EC 221:

CLASSICAL CONTROL
SYSTEMS ENGINEERING
Instructor: Mr. Mwalongo M, R
Assistant Lecturer
Office No. AB 12 (Admin Block)
E-mail: mwalongomarko@gmail.com
 LECTURE (8)

Root Locus Stability Analysis Method

 Root Locus Stability Analysis Method

Lecture outline

 What is root locus

 How to sketch root-locus

 How to determine the closed loop poles via root locus

 How to use root locus to describe the transient

 Response, and stability of a system as system parameter is

varied. 3
 Root Locus Stability Analysis Method

 For a system designer: two things are very important.

1) The stability-----determined by the roots obtained from

the characteristic equation 1+G(s)H(s)=0 (Solving the

equation or applying Routh’s criterion to this equation).

2)The degree of stability-----i.e., the amount of

overshoot, the settling time of the controlled variable

4
(Specifications).
 Root Locus Stability Analysis Method

 Definition : Root locus

 The root locus is a plot of the roots of the characteristic

equation of the closed-loop system as system parameter

varies, usually the gain K.

 It is a method that determines how the poles move around

the S-plane as we change one control parameter.

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 Root Locus Stability Analysis Method

 Definition : Root locus

 This plot was introduced by Evans in 1948 and has been

developed and used extensively in control engineering.

 The method requires the location of open loop poles and

zeros to be known.

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 Root Locus Stability Analysis Method

 Root locus method vs Routh-Hurwitz method:

 The Root Locus Method - tells us the position of the poles

in the s-plane for each value of a control parameter.

 The Routh-Hurwitz Method - could only tell us for which

values of the control parameter the poles would be to the

left of a given vertical axis in the s-plane. Can not tell

information about amount of overshoot, time of the system

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response w.r.t to the open loop gain.

 Root Locus Stability Analysis Method

 It is a powerful method of analysis and design for stability

and transient response.

 By using root locus method we can:

 Analyze system’s transient response and also stability.

 Determine structure and parameter of the system.

 Design compensator for control system.

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 Root Locus Stability Analysis Method

 Root locus method is applicable to both continuous and

discrete time systems.

 For continuous system, the region of stability is LHS of s-

plane.

 For discrete systems the region of stability is all points inside

the unit circle.

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 Root Locus Stability Analysis Method

General block diagram of a feedback system

 Closed loop transfer function =

 K= the gain

 KG(s)H(s)= the open loop transfer function

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 Root Locus Stability Analysis Method

 The poles of C(s)/R(s)(transient-response modes) are

related to the Zeros and the Poles of the open-loop

transfer function G(s)H(s) and also the gain

( ) )( )..(
K
( ) )( )..(

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 Angle Condition and Magnitude Condition

 Relationship between the open-loop and closed loop poles

and zeros

Characteristic equation

Magnitude criterion

 Magnitude criteria is used to determine the loop gain of a

root position. 12
 Angle Condition and Magnitude Condition

Angle criterion

 The angle condition is the point at which the angle of the

open loop transfer function is an odd multiple of

 Angle criteria is used to determine if a point in the s-plane

is root locus or not. 13

 Sketching Root Locus

Sketching rules
 Rule #1: Locate the open loop poles and zeros in the ‘s’ plane

 Rule #2: Find the number of root locus branches

root locus branches start at the open loop poles and end at open
loop zeros (including those at infinity)

 Rule #3: There will be as many separate loci as the largest

number of finite open loop poles or zeros. For the majority of
systems, the number of finite open loop poles are greater than the
finite number of open loop zeros. 14
 Sketching Root Locus

 Rule #4: The root loci are symmetrical with respect to the real

axis.

 Rule #5: Identify and draw the real axis root locus branches

 If the angle of the open loop transfer function at a point is an

odd multiple of 1800, then that point is on the root locus.

 The root loci may be found on portions of the real axis to the

left of an odd number of open loop poles and zeros.

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 Sketching Root Locus

 Rule #6: Find the centroid and the angle of asymptotes

 Asymptotes give the direction of these root locus branches.

 If , then all the root locus branches start at finite open loop

poles and end at finite open loop zeros.

 If , then number of root locus branches start at finite

open loop poles and end at infinite open loop zeros.

 If , then number of root locus branches start at

infinite open loop poles and end at finite open loop zeros.
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 Sketching Root Locus

 The asymptotes intersect real axis at a point given by

 The intersection point of asymptotes on the real axis is known

as centroid.

 The formula for the angle of asymptotes θ is

(2k  1)
a  k=0,1,2…(n-m)-1)
# finite poles - # finite zeros

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 Sketching Root Locus

RD = # finite poles- # finite zeros 18

 Sketching Root Locus

 Rule #7 : Find Break-away and Break-in points

 Breakaway point is the point where the locus leaves the real-axis.

 Break-in point is the point where the locus returns to the real-

axis.

 The point on the real axis at which the loci breaks away or breaks

into the real axis can be calculated as ;

 By differentiation or by transition method

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 Sketching Root Locus

Find Break-away and Break-in points By differentiation or

 We know that for a point to be on a Root-locus,

 Thus, on the real-axis (jω = 0),

 Note also that at the breakaway point, K is maximum (for the

R-L on the real-axis), and at the break-in point, K is minimum.

 Breakaway & Break-in point can be found by

 differentiating K G( )H( ) = -1 and set it to zero. 20

 Sketching Root Locus

 By transition

 This method eliminates the step of differentiation.

 This method states that:

 Breakaway & break-in points satisfy the following relationship:

 Where Zi and Pj are the negative of the zero and pole values,
respectively, of G(s)H(s). 21
 Sketching Root Locus

 Rule #8. Find the intersection of root locus branches with

imaginary axis.

 This can be determined by use of Routh array criterion for

marginally stability.

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 Sketching Root Locus
Example1:
Consider the system shown below, plot the root locus of this
system

 Where
𝒑
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 Sketching Root Locus

Example1:

 open loop poles:

 , Three zeros at

 Closed loop transfer function =

 The characteristics equation = 24

 Sketching Root Locus

 step1: pole Zero plot

rule #5

 Step 2 : Centroid and Asymptotes (RD=3)

 Angles of asymptotes
25
 Sketching Root Locus

Example1:

 Step 3: breakaway point

 Step 4 : Plot the root locus

 Locus must be symmetric

to real axis

 3 open loop zeros are at

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infinity
 Sketching Root Locus
Example2:
Consider a unity feedback system shown below, plot the root
locus of this system

 Where
27
 Sketching Root Locus

 step1: pole Zero plot

rule #5

 Step 2 : Centroids and Asymptotes (RD=3)

 Centroid

 Angles of asymptotes =90,270

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𝒐
 Sketching Root Locus
Example2:

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Design using magnitude and angle conditions

 Exercise 1: Find the value of K which places closed loop pole at -5

for the system

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Design using magnitude and angle conditions

Exercise 2: let in the feedback loop. Draw the root

locus and find the K corresponding to Imaginary axis crossing and the

corresponding poles

Exercise 3: Consider the figure below. let ; Using

root locus, design K such that

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 Reading assignment
1.Control systems engineering, by Norman S. Nise Chapter 8 & 9

2. Modern Control systems by Dorf & Bishop chapter 7

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