Signal Flow Graph

SIGNAL FLOW GRAPH
Signal flow graph is a graphical representation of algebraic equations

Basic Elements of Signal Flow Graph
Nodes and branches are the basic elements of signal flow graph.
Node
Node is a point which represents either a variable or a signal.
There are three types of nodes — input node, output node and mixed node.
Input Node − It is a node, which has only outgoing branches.
Output Node − It is a node, which has only incoming branches.
Mixed Node − It is a node, which has both incoming and outgoing branches.
Example
Let us consider the following signal flow graph to identify these nodes.
The nodes present in this signal flow graph are y1, y2, y3 and y4.
y1 and y4 are the input node and output node respectively.
y2 and y3 are mixed nodes.
Branch
Branch is a line segment which joins two nodes. It has both gain and direction.
For example, there are four branches in the above signal flow graph. These
branches have gains of a, b, c and -d.
Construction of Signal Flow Graph
Let us construct a signal flow graph by considering the following algebraic
equations :
y2=a12y1+a42y4
y3=a23y2+a53y5
y4=a34y3
y5=a45y4+a35y3
y6=a56y5
There will be six nodes (y1, y2, y3, y4, y5 and y6) and eight branches in this signal
flow graph. The gains of the branches are a12, a23, a34, a45, a56, a42, a53 and a35.
To get the overall signal flow graph, draw the signal flow graph for each equation,
then combine all these signal flow graphs and then follow the steps given below.
Step 1 − Signal flow graph for y2=a12y1+a42y4 is shown in the following figure:
Step 3 − Signal flow graph for y4=a34y3 is shown in the following figure:
Step 5 − Signal flow graph for y6=a56y5 is shown in the following figure:
Step 6 − Signal flow graph of overall system is shown in the following figure:
y2=a12y1+a42y4
y3=a23y2+a53y5
y4=a34y3
y5=a45y4+a35y3
y6=a56y5
Conversion of Block Diagrams into Signal Flow Graphs
Follow these steps for converting a block diagram into its equivalent signal flow
graph.
• Represent all the signals, variables, summing points and take-off points of
block diagram as nodes in signal flow graph.
• Represent the blocks of block diagram as branches in signal flow graph.
• Represent the transfer functions inside the blocks of block diagram
as gains of the branches in signal flow graph.
• Connect the nodes as per the block diagram. If there is connection between
two nodes (but there is no block in between), then represent the gain of the
branch as one. For example, between summing points, between summing
point and takeoff point, between input and summing point, between take-off
point and output.
Example
Let us convert the following block diagram into its equivalent signal flow graph.
Represent the input signal R(s) and output signal C(s) of block diagram as input
node R(s) and output node C(s) of signal flow graph.
Just for reference, the remaining nodes

(y1 to y9) are labeled in the block diagram.
There are nine nodes other than input and
output nodes. That is four nodes for four
summing points, four nodes for four take-
off points and one node for the variable
between blocks G1 and G2.
The following figure shows the equivalent signal flow graph.
Suppose there are ‘N’ forward paths in a signal flow graph. The gain between
the input and the output nodes of a signal flow graph is nothing but the transfer
function of the system. It can be calculated by using Mason’s gain formula.
Mason’s gain formula is

=
Where,
C(s) is the output node
R(s) is the input node
T is the transfer function or gain between R(s) and C(s)
Pi is the ith forward path gain

=
Δ = 1 − (sum of all individual loop gains) + (sum of gain products of all possible
two non touching loops) − (sum of gain products of all possible three non
touching loops) +............
Δi is obtained from Δ by removing the loops which are touching the ith forward
path.
Consider the following signal flow graph in order to understand the basic
terminology involved here.

=
Path
It is a traversal of branches from one node to any other node in the direction of
branch arrows. It should not traverse any node more than once.
Examples − y2→y3→y4→y5y2→y3→y4→y5 and y5→y3→y2

=
Forward Path
The path that exists from the input node to the output node is known as forward
path.
Examples − y1→y2→y3→y4→y5→y6 and y1→y2→y3→y5→y6.
Forward Path Gain
It is obtained by calculating the product of all branch gains of the forward path.
Examples
abcde is the forward path gain of y1→y2→y3→y4→y5→y6
and abge is the forward path gain of y1→y2→y3→y5→y6

=
Loop
The path that starts from one node and ends at the same node is known as loop.
Hence, it is a closed path.
Examples
y2→y3→y2 and y3→y5→y3.
Loop Gain
It is obtained by calculating the product of all branch gains of a loop.
Examples
bj is the loop gain of y2→y3→y2 and gh is the loop gain of y3→y5→y3.

=
Non-touching Loops
These are the loops, which should not have any common node.
Examples
The loops, y2→y3→y2 and y4→y5→y4 are non-touching.

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SIGNAL FLOW GRAPH

Signal flow graph is a graphical representation of algebraic equations

The nodes present in this signal flow graph are y1, y2, y3 and y4.

y1 and y4 are the input node and output node respectively.

Just for reference, the remaining nodes

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