Lecturer Two Summary Transfer Function of Physical System

Automatic Control
The summary of:
Study unit 2: Transfer Function of Physical System
What is the Transfer Function?
• The transfer function is defined as the ratio of the Laplace transform of the output
(response function) to the Laplace transform of the input (driving function) of a linear,
time-invariant, differential equation system under the assumption that all initial
conditions are zero.
Why using the Transfer Function?
• The Transfer Functions are generally used in control theory to characterize the input-
output relationships of components or systems that can be described by linear, time-
invariant, differential equations.
To clearly understand the concept of the Transfer function, consider the linear time-invariant
system characterized by the following differential equation presented in Figure 1:
Figure 1. linear time-invariant differential equation
Where y is the output of the system and x is the input. Therefore, the Transfer Function of this
system can be presented according to Figure 2. As the ratio of the Laplace transformed output
to the Laplace transformed input when all initial conditions are zero.
Figure 2. Representation of the linear time-invariant differential equation in terms of Transfer
Function.
From Figure 2, by applying the concept of the transfer function, it is possible to represent system
dynamics by algebraic equations in s. If the highest power of s in the denominator of the transfer
function is equal to n, the system is called an nth-order system.
Limitations of the Transfer Function.
• The applicability of the concept of the transfer function is limited to linear, time-
invariant, differential equation systems.
• It is widely used in the analysis and design of linear, time-invariant, differential equation
systems.
The important comments concerning the Transfer Function.
• The transfer function of a system is a mathematical model, in that it is an operational

method of expressing the differential equation that relates the output variable to the
input variable.
• The transfer function is a property of a system itself, independent of the magnitude and
nature of the input or driving function.
• The transfer function includes the units necessary to relate the input to the output;
however, it does not provide any information concerning the physical structure of the
system. (The transfer functions of many physically different systems can be identical.)
• If the transfer function of a system is known, the output or response can be studied for
various forms of inputs to understand the nature of the system.
• If the transfer function of a system is unknown, it may be established experimentally by
introducing known inputs and studying the output of the system. Once established, a
transfer function gives a full description of the dynamic characteristics of the system, as
distinct from its physical description.
The proper representation of the relationship between the input-output of the system and the
transfer function is clearly illustrated by the block diagram using a notion of the control
system. A control system may consist of several components (as explained in study unit 1). To
show the functions performed by each component, in control engineering, we commonly use a
diagram called the block diagram.
What is a Block Diagram?
A block diagram of a system is a pictorial representation of the functions performed by each

component and of the flow of signals. Such a diagram depicts the interrelationships that exist
among the various components. Differing from a purely abstract mathematical representation,
A block diagram has the advantage of indicating more realistically the signal flows of the actual
system.
An element of the block diagram is shown in Figure 3, which demonstrate the input-output
relation to the transfer function.
Figure 3. An element of the block diagram.
Note that the dimension of the output signal from the block is the dimension of the input signal
multiplied by the dimension of the transfer function in the block as shown in Figure 4. Where
𝑅(𝑠) is the input signal, 𝐶(𝑠) is the output signal, and 𝐺(𝑠) is the transfer function.
Figure 4. the input = output and the transfer function dimension in the block diagram.
It should be noted that in a block diagram the main source of energy is not explicitly shown and
that the block diagram of a given system is not unique.
Several different block diagrams can be drawn for a system, depending on the point of view of
the analysis.
Properties of the block diagram
• It is to form a block diagram for the entire physical system, and it is possible to evaluate
the contribution of each component to the overall performance of the system.
• The functional operation of the system can be visualized more readily by examining the
block diagram than by examining the physical system itself.
• A block diagram contains information concerning dynamic behaviour, but it does not
include any information on the physical construction of the system.
• Conversely many dissimilar and unrelated systems can be represented by the same block
diagram.
• Several different block diagram can be drawn for a system, depending on the point of
view of the analysis.
This document summarises study unit 2 according to the tutorial letter. Please use the prescribed
textbook and the slides titled BLOCK DIAGRAM MODELS and the discussion class 2 to
study. Do not rely on this summary while studying however, you can use it as a guide.
The link below is for the Transfer Function of Physical System session recording.
https://web.microsoftstream.com/video/33e1287d-2466-44ae-9567-d8805171a31e
Examples to work on: please ensure that you do Examples 2.10, 2. 16, 2.17, 2.19 and
2.27 from the prescribed textbook. Furthermore, work on activity 1 provided based on Figure
5 below.
Activity 1: Use Block Diagram Reduction to determine the Transfer Function of the system
block diagram presents in Figure 5.
Figure 5. Block diagram system for activity 1.
This summary was conducted using the reference below.
1. Title: Modern Control Engineering Author: Ogate, Katsuhiko.

Edition: 5th
Publisher: Prentice-Hall
2.Title: Control Systems Engineering Author: Nise,

N.S.
Edition: Global Edition or 7th Edition
Publisher: Wiley
ISBN: 978-1-119-38297-3
Thank you

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Automatic Control

The summary of:

Study unit 2: Transfer Function of Physical System

What is the Transfer Function?

Why using the Transfer Function?

Figure 1. linear time-invariant differential equation

Limitations of the Transfer Function.

The important comments concerning the Transfer Function.

• The transfer function of a system is a mathematical model, in that it is an operational

What is a Block Diagram?

A block diagram of a system is a pictorial representation of the functions performed by each

Figure 3. An element of the block diagram.

Properties of the block diagram

Figure 5. Block diagram system for activity 1.

This summary was conducted using the reference below.

1. Title: Modern Control Engineering Author: Ogate, Katsuhiko.

2.Title: Control Systems Engineering Author: Nise,

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