Is this equation from my lecture notes wrong? (RE: Transfer Functions)

AI Thread Summary
The discussion centers on potential errors in lecture notes regarding the response of first-order and second-order transfer functions to unit sine wave inputs. Concerns are raised about missing terms in the equations, specifically the absence of 'a' in the first-order transfer function and 'ω_n^2' in the second-order transfer function. However, it's clarified that these equations do not necessarily represent mistakes, as they do not mention standard form and the systems lack unity DC-gain. The dynamics of the systems are determined by their pole locations, and rewriting the equations in standard form is not required for understanding. The conversation concludes with an emphasis on the distinction between the numerator's role and the DC-gain in standard form equations.
CraigH
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Mistake 1.

In the lecture slides from my university it says that:

"The response of a stable first-order transfer function to a unit sine wave input is:"

Y(s)=\frac{1}{s+a}*\frac{\omega}{s^2+\omega^2}

Isn't this missing an a in the numerator since the standard form of a first order transfer function is:

H(s) = \frac{1}{\tau s +1} = \frac{a}{s+a}

where \tau=1/a

and the laplace transform of the sine wave input is:

\frac{\omega}{s^2+\omega^2}

Mistake 2.

The lecture slides also say that:

"The response of a stable second-order transfer function to a unit sine wave input is:"

Y(s)=\frac{1}{s^2+2\zeta\omega_n+\omega_n^2}*\frac{\omega}{s^2+\omega^2}

Similarly, isn't this missing an \omega_n^2 in the numerator as the standard form of a second order transfer function is:

H(s) = \frac{\omega_n^2}{s^2+2 \zeta \omega_n s + \omega_n^2}
 
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For your first two cases, I wouldn't necessarily call them mistakes. Your quotes do not mention anything about standard form. The systems do not have unity DC-gain, but there's nothing inherently wrong with that.

I can't really guess as to what's going on in your last case without seeing some context.
 
Thanks for your answer. The last case was just the same equation split into partial fractions. I misread the addition for multiplication. I've deleted that part of the question now.

As for the first two transfer functions, I'm still really confused. I don't even know what questions to ask, I'm really struggling in this module. I'll just ask this though:

In the equation for "The response of a stable second-order transfer function to a unit sine wave input" is the natural undamped frequency \omega_n still given by the \omega_n in the equation, even though it is not in standard form? and likewise for the damping coefficient \zeta?

Could this equation be re-written in standard form so that it has \omega_n^2 in the numerator so that the actual natural undamped frequency can be found?

If the numerator in the given transfer function represents the DC-gain, then what represents the DC gain in the standard form equation?

Thanks again!
 
CraigH said:
In the equation for "The response of a stable second-order transfer function to a unit sine wave input" is the natural undamped frequency \omega_n still given by the \omega_n in the equation, even though it is not in standard form? and likewise for the damping coefficient \zeta?
Since your systems don't have any zeros, their dynamics is determined fully by their pole locations. The poles are the roots of the denominator of the transfer functions of your systems, and since you aren't altering them in any way, nothing changes in terms of the dynamics. All that changes is the (frequency-dependent) gain.

CraigH said:
Could this equation be re-written in standard form so that it has \omega_n^2 in the numerator so that the actual natural undamped frequency can be found?
You don't have to rewrite it.

CraigH said:
If the numerator in the given transfer function represents the DC-gain, then what represents the DC gain in the standard form equation?
A system represented in the standard form always has unity DC-gain. You can easily determine this yourself using the final value theorem. Edit: The numerator alone doesn't represent its DC-gain.
 
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