (tr0 <0), we can define the rise time as

1 2
arctan
t r = t r1 =
2

1 n

Page 4 / 15

Aerospace Systems Analysis - Lecture 14 Second-Order Systems Part 2

Universit di Pisa

Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile ed Industriale

Second-order dynamic systems: step-response characterisation of underdamped systems (4 of 6)

Peak time ( tp ):
The peak time is defined as the time needed for the system to achieve its peak value.
Let us calculate this quantity by evaluating the times at which the time derivative of the system response is zero. Define
tpk the k-th time at which the time derivative of the response is zero:
t

dy s (t )
n e n pk
= y (t pk ) = 0
sin 1 2 n t pk = 0
2
dt t pk
1

The above condition is obtained when

sin 1 2 n t pk = 0

1 2 n t pk = k

t pk =

k
1 2 n

( k = 0,1,2,...)

The solution is clearly not applicable for our scope at k =0 (tp0 =0), so we can define the peak time as

t p = t p1 =

1 2 n

Maximum overshoot ( Mp ):
The maximum overshoot is defined as the difference between the peak and the steady-state value of the response.
To obtain it, we can simply substitute the peak time into the expression of the response and differ with 1:

1
M p = y s (t p ) 1 =
sin + arctan

1 2

1 2

e
1 2
=
sin arctan
2

1 2

= e

1 2

Note: The maximum overshoot only depends on the damping factor of the system.

Page 5 / 15

Aerospace Systems Analysis - Lecture 14 Second-Order Systems Part 2

Universit di Pisa

Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile ed Industriale

Second-order dynamic systems: step-response characterisation of underdamped systems (5 of 6)

Settling time ( tsX ):
The settling time is defined as the time needed for the system to have an oscillating term amplitude lower than X% of
the steady-state value.
Actually, as already stated, the step-response of a BIBO stable underdamped second-order system is provided by a
constant term and by an oscillating term modulated by an exponential decay. From the settling time definition we have
e n t sX
1 2

X 1 2
X
n t sX
=
e
=
100
100

t sX =

100

ln
n X 1 2
1

A quite popular definition of the settling time is given with reference to a 2% oscillating term amplitude, and we obtain:
50
ts 2 =
ln
n 1 2
1

Note: an approximation of this expression can be obtained considering that the term 1 2 varies very little with
respect to 1 in the range 0 < < 0.5 , so the 2% settling time is often approximated1 as follows
ts 2

Analysts uses this formula without gross errors up to = 0.8

Page 6 / 15

Aerospace Systems Analysis - Lecture 14 Second-Order Systems Part 2

Universit di Pisa

Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile ed Industriale

Second-order dynamic systems: step-response characterisation of underdamped systems (6 of 6)

20

15

n tr
n tp

10

n ts2
4/

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

100
Mp [%]

80
60
40
20
0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

Page 7 / 15

Aerospace Systems Analysis - Lecture 14 Second-Order Systems Part 2

Universit di Pisa

Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile ed Industriale

Second-order dynamic systems: effect of a zero in second-order systems response (1 of 8)

Let us consider the dynamics of a BIBO stable system defined by the following LTI ODE:

y + a1 y + a0 y = k1 u + k 0 u

y (0) = 0 ; y (0) = 0 ; u (0) = 0

L
k s + k0
Y (s) = 2 1
U (s)
s + 2 n s + n2
The system resembles a second-order (it has the same denominator), but its transfer function also contains a zero
located at s = k0/k1
If we re-write the system response Laplace transform as follows

k1

n2 s
n2
k0
k1
k0

Y ( s ) = 2 2
+
U
(
s
)
=
s
Y
(
s
)
+
Y ( s)
II
2
2
2
2
2
2 II

s
+
2

s
+

s
+
2

s
+

n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
we recognize that it can be obtained as a linear combination of the responses of its pure second-order counterpart
( YII ( s ) ) and its time derivative ( sYII ( s ) ):

y (t ) =

k1 dy II (t ) k0
+ 2 y II (t )
n2 dt
n

The analysis we performed on pure second-order systems thus allows to rapidly address more complex behaviours.
As an example, if a unit-step response is provided to the above system, we have

ys (t ) =
Page 8 / 15

k1

n2

y II (t ) +

k0

n2

y IIs (t )
Aerospace Systems Analysis - Lecture 14 Second-Order Systems Part 2

Universit di Pisa

Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile ed Industriale

Second-order dynamic systems: effect of a zero in second-order systems response (2 of 8)

where y IIs and y II are the unit-step and the unit-impulse response of a second-order system with unity scale factor.
It is useful for the analysis to re-formulate the response Laplace transform as follows,

Ys ( s ) = k1

s + n
s ( s 2 + 2n s + n2 )

where k0 / k1 = n , and also to define a scale factor with respect to a behaviour exhibiting a unity steady-state value:

Ys ( s ) =

k1 n

s + n
k1
=
Ys ( s )
2
2
s( s + 2n s + n )
n

Without loss of generality, we can thus refer to the Laplace transform:

Ys ( s ) = n

s + n
s ( s 2 + 2n s + n2 )

which provides the following response in the time domain

y s (t ) =

y II (t ) + y IIs (t )

The expression points out that, if a transfer function is characterised by a second-order denominator and by a zero, its
step response can be obtained by combining the step response and the impulse response of its pure second-order
counterpart. In particular,
the amplitude of the impulse-related term inversely depends on the zero pulsation (and note that the term
vanishes for || )
if > 0 (zero in the Left Half Plane, LHP), the impulse-related and the step-related terms have the same sign
if < 0 (zero in the Right Half Plane, RHP), the impulse-related an the step-related terms have opposite signs
Page 9 / 15

Aerospace Systems Analysis - Lecture 14 Second-Order Systems Part 2

Universit di Pisa

Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile ed Industriale

Second-order dynamic systems: effect of a zero in second-order systems response (3 of 8)

Effect of a zero in the LHP in an underdamped second-order system ( =0.3)
6

0
ys (t) @ =0.5

=1
=2
=3
=10

-2

-4

yIIs (t)
yII(t)
-6

10

15

20

25

n t
Page 10 / 15

Aerospace Systems Analysis - Lecture 14 Second-Order Systems Part 2

Universit di Pisa

Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile ed Industriale

Second-order dynamic systems: effect of a zero in second-order systems response (4 of 8)

Effect of a zero in the RHP in an underdamped second-order system ( =0.3)
6

0
ys (t) @ =-0.5

=-1
=-2
=-3
=-10

-2

-4

yIIs (t)
yII(t)
-6

10

15

20

25

n t
Page 11 / 15

Aerospace Systems Analysis - Lecture 14 Second-Order Systems Part 2

Universit di Pisa

Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile ed Industriale

Second-order dynamic systems: effect of a zero in second-order systems response (5 of 8)

Let us explicitly calculate the step response in the underdamped case (0 < < 1):

s + n

1
bs + a
Y ( s ) = n
=
+
s ( s 2 + 2 n s + n2 ) s s 2 + 2n s + n2

b = 1

where
1

a
=
2

Remembering the general expression of the inverse Laplace transform of a rational function with two complex
conjugated poles, we have

(a bn ) 2
2
A = b +
(1 2 )n2

y s (t ) = 1 Ae n t sin 1 2 n t + where
b 1 2

= arctan a b
n

By substituting the expressions of b and a we finally obtain (see the plots at the next pages)

1 + (1 2 ) + 2 (1 2 ) Maximum amplitude of the oscillation

A =
1 2

1 2

Phase angle of the oscillation

= arctan 1

and, from the definition of the 2% settling time we also have

ts 2 =

ln[50 A( , )]

Note: for || the results tends to be those of the response of a pure second-order system.
Page 12 / 15

Aerospace Systems Analysis - Lecture 14 Second-Order Systems Part 2

Universit di Pisa

Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile ed Industriale

Second-order dynamic systems: effect of a zero in second-order systems response (6 of 8)

Maximum amplitude and phase angle of the oscillation for the unit-step response
of an underdamped second-order system with a zero in the LHP
No zero ( =Inf)

180

=0.5
=1
=2
=3
=10

4.5
4

160
140

3.5
3

Phase [deg]

Amplitude

120

2.5

100
80

60

1.5

=0.5
=1
=2
=3
=10

40

20

0.5
0

No zero ( =Inf)

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

Note: The phase angle is always greater than the case of the pure second-order. It is said that a zero in the LHP
introduces phase lead in the response
Page 13 / 15

Aerospace Systems Analysis - Lecture 14 Second-Order Systems Part 2

Universit di Pisa

Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile ed Industriale

Second-order dynamic systems: effect of a zero in second-order systems response (7 of 8)

Maximum amplitude and phase angle of the oscillation for the unit-step response
of an underdamped second-order system with a zero in the RHP
No zero ( =Inf)

180

=-0.5
=-1
=-2
=-3
=-10

4.5
4
3.5

No zero ( =Inf)

160

=-0.5
=-1
=-2
=-3
=-10

140

Phase [deg]

Amplitude

120

2.5
2

100
80
60

1.5
1

40

0.5

20

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

Note 1: The phase angle is always lower than the case of the pure second-order. It is said that a zero in the RHP
introduces phase delay in the response
Note 2: The amplitude is always greater than the case of the pure second-order.
Page 14 / 15

Aerospace Systems Analysis - Lecture 14 Second-Order Systems Part 2

Universit di Pisa

Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile ed Industriale

Second-order dynamic systems: effect of a zero in second-order systems response (8 of 8)

Settling time for the unit-step response of an underdamped second-order system

Zero in the RHP

20

20

18

18

16

16

14

14

12

12

t
n s2

n s2

Zero in the LHP

10
8

=0.5
=1
=2
=3
=10

4
2
0

0.1

0.2

No zero ( =Inf)

No zero ( =Inf)
6

10

=-0.5
=-1
=-2
=-3
=-10

6
4
2
0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

Note 1: If the zero is located in the RHP, the settling time is always greater than the case of the pure second-order.
Note 2: If the zero is located in the LHP, the settling time is slightly lower than the case of the pure second-order if
>0.5 with >0.5. In all other cases, the settling time is greater.
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Aerospace Systems Analysis - Lecture 14 Second-Order Systems Part 2