Transfer Function – How to Find Damping and Natural Response in a System with Zero and Complex Pole Pair

active-filterbode plotdamping-factortransfer function

I want to know how to get damping and the natural response in a system with a zero and complex pole pair. I calculated the following transfer function:
(from an active filter composed of 2 capacitors and 3 resistors)

$$
\frac{As}{Bs^2+Cs+D}
$$

Where the poles of s are complex (\$s\rightarrow \alpha\pm j\beta\$) and \$A \neq D\$, I've seen solutions where \$A =D\$ and the system takes the form of:

$$
\frac{\omega_n^2 s}{s^2+2\zeta\omega_n s+\omega_n^2}
$$

But that's not the case in my transfer function.

Best Answer

The first thing I recommend is to rewrite the equation in a low-entropy format in which the numerator and the denominator are unitless. In your case, as underlined by a concerned citizen, the presence of the zero at the origin does not change the exercise.

A second-order polynomial can be put under the following normalized form: \$D(s)=1+b_1s+b_2s^2\$. Then, you can equate this expression with the normalized form where the quality factor \$Q\$ appears and find the correspondence between the terms: \$D(s)=1+\frac{s}{\omega_oQ}+(\frac{s}{\omega_o})^2\$. From there, if you do the maths ok, the you find \$\omega_o=\frac{1}{\sqrt{b_2}}\$ and \$Q=\frac{\sqrt{b_2}}{b_1}\$.

So, in your case, you have \$H(s)=\frac{\omega_n^2 s}{s^2+2\zeta\omega_n s+\omega_n^2}\$. Factor \$\omega_n^2\$ in the numerator and the denominator and you will have the above form for the identification of your coefficients.