ABSTRACT
In terms of linear systems, this chapter shows that the stability requirement may be defined in terms of the location of the poles of the closed-loop transfer function. The discussion and determination of stability has occupied the interest of many engineers. Maxwell and Vishnegradsky first considered the question of stability of dynamic systems. In the late 1800s, A. Hurwitz and E. J. Routh published independently a method of investigating the stability of a linear system. The Routh-Hurwitz stability method provides an answer to the question of stability by considering the characteristic equation of the system. Using Routh-Hurwitz methods, the design of a turning control system for a tracked vehicle is considered. The chapter considers the concept of the stability of a feedback control system. The relative stability of a feedback control system was also considered in terms of the location of the poles and zeros of the system transfer function in the s-plane.
