Dr.

AMITAVA BISWAS
Department of Applied Physics
Electrical Engineering Section
University of Calcutta
92, APC Road, Kolkata 700 009

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MATHEMATICAL MODELS OF PHYSICAL SYSTEMS

A. LIQUIDLEVEL SYSTEMS

Resistance of LiquidLevel System: The resistance R for liquid flow in such a resistance is
defined as the change in the level difference (the difference of the liquid levels of the two
tanks) necessary to cause a unit change in flow rate; namely,
Change in level difference, m
R =
Change in flow rate, m 3/sec
For laminar flow, the resistance Rl is obtained as
dH H
Rl
dQ Q
Q = steady-state liquid flow rate, m 3/sec

H = steady-state head, m
The laminar-flow resistance is constant and is analogous to the electrical resistance.

Capacitance of LiquidLevel System: The capacitance C of a tank is defined to be change

in quantity of stored liquid necessary to cause a unity change in the potential (heat).
Change in liquid stored, m 3
C =
Change in head, m
It should be noted that the capacity m 3 and the capacitance m 2 are different. The
capacitance of the tank is equal to its cross-section area. If this constant, the capacitance is
constant for any head.

1. LIQUID-LEVEL SYSTEMS
Consider the system shown in Fig.1. The variables are defined as follows:
Q = steady-state flow rate (before any change has occurred), m 3/sec
q i = small deviation of inflow rate from its steady-state value, m 3/sec
q o = small deviation of outflow rate from its steady-state value, m 3/sec
H = steady-state head (before any change has occurred), m
h = small deviation of head from its steady-state value, m
 Fig. 1 : Liquid-level system. Fig.2 : Liquid-level system with interaction.

Assume that the liquid-level system is linear, the differential equation of this system
can be obtained as follows :

Since the inflow minus outflow during the small time interval dt is equal to the
additional amount stored in the tank, we see that
C dh ( q i q o )dt
From the definition of resistance, the relationship between q o and h is given by
h
R or h R qo
qo
The differential equation for this system for a constant value of R becomes
dq o
RC qo qi (1)
dt
Taking the Laplace transform of both sides of equation (1), assuming a zero initial condition,
we obtain
( RCs 1) Qo Qi
If q i is considered the input and q o the output, the transfer function of the system is
Q o (s) 1

Q i (s) RCs 1
where RC has the dimension of time constant of the liquid-level system.

2. LIQUID-LEVEL SYSTEMS WITH INTERACTION

Consider the system shown in Fig. 2. In this system, the two tanks interact. We
assume only small variations of the variables from the steady-state values. Using the
symbols as defined in Fig. 2, we can obtain the following equations for this system:
h1 h 2
q
R1

dh1
C1 qi q
dt
(2)
h2
qo
R2

dh 2
C2 q qo
dt
Taking the Laplace transforms of both sides of equations (2), assuming a zero initial
condition, we obtain
 H1 (s) H 2 (s)
Q(s)
R1

C1 s H1 (s) Qi (s) Q(s)
(3)
H 2 (s)
Qo (s)
R2

C 2 sH(s) Q(s) Qo (s)
If q i is considered the input and q o the output, the transfer function of the system is find
from the equation (3)
Qo (s) 1

Qi (s) 2
R1R 2C 2 s ( R1C1 R 2C 2 R 2C1 ) s 1

B. PRESSURE SYSTEMS
Consider the pressure system shown in Fig.3. The gas flow through
the restriction is a function of the gas pressure difference p i p o . Such pressure system
may be characterized in terms of a resistance and capacitance.

Resistance of Pressure Systems: The gas flow resistance R may be defined as the change
in gas pressure difference d(P) to change in gas flow rate dq .
Change in gas pressure difference, lb/ft 2 d(P)
R =
Change in gas flow rate, lb/sec dq

Capacitance of Pressure Systems: The capacitance C of the pressure vessel may be defined
as to be change in gas stored to change in gas pressure.
Change in gas stored, lb dm d
C = V
Change in gas pressure, lb dp dp

Pressure system
Consider the system shown in Fig.3. We assume only small deviations in the variables
from their respective steady-state values, and then this system may be considered linear.
Let us define as follows:

For small value of p i and p o , the resistance may be written as

p po
R i
q
The capacitance C is given by
dm
C
dp
Since the pressure change dp o times the capacitance C is equal to the gas added to the
vessel during dt seconds, we obtain
 C dp o q dt
dp o p i po
or C
dt q
which can be written as
dpo
RC po pi (1)
dt
Taking the Laplace transform of both sides of equation (1), assuming a zero initial condition,
we obtain
( RCs 1 ) Po P
i

If Pi (s) is considered the input and Po (s) the output, the transfer function of the system
is
Po (s) 1

Pi (s) RCs 1
where RC has the dimension of time constant of the system.

C. THERMAL SYSTEM
Consider the thermal system shown in Fig. 1. Thermal systems are
those which involve the transfer of heat from one substance to another. Thermal systems
may be analyzed in terms of resistance and capacitance, although the thermal.

Resistance of Thermal Systems: The thermal resistance R for heat transfer between two
substances may be defined as follows :
Change in temperature difference, o C d()
R = 1
Change in heat flow rate, kcal/sec dq K

Capacitance of Thermal Systems: The thermal capacitance C is defined by

Change in heat stored, kcal
C = Mc
Change in temperature, o C

Thermal System
Consider the system shown in Fig.4. We assume that the tank is insulated to
eliminate heat loss to the surrounding air. Thus, a single temperature is used to describe the
temperature of the liquid in the tank and of the outflowing liquid.

Assume that the temperature of the inflowing liquid is kept constant and that the heat
input rate to the system is suddenly changed from H to H hi and corresponding the outflow
rate will then change gradually from H h o . The temperature of the inflowing liquid is
suddenly change from i to i and the outflowing liquid will be changed from . o to o .
Now R and C obtain respectively, as
 o
R and C Mc
ho
The heat balance equation for this system is
C d o ( h i h o ) dt
d o
or C hi ho
dt
d
or RC o o i
dt
The transfer function relation o and i is given by

o (s) 1

i (s) RCs 1
where RC has the dimension of time constant of the system.