Confirming Pages
118 CHAPTER 4 System Response
4. Understand the dynamic response of zero-, first-, and second-order measure-
ment and mechatronic systems
5. Be able to use step and sinusoidal inputs to analyze and characterize the
response of measurement and mechatronic systems
6. Understand the analogies among mechanical, electrical, and hydraulic systems.
4.1 SYSTEM RESPONSE
The relationship between the desired output of a mechatronic or measurement sys-
tem and its actual output is the basis of system response analysis. This chapter deals
with analysis techniques that characterize and predict how linear systems respond to
specific inputs. We concentrate on measurement systems, which are often integral
parts of mechatronic systems.
As we saw in Chapter 1, a measurement system consists of three parts: a trans-
ducer, a signal processor, and a recorder. A transducer is a device that usually con-
verts a physical quantity into a time-varying voltage, called an analog signal. A
signal processor can modify the analog signal, and a recorder provides either a tran-
sitory display or storage of the signal. The physical variable we wish to measure is
called the input to the measurement system. The transducer transforms the input into
a form compatible with the signal processor, which in turn modifies the signal, which
then becomes the output of the measurement system. Usually, the recorded output
is different from the actual input, as illustrated in Figure 4.1. Generally, we want to
have the reproduced output signal match the input as closely as possible unless there
is information in the input that we want to eliminate (e.g., electrical noise).
Certain conditions must be satisfied to accomplish adequate reproduction of the
input. For a measurement system with time-varying inputs, three criteria must be
satisfied in order to ensure that we obtain a quality measurement:
1. Amplitude linearity
2. Adequate bandwidth
3. Phase linearity
We examine each of these criteria in detail in the following sections.
4.2 AMPLITUDE LINEARITY
A good measurement system satisfies the criterion of amplitude linearity. Mathemat-
ically, this is expressed as
V
out
t() V
out
0()– α V
in
t() V
in
0()–[]=
(
4.1)
where is a constant of proportionality. This means that the output always changes by
the same factor times the change in the input. If this does not occur, then the system
is not linear with respect to amplitude, and it becomes more difficult to interpret the
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