Stability

Review: Objectives of Systems Analysis and Design

1. Producing the desired transient response
2. Reducing steady state error
3. Achieving stability

Stability is the most important system specification. If a system is

unstable, the transient response and steady-state errors are
irrelevant. An unstable system can cause damage to the system, to
adjacent property, or to human life.

What are the indications that a system is stable or unstable?

 Stability
Bounded-Input Bounded-Output (BIBO) definitions of stability

• A system is stable if every bounded input yields a bounded output.

• A system is unstable if any bounded input yields an unbounded output.

Note:
By a bounded input, we mean an input variable that stays within upper and lower
limits for all values of time.

3
 Review: Standard Test Signals

impulse

parabola
step

sinusoid

ramp
Q. If the step signal is applied at the input of a system and
the output remains within limits for all time, is the system
stable?

A. The system is not necessarily stable since the output must

be bounded for every bounded input.
A bounded output to one specific bounded input does not
ensure stability.
Q. If the step signal is applied at the input of a system
and the output is of the form y = t, is the system
stable or unstable?

A. This system is unstable since a bounded input

produced an unbounded output.
 Bounded Bounded

Bounded Unbounded

Unbounded Unbounded

Unbounded Bounded
 Review: System Response
• The output response of a system is the sum of two responses:
the forced response and the natural response.

• The form of the forced response is

dependent on the input to the system.

• The form of the natural response is

dependent on the transfer function of
the system.

Draw the graphs of cf(t) and cn(t).

• The form of the forced response is dependent on the input to the system.

What can you say about the forced response of the systems below?

bounded cf(t) is bounded

unbounded cf(t) is unbounded

What is the effect of the natural response to the

output of the system?
• The output response of a system is the sum of two responses: the forced response and
the natural response.

• The form of the forced response is dependent on the input to the system.
• The form of the natural response is dependent on the transfer function of the system.

• The stability of a system depends on the _____________ only

and not on the _____________.
• The stability of a system depends on the ______________ of
the system.
• The stability of a system depends on the _____ of the system.
• The output response of a system is the sum of two responses: the forced response and
the natural response.

• The form of the forced response is dependent on the input to the system.
• The form of the natural response is dependent on the transfer function of the system.

• The stability of a system depends on the natural response only

and not on the forced response.
• The stability of a system depends on the transfer function of
the system.
• The stability of a system depends on the poles of the system.
 Stability
• A system is stable if the natural response approaches zero
as time approaches infinity.

• A system is unstable if the natural response grows without

bound as time approaches infinity.

• A system is marginally stable if the natural response neither

decays nor grows but remains constant or oscillates as time
approaches infinity.

Note: The above definitions use the natural response while the BIBO
definitions use the total response.
The stability of a cone.
How to Determine System Stability
Look at the location of the poles of the transfer function.
• Stable systems have transfer functions with poles only on the
____________.
• If system poles are on the ____________, the system is
unstable.
• If system poles are on the ___________, the system is
marginally stable.
How to Determine System Stability
Look at the location of the poles of the transfer function.
• Stable systems have transfer functions with poles only on the
left half-plane.
• If system poles are on the right half-plane, the system is
unstable.
• If system poles are on the imaginary axis, the system is
marginally stable.
Determine the stability of the systems below.
How to Determine System Stability
Look at the value of the poles of the transfer function.
• If all poles are real and _______ or complex with a _______
real part, the system is stable.
• If there are poles that are real and ______ or complex with a
______ real part, the system is unstable.
• If there are no poles that make the system unstable, but there
is a pole that is ____ or ________, the system is marginally
stable.
How to Determine System Stability
Look at the value of the poles of the transfer function.
• If all poles are real and negative or complex with negative real
parts, the system is stable.
• If there are poles that are real and positive or complex with
positive real parts, the system is unstable.
• If there are no poles that make the system unstable, but there
is a pole that is zero or imaginary, the system is marginally
stable.
Determine in each case if the set of poles represents, stable,
marginally stable, or unstable systems.
a) -1, -2 e) -2 + j, -2 - j, 2j, -2j
b) -1, +1 f) 2,-1,-3
c) -3,-2,0 g) -6,-4,7
d) -1 + j, -1- j h) -2 + 3j, -2 -3j, -2
Determine in each case if the set of poles represents, stable,
marginally stable, or unstable systems.
a) -1, -2 e) -2 + j, -2 - j, 2j, -2j
b) -1, +1 f) 2,-1,-3
c) -3,-2,0 g) -6,-4,7
d) -1 + j, -1- j h) -2 + 3j, -2 -3j, -2
Q. A system has poles at -1 and -5 and zeros at 1 and -2. Is
the system stable?

A. The system is stable since the poles are roots of the system
characteristic equation which have negative real parts.
The fact that the system has a zero with a positive real part
does not affect its stability.
Q. Based on the BIBO definitions of stability, is the
marginally stable system a stable system or an
unstable system?

A. The marginally stable system (based on the natural

response) is an unstable system (based on the BIBO
definitions) because not all bounded inputs result to
bounded outputs. An input that matches the natural
response of the marginally stable system will result to
an unbounded output.
Strictly speaking, marginally stable systems are
unstable systems.
Stability in the s-plane.

STABLE NOT STABLE

26
How to Determine System Stability
Look at the denominator polynomial of the transfer function.

How can we determine a system’s stability by simply looking at its transfer function
(without computing for the poles)?
Draw the pole-zero plot and write a possible transfer function for each
set of poles below.
a. -2, -3
b. -3, -3
c. -1 + j
d. -2, 0 What observations can you make
e. + j from the denominator polynomial
f. 0, 2 in relation to the location of the
poles in the s-plane?
g. 2, 3
h. 3, 3
i. 1 + j
j. -3, 3
 ( ) ( )
⇒
( − 1)( − 2) … ( − ) +⋯+ 1 + 0

If the system has poles only on the left half-plane, then

• p1, p2, … pn are real and negative or complex with a negative real part
• denominator polynomial has coefficients that are all positive numbers (or
all negative numbers)
• no term of the polynomial is missing

If a term of the denominator polynomial is missing then not all poles are on
the left half-plane.
If the coefficients are not all positive (or are not all negative), then at least
one pole is on the right half-plane.
Determine the stability of the systems below.

1
5+5 4− 3+2 2 + +8
1
4+ 3+2 2 +
How to Determine System Stability
Look at the denominator polynomial of the transfer function.
• If the system is stable, all the coefficients of the denominator polynomial
are positive (or all are negative) and there is no term missing.
Otherwise, the system is unstable.
• These conditions are necessary but not sufficient. That is, we know the
system is unstable if they are not satisfied; yet if they are satisfied, we
must proceed further to ascertain the stability of the system.
• For example,
q ( s )  s 3  s 2  2s  8  ( s  2)( s 2  s  4)
the system is unstable yet all coefficien ts are positive.
How to Determine System Stability
Use the Routh-Hurwitz criterion for stability.
• This method yields stability information without the
need to solve for the system poles.
• Using this method, we can tell how many system
poles are in the left half-plane, in the right half-plane,
and on the jω-axis.
Edward John Routh Adolf Hurwitz

Why study the Routh-Hurwitz criterion when modern calculators

and computers can tell us the exact location of system poles?
Analysis problem: Determine the system’s stability.

Design problem: Determine the range of values of K to make

the system stable.
How to Determine System Stability
Use the Routh-Hurwitz criterion for stability.
Procedure:
1. Based on the denominator polynomial of
the transfer function, generate a data
table called a Routh table.
2. Interpret the Routh table to tell how many
system poles are in the left half-plane, the
right half-plane, and on the jω-axis.
 Generating a basic Routh table
1. First label the rows with powers of s from highest power of s down to lowest power of s
in a vertical column.
2. Next form the first row of the Routh table, using the coefficients of the denominator
polynomial of the transfer function.
3. Start with the coefficient of the highest power and skip every other power of s.
4. Now form the second row with the coefficients of the denominator skipped in the
previous step.
5. The remaining entries are filled in as follows. Each entry is a negative determinant of
entries in the previous two rows divided by the entry in the first column directly above
the calculated row. The left-hand column of the determinant is always the first column of
the previous two rows, and the right-hand column is the elements of the column above
and to the right.
6. The table is continued horizontally and vertically until zeros are obtained.
7. For convenience, any row can be multiplied or divided by a positive constant before the
next row is computed without changing the values of the rows below and disturbing the
properties of the Routh table.
Initial layout for Routh table
Generate the Routh table of the system below.

Solution: Find first the equivalent closed-loop transfer function.

Interpreting the basic Routh table
Routh-Hurwitz criterion for stability.
The Routh-Hurwitz criterion declares that the number of poles that
lies in the right half-plane is equal to the number of sign changes in
the first column.

Thus, a system is unstable if there are sign changes in the first

column of the Routh table.

A system is stable if there are no sign changes in the first column

of the Routh table.
Example: Determine the stability of the system below.

Since there are two sign

changes in the first column of
the Routh table, there are two
poles on the right-half plane.

The system is unstable.

Determine the system’s stability using the denominator polynomial below.

The Routh table is

Since there are two sign changes in the first column, there are two
roots of the polynomial in the right half plane: system is unstable.
Determine the system’s stability using the denominator polynomial below.

The Routh table is

Since there are no sign changes in the first column, the system is
stable.
Determine the system’s stability using the denominator polynomial below.

The Routh table is

Since there are sign changes in the first column, the system is unstable.
Determine the system’s stability using the denominator polynomial below.

Not all coefficients are positive (or not all are negative).
Therefore, the system is unstable.
 Determine the stability of the system with the transfer function below.

Special case where a

zero appears only in the
first column.

Option 1: Replace the

zero by a small number, ϵ,
and complete the table.
Determining signs in first column of a Routh table with zero as first
element in a row

Since there are

sign changes in the
first column, the
system is unstable.
Routh-Hurwitz Criterion: Special Cases
Zero Only in the First Column

Two different procedures for solving:

Option 1: Replace the zero by a small number, ϵ, and complete the table.
Option 2: Generate a new Routh table with the coefficients in reverse order.

Option 2 procedure is derived from the fact that reversing the order of the
coefficients is making a polynomial that has the reciprocal roots of the
original polynomial. This new polynomial has its roots distributed the
same—right half-plane, left half-plane, or imaginary axis—because
taking the reciprocal of the root value does not move it to another region.
 Determine the stability of the system with the transfer function below.

Special case where a

zero appears only in the
first column.

Option 2: Generate a
new Routh table with the
coefficients in reverse
order. Since there are
sign changes in the
first column, the
system is unstable.
Determine the stability of the system below.

Solution: The closed-loop transfer function is

Determine the stability of the system with the transfer function below.
Special case: Table with Row of Zeros.

Procedure:
1. Form an auxiliary polynomial using as coefficients the entries of the
row immediately above the row of zeros.
2. Differentiate the auxiliary polynomial with respect to s.
3. Use the coefficients of the derivative polynomial to replace the row
of zeros, then complete the table.
Determine the stability of the system with the denominator polynomial below.
Analysis problem: Determine the system’s stability.

Design problem: Determine the range of values of K to make

the system stable.
Antenna azimuth position control system
Antenna azimuth position control system
Antenna azimuth position control system
Antenna azimuth position control system
Review: Design Process
PROBLEM: For the antenna azimuth position control system, find the
range of the preamplifier gain, K, that will cause the system to be stable.

Solution: The equivalent closed-loop transfer function is

For 0 < K < 2623 the system is stable.
Response of the antenna azimuth position control system
showing effect of high and low preamplifier gain on the
output response
PROBLEM: Find the range of gain, K, that will cause the
system to be stable.

Solution: The closed-loop transfer function is

K
T (s )  3
s  18s 2  77s  K
 K
T (s )  3
s  18s 2  77s  K

For 0 < K < 1386 the system is stable.

PROBLEM: Given the denominator polynomial below, find the
range of values of K that will cause the system to be stable.

For system stability, it is necessary that

the conditions 8 – K > 0 and 1 + K > 0
must be satisfied. Hence, the range of
values of K must lie between -1 and 8
(i.e., -1 < K < 8).