Mr. Biruk Simaani (M.Sc.

)
Menschen für Menschen Foundation
Agro – Technical and Technology College
Electrical and Electronics Technology Department
 CHAPTER – FOUR
STABILITY ANALYSIS OF CONTROL SYSTEM
OBJECTIVES: At the end of this chapter students will be able to:
❖Study the notion of stability in LTI system.
❖Analyse the stability characteristics of the closed loop control systems.
❖Discuss the techniques used to study stability of LTI systems.

Instructor: Mr. Biruk Simaani (M.Sc.) 1

4.1. Concept of Stability
❑ System stability is one of the most important performance specifications
of a control system.

❑ A system is considered unstable if it does not return to its initial position

but continues to oscillate after it is subjected to any change in input or is
subjected to undesirable disturbance.

❑ For any time-invariant control system to be stable, the following two

conditions need to be satisfied:
❖ The system will produce a bounded output for every bounded input.
❖ For no input, the output should tend to be zero, irrespective of any initial
conditions.

Instructor: Mr. Biruk Simaani (M.Sc.) 2

 4.2. Pole-Zero Location and Conditions for Stability
❑ A single-input–single-output system’s transfer function can be written as

❑ The denominator of the transfer function is called characteristic

polynomial and its roots are the poles of the transfer function.
❑ The characteristic equation is formed by equating the characteristic
polynomial to zero.
Thus, for the above case, the characteristic equation is

❑ The stability of the closed-loop system can be determined by examining

the poles of the closed-loop system, that is, by the roots of the
characteristic equation
Instructor: Mr. Biruk Simaani (M.Sc.) 3
❑ The nature of time response of a system is related to the location of the roots
of characteristic equation in s-plane.
❑ For the system to be stable, the
roots should have negative real
parts
❑ A system may be stable, unstable or
oscillatory depending upon the
positions of the roots of the
characteristic equation.
❑ The presence of negativeness of
any of the coefficients of the
characteristic equation implies that
the system is either unstable or at
the most has limited stability
Instructor: Mr. Biruk Simaani (M.Sc.) 4
4.3. The Necessary Conditions for Stability
❑ The positiveness of the coefficients of characteristic equation is necessary.
❑ This is the condition for stability of the systems of the first and second order.
❖The characteristic equation for a first-order system is
𝑎0 𝑠 + 𝑎1 = 0
–𝑎
which has a single root 𝑠1 = 1 .
𝑎0
The system is stable provided 𝑎0 and 𝑎1 are both positive.
❖ The characteristic equation for a second-order system is
𝑎0 𝑠 2 + 𝑎1 𝑠 + 𝑎2 = 0
−𝑎1 2 −4∗𝑎0 𝑎2
which has two roots 𝑠2 , 𝑠1 = −𝑎1 +
2∗𝑎0
If 𝑎0 , 𝑎1 and 𝑎2 are positive, the system will be stable.
❖ For third and higher order systems, condition (1) does not ensure the stability.

Instructor: Mr. Biruk Simaani (M.Sc.) 5

 4.4. Methods for Determining the Stability of the System
❑ The stability of the system can be determined by using the following
methods
❖ Frequency Response plots: Bode Plot, Polar Pot and Nyquist Criterion
are used to study the stability of a system by observing the behaviour of the plots
for sinusoidal input.

❖ Routh–Hurwitz Criterion: Used to determine the stability of the

system without solving the characteristic equation.

❖ Root Locus Technique: Used for determining the trajectories of the

roots of the characteristic equation and analyse the stability of the
system with variation of gain of the system.

Instructor: Mr. Biruk Simaani (M.Sc.) 6

4.4.1. Routh–Hurwitz Criterion: It is an algebraic method that provides stability
information of the system that has the characteristic equation with constant coefficients.
❑ It indicates the number of roots of the characteristic equation, which lie on the
imaginary axis, in the left half and right half of the s-plane without solving it.

❑ Gives the information on the absolute stability of a system without any necessity
to solve for the closed-loop system poles.

❑ Stability of the system can be determined by the location of poles.

The transfer function of the linear closed loop system is represented as

Where an and bm are the real coefficients and n, m = 0, 1, 2,...

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 Let 𝐹 𝑠 = 𝑎𝑛 𝑠 𝑛 + 𝑎𝑛−1 𝑠 𝑛−1 + 𝑎𝑛−2 𝑠 𝑛−2 + ⋯ + 𝑎𝑜 = 0 be the characteristic
equation of the given linear system.
❑ When this characteristic equation is solved for the roots, it gives the closed-
loop poles of the given linear system, which decides the absolute stability of the
system.

❑ In order that all the roots of the characteristic equation be pseudo-negative, two
conditions are necessary although they are not sufficient.
❖ All the coefficients from 𝑎𝑛 to 𝑎0 of the characteristic equation
must have the same sign.

❖ All the coefficients from 𝑎𝑛 to 𝑎0 of the characteristic equation must

be present.

Instructor: Mr. Biruk Simaani (M.Sc.) 8

 Hurwitz Criterion: Hurwitz criterion states that the necessary and sufficient
conditions for a system to be stable with all roots of the characteristics equation lying
in the left half of the s-plane.
❖ The determinant values of all the sub-matrices of the Hurwitz matrix
Dk, k = 1, 2, . .., n must be positive.

Hurwitz Matrix Formation:

The transfer function of the linear closed-loop system is represented as follows:

Where an and bm are the real coefficients and n, m = 0, 1, 2,...

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 Let, the characteristic equation is given
𝐹 𝑠 = 𝑎𝑛 𝑠 𝑛 + 𝑎𝑛−1 𝑠 𝑛−1 + 𝑎𝑛−2 𝑠 𝑛−2 + ⋯ + 𝑎𝑜 = 0
The Hurwitz matrix, H formed by the coefficients of the characteristic equation is
given by the following matrix:

Where n is the order of matrix

Instructor: Mr. Biruk Simaani (M.Sc.) 10

 The sub-matrices formed from the Hurwitz matrix H are as follows

The condition for stability is D1 >0, D2 >0, D3>0 ….. Dn>0

Example 4.1: Examine the stability of the system by Hurwitz method whose
characteristic equation is given by
𝐹 𝑠 = 𝑠 3 + 5𝑠 2 + 2𝑠 + 4 = 0
Solution: Comparing the given characteristic equation with the standard equation
𝐹 𝑠 = 𝑎𝑛 𝑠 𝑛 + 𝑎𝑛−1 𝑠 𝑛−1 + 𝑎𝑛−2 𝑠 𝑛−2 + ⋯ + 𝑎𝑜 = 0
The values of the coefficients are
Instructor: Mr. Biruk Simaani (M.Sc.) Oder of the equation is n = 3 11
 Hurwitz matrix is obtained as The sub-matrices formed from the Hurwitz
matrix are:

Substituting the given values, we obtain

The determinant values of the above matrices are

Since the determinant values of all the matrices are positive, all the poles lie in
the left half of the s-plane.
Hence, the system is stable.
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 Disadvantages of Hurwitz Method
❑ Time consuming and complication exist in determining the determinant
value of higher order matrices for higher order systems (i.e., higher value
of n).

❑ It is difficult to predict the number of roots of the characteristic equation

or poles of the system existing in the right-half of the s-plane.

❑ It examines whether the system is stable or unstable and does not examine
the marginal stability of the system.

Instructor: Mr. Biruk Simaani (M.Sc.) 13

 Routh’s Stability Criterion: The Routh-Hurwitz criterion for stability does not
require calculation of the actual values of the roots of the characteristic equation.
❑ This criterion tells us about the number of roots on the right side of the
imaginary axis.

❑ It gives just a qualitative result.

❑ It is the quickest method if we just want to know whether the system is

stable or unstable.
❑ The general characteristic equation is given by

Let a0 be positive. If it is negative, multiply both sides of the

equation above by – 1.
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 The following are the steps for applying Routh’s stability criterion:
Step 1: If any of the coefficients, 𝑎1 , 𝑎2 , 𝑎3 , , … … 𝑎𝑛−1 , is negative or zero,
there is at least one root of the characteristic equation which has positive
real part and the corresponding system is unstable.

Step 2: If all the coefficients are positive, then from the first step, we cannot
conclude anything about the location of the roots.

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Then we have to form the following array The Characteristic equation

Where

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 Now, examine the elements of the first column of the array

The following conclusions are derived from the Routh–Hurwitz criterion

❑ If any of these elements (a0, a1, b1, c1, …) is negative, we have at least one root
of the characteristic equation lie on the right side of the imaginary axis and the
system is unstable.

❑ The number of sign changes in the elements of the first column is equal to the
number of roots located at the right side of the imaginary axis.
Therefore, a system is stable if all the elements in the first column of the
array are positive, that is, there is no change in the sign.

Instructor: Mr. Biruk Simaani (M.Sc.) 17

 Example 4.2: For the characteristic equation 𝑠 3 +5𝑠 2 +7s+3=0, find the number of
roots in the left half of the s-plane

As there is no sign change in the first column, there is no pole in the right-half
of the s-plane. Hence, all the three poles are in the left half of the s-plane the
system is stable
Instructor: Mr. Biruk Simaani (M.Sc.) 18
Example 4.3: Determine the stability of the following system using Routh’s criterion
9
𝐺 𝑠 𝐻 𝑠 = 2 Therefore, comparing this characteristic
𝑠 (𝑠+2)
equation with the standard equation
The characteristic equation of the system is
⇒

Since there are two sign changes i.e., from 2 to −4.5 and from −4.5 to 9 in the first
column of Routh’s array, two poles of the system are located in the right half of the
s-plane. Hence, the system is Unstable.
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4.4.2. Special Cases of Routh’s Criterion
Special Case 1: If the first element of any row of Routh’s array becomes zero (other
elements of the row are non zero), then it becomes difficult in examining the stability
of the system since the terms in the next row becomes infinite.
Example 4.4: Consider a system whose characteristic equation is given by

Examine the stability of the system using Routh’s array

Solution: For the given characteristic equation, Routh’s array is formed as:

Since the first value in the third row of Routh’s array is

zero, the first value in the fourth row of Routh’s array
becomes infinite and makes the examination of the
stability of the system difficult.
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Method 1:
❑ Replace the zero (first element in the third row) with a small positive real
number and continue the evaluation of the array

❑ After completing the array, examine the possibility of occurrence of a sign

change using lim
𝜖→0

❑ Replace the first element of the third row by ε and continue evaluating the
array.

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Instructor: Mr. Biruk Simaani (M.Sc.) 22
 ❑ Now, for examining the occurrence of a sign change, consider all the elements in the
array that has ε in it and apply the limits

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 ❑ Then, replace these values in Routh’s array to have a clear idea about the sign
changes occurring in the system.
❑ The modified Routh’s array will be as follows

❑ Since there are two sign changes in the first column of

❑ Routh’s array i.e., 𝜀 to −∞ and −∞ to +1.5, two roots lie
in the right half of the s-plane.

❑ Hence the system is unstable.

Instructor: Mr. Biruk Simaani (M.Sc.) 24

 Method 2:
❑ In this method, the variable s in the characteristic equation of the system is
1
replaced by the variable
𝑥

❑ After rearranging the characteristic equation using the variable, 𝑥, Routh’s array
is formed and then the stability of the system is examined.
Let us consider

1
Substituting s= in the given characteristic equation and rearranging, we
𝑥
obtain the new characteristic equation as follows:

Instructor: Mr. Biruk Simaani (M.Sc.) 25

 ❑ Since there are two sign changes i.e., from 2.33 to −0.429 and from −0.429 to 1 in
the first column of Routh’s array, two roots lie in the left half of the s-plane.
❑ Hence, the System is Unstable.
Instructor: Mr. Biruk Simaani (M.Sc.) 26
 Method 3
❑ When Routh’s array has a zero in the first column, we multiply 𝐹 𝑠 by a factor
(𝑠 + 𝑎), where a is positive, say 1.

❑ Since 𝑠 + 𝑎 𝐹(𝑠) has all zeros of 𝐹′(𝑠)and zero at -a, the change of sign in
Routh’s array of 𝑠 + 1 𝐹 𝑠 will indicate the existence of pseudo positive
roots in 𝐹 𝑠 .
Example 4.5: Consider characteristic equation

Instructor: Mr. Biruk Simaani (M.Sc.) 27

Routh array for the modified characteristics equation is

❖ Since there are two sign changes i.e., from 2 to −1 and

from −1 to 9 in the first column of Routh’s array, two
roots lie in the right half of the s-plane.
❖ Hence, the system is unstable
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 Special Case 2:
❖If all the elements of any row of Routh’s array become zero or if all the
elements of (n-1)th row is an integral multiple of nth row, then it becomes
difficult to examine the stability of the system as determining the terms in
the next row becomes difficult.

Example 4.6: Consider a system whose characteristic equation is given by

Examine the stability of the system using Routh’s array.

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Solution: For the characteristic equation . Routh’s array is formed as:

❖ Since all the elements in the third row of Routh’s array is zero, it becomes
difficult to determine the values of the element present in the next row and
makes the examination of the stability of the system difficult

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 Solution for Such Cases
❑ Consider a Routh’s array in which all the elements of third row are zero as given
below:

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 ❑ Elimination Procedure:
❖ The steps involved in eliminating the above-mentioned difficulty are listed
below:
a) An auxiliary equation, 𝐴(𝑠) is formed with the coefficients present in the
row i.e., just above the row of zeros.
❖ The auxiliary equation is formed with the alternate powers
of 𝒔 starting from the power indicated against it
❖ For the given example, the auxiliary equation is given by

b) The first-order derivative of the auxiliary equation with respect to 𝑠 is

determined, which is given by

c) The coefficients of is used to replace the row of zeros.

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 Routh’s array is given as follows:

d) Now Routh’s array is completed with the help of these new coefficients and
the stability of the system is examined.

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 ❑ On completion of Routh’s array with the help of auxiliary equation, two
suggestions over the stability are as follows:
❖ If there is any sign change in the first column of the modified
Routh’s array, then we can conclude that the system is unstable since
some of the roots lie on the right side of the s-plane.

❖ If there is no sign change in the first column of the modified Routh’s array,
we cannot suggest that the system is stable.
o Only after finding the roots of the auxiliary equation (dominant
roots), we can find the stability of the system.

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 Example 4.7: The characteristic equation of a system is given by s3 + 10s2 + 50s+ 500 =
0. Investigate the stability of the system using Routh’s array.

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 Step 3: The coefficient of the first-order derivative of the auxiliary equation is used to
replace the row of zeros.
The modified Routh’s array is given by

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 ❑ Although there is no sign change in the first column of Routh’s array, the system
cannot be suggested as a stable system.

❑ For suggesting the stability of the system, the roots of the auxiliary equation
A(s) has to be determined.

❑ Upon solving A(s) = 0, i.e., 10s2 + 500 = 0, we obtain 𝑠𝑗 = ±𝑗50 , which are
the dominant roots of the given characteristic equation.

❑ The given system is marginally stable because the dominant roots are on the
imaginary axis of the s-plane.

Instructor: Mr. Biruk Simaani (M.Sc.) 37

 4.4.3. Applications of Routh’s Criterion
A. Relative Stability Analysis:
❑ Routh’s criterion helps in determining the relative
stability of the system about a particular line 𝑠 = −𝑎.

❑ Axis of the s-plane is shifted by –a and then Routh’s

array is formed by substituting 𝑠 = −𝑎(𝑎 →
𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡)in the characteristic equation

❑ The number of sign changes in the first column of the

new Routh’s array is equal to the number of roots
located on the right side of the vertical line 𝑠 = −𝑎

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 B. To Determine the Range of Values of K
❑ Consider a practical system whose block diagram is shown in Figure below.
The range of gain, K could be determined using Routh’s array.

❑ The closed-loop transfer function of the system is given by

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 ❑ Hence, the characteristic equation of the system is given by

❑ The stability of the system or the location of roots of the characteristic equation
(poles of the system) depends on the proper selection of value of gain, K.

❑ To determine the range of K, following steps are used:

a) Routh’s array is completed in terms of gain value K.
b) Range of values of K is determined such that the sign of all values
present in the first column of Routh’s array remains same.

Since the stability of the system depends on the value of the gain K, the system is
conditionally stable.

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4.4.4. Advantages of Routh’s Criterion
❑ It does not require solving the characteristic equation to examine the
stability of the system.

❑ It is less time-consuming method as there is no requirement of finding

the determinant values.
❑ Relative stability of the system is examined.

❑ The value of system gain for which the system has sustained
oscillations could be determined and hence the frequency of
oscillations can also be determined.
❑ Helps in determining the range of system gain for which the system is
stable

Instructor: Mr. Biruk Simaani (M.Sc.) 41

4.4.5. Limitations of Routh’s Criterion
❑ Stability of the system can be examined if and only if the
characteristic equation has real coefficients.

❑ There is difficulty in providing the exact location of the closed-

loop poles.

❑ It does not suggest any method for stabilizing the unstable

system.
❑ It is applicable only to LTI systems.

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 Example 4.8.The characteristic equation of the system is given by
F(s) = s(s2 + s + 1)(s + 4) + K = 0. Investigate the range of values of
gain, K, using Routh’s array for the system to be stable
Solution: The characteristic equation for the system is

Then, Routh’s array is formed as:

The condition for the system to be stable is that

the sign of all the values in the first column
should be the same.
Hence, 𝐾 > 0, 16.8 − 5𝐾 > 0
Therefore, the range of values of gain, K for the
system to be stable is 0 < 𝐾 < 3.36

Instructor: Mr. Biruk Simaani (M.Sc.) 43

 𝐶(𝑠) 1
Example 4.9: A closed-loop system described by = the transfer
𝑅(𝑠) 𝑠 3 +𝛼𝑠 2 +𝐾𝑠+3
function is given by is stable. Determine the constraints on 𝛼 and K .

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 Example 4.10: The feedback control system is shown in Figure below. Find the range
of values of K for the system to be stable.

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 Routh’s array is formed as:

For the system to be stable, 1 + 𝐾 > 0 , 4 + 4𝐾 > 0

𝑎𝑛𝑑 4 − 4𝐾 > 0. This gives −1 < K <1 .
For 0 ≤ K< 1 , the system will remain stable.
Instructor: Mr. Biruk Simaani (M.Sc.) 46
4.5. Stability of Discrete-Time Systems
4.5.1. Discrete-Time Systems
❑ It is a system whose inputs and outputs are discrete-time signals.
❑ A linear Single-Input–Single-Output (SISO) discrete-time system is
modeled by the difference equation.

Where 𝑢 is the input, 𝑦 is the output, and 𝑘 is the

time variable (k = 0,1,2,...).
𝑦(𝑘 + 𝑛) is the present output.
𝑦(𝑘 + 𝑛 − 1) 𝑡𝑜 𝑦(𝑘) is the past outputs.
❑The system can be represented by a transfer function using the z-
transform.
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4.5.2. The z-Transform
❑ For the discrete-time signal x(k), k = 0,1,2,..., the z-transform is defined by

Where z is a complex variable.

The infinite series is convergent over a region of the form |z| ≥ 𝑟0
(region of convergence).

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4.5.3. Properties of the z-transform

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Instructor: Mr. Biruk Simaani (M.Sc.) 50
4.5.4.Transfer Functions
❑ The transfer function of a discrete-time system is the ratio of the z-
transform of the output to the z-transform of the input, assuming zero
initial conditions.

❑ Let 𝑢(𝑘) and 𝑦(𝑘) be the input and output, respectively.

Then,

The transfer function G(z) is defined by ⇒

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Instructor: Mr. Biruk Simaani (M.Sc.) 52
Example 4.11: Finding the Transfer Function from the Difference-Equation Model

Instructor: Mr. Biruk Simaani (M.Sc.) 53

4.5.5. Poles and Zeros
𝑁(𝑧)
❑ For the rational transfer function 𝐺(𝑧) = , the roots of 𝑁(𝑧) =
𝐷(𝑧)
0 are the zeros of G(z) and the roots of D(z) = 0 are the poles of G(z).

4.6. Stability Analysis of Discrete Time Systems

❑ The system is stable if for every bounded input, the output is bounded.
❑ A discrete-time system represented by a rational proper transfer
function 𝐺(𝑧) is stable if and only if all poles of G(z) are inside the
unit circle; that is, |𝑃𝑖 | < 1 for i = 1,...,n, which is equivalent to
σ∞𝑘=0 |𝑔(𝑘)| < ∞ = 0
Where 𝑔(𝑘) = 𝑧 −1 {𝐺(𝑧)}.

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Example:

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Exercises
1. The characteristics equation for a feedback control system is given by

determine the range of ‘K’ values of for which the system is stable.

2. A unity feedback system has a forward loop transfer function :

Determine :
a) The range of K for closed loop system stability.
b) The frequency of oscillations when the system is
marginally stable.

Instructor: Mr. Biruk Simaani (M.Sc.) 56

 3. If a unity feedback system having
is critically stable and oscillates with

a frequency of 2.5rad/sec, calculate the corresponding values of K and p.

4. The characteristics equation for a feedback control system is given by

Determine the range of values of for which the system is stable

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 Thank you for your
Attention

Instructor: Mr. Biruk Simaani (M.Sc.) 58