ISA Transactions 48 (2009) 32–37

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ISA Transactions
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An efficient numerical algorithm for stability testing of fractional-delay systems

Farshad Merrikh-Bayat ∗ , Masoud Karimi-Ghartemani
Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran

article info a b s t r a c t

Article history: This paper presents a numerical algorithm for BIBO stability testing of a certain class of the so-called
Received 11 June 2008 fractional-delay systems. The characteristic function of the systems under consideration is a multi-valued
Received in revised form function of the Laplace variable s which is defined on a Riemann surface with finite number of Riemann
13 September 2008
sheets where the origin is a branch point. The stability analysis of such systems is not straightforward
Accepted 13 October 2008
Available online 11 November 2008
because there is no universally applicable analytical method to find the roots of the characteristic
equation on the right half-plane of the first Riemann sheet. The proposed method is based on the Rouche’s
Keywords:
theorem which provides the number of the zeros of a given function in a given simple closed contour.
Fractional delay equation One advantage of the proposed method over previous works is that it gives the number and the location
Stability analysis of the unstable poles. The algorithm has a reliable result which is illustrated by several examples.
Numerical algorithm © 2008 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Fractional-order system

1. Introduction those described by the transfer function

n2
r
q0 (s) + qk (s)e−βk s
P
A large number of circuits and systems have distributed
k=1
parameters and/or delay elements. Thermal processes, hole G(s) = n1
, (3)
diffusion of transistors, electromagnetic devices, and transmission p0 (s) +
P
pk (s)e−γk s
r

lines are typical examples. The mathematical models in the Laplace k =1

transform domain for √ these systems commonly appear as a ratio where r is a real number such that 0 < r < 1, the pk are of the
of two polynomials in s in combination with the fractional-delay
form jk=0 aj sαj with αj ∈ R+ and the qk are of the form j=k0 bj sδj
Pl Pm
√
term exp(− s) [1,2]. For example,
with δj ∈ R+ . The function G as defined in (3) is a multi-valued
√ function of the Laplace variable s the domain of definition of which
tanh s
H (s) = √ , (1) is, in general, a Riemann surface with infinite number of Riemann
s sheets [3]. In the rest of this paper, we restrict our studies to a
special case of (3) in which the powers of the Laplace variable s
appears in a boundary controlled and observed diffusion process in
are positive rational numbers. This is not a considerable loss of
a bounded domain [2]. As another example, the transfer function generality as it covers almost all practical studies [2].
√
It is a well recognized fact that a fractional-delay system has,
cosh sx0 in general, infinite number of poles and zeros unless it can be
H (s) = √ √ , 0 < x0 < 1, (2)
s sinh s expressed in the special form of

corresponds to the heat equation with Neumann boundary control
[2]. Other examples of a similar type can be found in Curtain
and Zwart [2]. The presence of a fractional-order time delay in a
feedback control system leads to a characteristic equation with
infinity many isolated roots which is often called the fractional-
delay equation. In the literature, the fractional-delay systems are
b0 smα + b1 s(m−1)α + · · · + bm
G(s) = , (4)
snα + a1 s(n−1)α + · · · + an
where m, n ∈ N, α ∈ (0, 1] and ai , bj ∈ R for i = 1, . . . , n and
j = 1, . . . , m. The function G as defined in (4) is often called the
fractional system of commensurate order. It is a well-known fact [4]
that (4) is BIBO stable if and only if all roots of the equation

w n + a1 w n − 1 + · · · + an = 0 , (5)
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +98 21 66165982. lie in the sector
E-mail addresses: fbayat@ee.sharif.edu (F. Merrikh-Bayat), karimig@sharif.edu π
(M. Karimi-Ghartemani). | arg(w)| > α, (6)
2
0019-0578/$ – see front matter © 2008 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.isatra.2008.10.003
 F. Merrikh-Bayat, M. Karimi-Ghartemani / ISA Transactions 48 (2009) 32–37 33

in w plane where w = sα .
In the field of infinite-dimensional fractional-delay systems
most studies are concerned about the stability of √ a class of
distributed
√
systems whose transfer functions involve s and/or
e− s [5,6]. Recently, several authors have studied the stability
of a class of more general fractional-delay systems. For example,
Hotzel [7] presented the stability conditions for fractional-delay
systems with the characteristic equation (asα + b) + (csα +
d)e−ρ s = 0, and Chen and Moore [8] analyzed the stability of a
class of fractional-delay systems whose characteristic function can
be represented as the product of factors of the form (as + b)r ecs + d,
where the parameters a, b, c, d, and r are real numbers. See Hwang
and Cheng [9] for a survey on this subject.
In the literature few theorems are available for stability testing
of fractional-delay systems. Almost all of these theorems are based
Fig. 1. The suitable contour for stability testing in classical case.
on the locations of the transfer function poles [10,11] and since
there is no universally applicable analytical method for solving
fractional-delay equations in s domain, the numerical approach is 2. Review of Rouche’s theorem
commonly used.
The most famous numerical approach for studying the stability Consider the function f : C → C which has zeros of
of a certain class of the fractional-delay systems is the so-called orders m1 , . . . , mk respectively at α1 , . . . , αk and poles of orders
Lambert W function which provides the solutions of the equation p1 , . . . , pn respectively at β1 , . . . , βn . Obviously the function f can
ses = x where x ∈ C is an arbitrarily chosen constant [12]. There be written as
are also few other numerical methods that are based on the Cauchy
(s − α1 )m1 . . . (s − αk )mk
integral theorem [3] which states that if f (s) is nonsingular on and f (s) = g (s) , (9)
inside the contour Γ , then the complex integral (s − β1 )p1 . . . (s − βn )pn
1
I where g (s) has neither (finite) pole nor (finite) zero. By taking the
I = f (s)ds, (7) logarithm from both sides of (9) we obtain
2π i Γ
vanishes. Otherwise, it is evaluated to be the sum of the residues ln f (s) = ln g (s) + m1 ln(s − α1 ) + · · · + mk ln(s − αk )
of the function f (s) at the poles in Γ . So, in order to examine the − p1 ln(s − β1 ) − · · · − pn ln(s − βn ). (10)
stability of a system with the characteristic function f (s) one may
try to evaluate (7) and then compare its value with zero, where Derivation with respect to s yields
Γ is the border of the region of instability. But since it may occur f 0 ( s) g 0 (s) m1 mk
that the sum of the residues of f (s) at all poles in Γ is zero, the = + + ··· +
f ( s) g (s) s − α1 s − αk
I = 0 is only a necessary condition for f (s) to be nonsingular in
Γ . To overcome this difficulty, Hwang and Cheng [9] proposed a p1 pn
− − ··· − . (11)
numerical algorithm which uses the modified explanation of (7) in s − β1 s − βn
the form of
Now let γ be a simple, closed, counterclockwise curve such that
i∞
f (s) f (s) has neither pole nor zero on it. Then it is concluded from the
Z
Jk = ds. (8) Residue theorem that
−i∞ (s + h1 + ih2 )k f (ih2 )
In (8), h1 > 0 and h2 are randomly chosen real constants lying in a f 0 ( s)
k n
I
1 X X
specified interval and k is a positive integer. The randomness of the ds = mj − pj = M − P , (12)
2π i γ f (s) j =1 j=1
parameters h1 and h2 makes the probability of the zero sum of the
residues of all poles of the integrand being practically zero. Hence, considering the fact that g (s) is analytic on and inside γ . Eq. (12)
the stability of a given fractional-delay system can be achieved is an explanation of Rouche’s theorem. If f (s) has no pole inside γ
by evaluating the integral Jk and comparing its value with zero.
then it is concluded from (12) that
As stated in [9], this approach should be carried out for different
values of h1 , h2 , and k in order to obtain a reliable result. Anyway, f 0 ( s)
I
1
the algorithm proposed by Hwang and Cheng [9] provides no idea ds = M . (13)
2π i γ f (s)
about the number and the location of unstable poles.
In this paper, we will introduce another numerical algorithm In classical case (i.e. in dealing with single-valued transfer
for stability testing of the fractional-delay systems which does functions), the BIBO stability of a given system can be examined
not suffer from the above drawbacks. The proposed method by choosing f (s) equal to the characteristic function where γ is
is applicable to all systems the transfer function of which are the semicircle shown in Fig. 1. In the next section, a modified
in the form of (3), assuming that all powers of s are positive explanation of (13) will be used to find the number of the zeros
rational numbers. This method is based on Rouche’s theorem of the multi-valued characteristic function ∆(s) inside the contour
which computes the number of the zeros of a function in a given γ which is chosen equal to the border of instability.
contour. One advantage of the proposed method is that it enables
one to determine the number of unstable poles. It also computes
the location of unstable poles with an arbitrary precision. 3. The proposed numerical algorithm
The rest of this paper is arranged as follows. Rouche’s theorem
is reviewed in Section 2. The proposed numerical algorithm and Let ∆(s) be the characteristic function of a (multi-valued)
numerical examples are presented in Sections 3 and 4, respectively. fractional-delay system which can be transformed to the single-
1
Finally, Section 5 concludes the paper. e(w) with the change of variable w = s v . Then,
valued function ∆
34 F. Merrikh-Bayat, M. Karimi-Ghartemani / ISA Transactions 48 (2009) 32–37

Note that in the above equation the order of integration

and limitation can be changed since the integral is uniformly
convergent. In order to evaluate the second integral in (15) when
R → ∞ and α = 2πv , the change of variable r = tan x is applied. By
using this change of variable the improper integral is transformed
to a proper one, which can be numerically evaluated by software.
It then follows that
π
e0 (rei 2πv ) i π e0 (tan xei 2πv ) i π
( ) ( )
∞
∆ ∆
Z Z
2
= e 2v dr = = e 2v
0 e(rei 2πv )
∆ 0 e(tan xei 2πv )
∆
× (1 + tan2 x)dx. (20)
Substituting (19) and (20) in (15) yields
Z π ( e0 π
)
Fig. 2. The contour used for stability testing of fractional delay systems.
 π p 1 2 ∆ (tan xei 2v ) i π
M ∞, = − = e 2v
2v 2v π 0 e(tan xei 2πv )
∆
the number of the roots of ∆ e(w) = 0 inside the contour γ (as
shown in Fig. 2) is calculated from (13) as × (1 + tan2 x)dx. (21)

e0 (re−iα ) −iα α e0 (Reiθ ) iθ Eq. (21) is the key formula of this paper which can be used to find
∆ R
∆
Z Z
1
M (R, α) = e dr + Rie dθ the number of unstable zeros of the characteristic function (17).
2π i e −i α )
r =0 ∆(re θ=−α e(Reiθ )
∆ In some applications the exact location of the roots of the
(multi-valued) equation ∆(s) = 0 on the first Riemann sheet is
Z 0 e 0 iα
∆ (re ) iα

+ e dr , (14) e(w) = 0 in
required. In order to find the modulus of the roots of ∆
e iα
r =R ∆(re )
the sector | arg w| < π /v (which corresponds to the first Riemann
which after some algebra yields sheet), first we let α = π /v and then calculate M (R, π /v) for
e0 (Reiθ ) α
) ( several values of R from (15). Then, the distance of the roots from
∆
Z
1
M (R, α) = R R ei θ d θ the origin can be investigated by plotting M (R, π /v) versus R. For
π 0
e(Reiθ )
∆ instance, let R1 and R2 (> R1 ) be two successive values of R such
Z R ( e0 iα ) ! that
∆ (re ) iα
− = e dr , (15) M (R2 ) ≈ M (R1 ) + k, (22)
0
e(reiα )
∆
for some k ∈ N (this means that there is an integer jump in the
where R{.} and ={.} stand for the real and the imaginary part, plot of M versus R). In this case, (22) implies that there are k roots
respectively. Note that for reasons of simplicity it is assumed that in the region defined by R1 < |w| < R2 and | arg w| < π /v .
e(w) = 0 has no roots on γ . It is a well-known fact that the
∆ In the proposed method, the values of R1 and R2 must be chosen
characteristic equation ∆(s) = 0 corresponds to a BIBO stable to be close so that (22) holds for k = 1 (or k = 2, if k = 1 is
e(w) = 0 has no roots in the sector
system [10,11] if and only if ∆ not possible, i.e. if there is a pair of complex conjugate roots in the
π contour). In brief, in order to determine the modulus of the roots
| arg(w)| ≤ . (16) e(w) = 0, plot M (R, π /v) versus R. The values of R, for which
of ∆
2v
√ √ there is an integer jump in this plot, correspond to the modulus of
For example, a system with the characteristic equation s + e s = the roots.
0 is BIBO stable if and only if all roots of the equation w + ew = 0 After determining the distance of the roots from the origin, their
lie in the sector | arg(w)| > π /4. phase angle can also be determined. Let R1 , . . . , Rn be the distance
Hence, in order to find the number of unstable roots of the of the roots of ∆e(w) = 0 from the origin where by assumption
(multi-valued) characteristic function ∆(s), first we transform it R1 < · · · < Rn . Assume that wi is a root of ∆ e(w) = 0 such that
to the single-valued function ∆ e(w) with the change of variable |wi | = Ri . In order to determine arg(wi ), plot M (R0 , α) versus
w = s v and then calculate M (∞, 2πv ) from (15). To proceed, we
1
α where R0 ∈ (Ri , Ri+1 ) is an arbitrarily chosen constant and
e(w) in the general form of
consider ∆ 0 < α < π /v . The values of α for which there is an integer jump
in this plot correspond to the phase angle of wi . Finally, the roots
n
βi of ∆(s) = 0 can be obtained from the roots of ∆ e(w) = 0 using the
Pi (w)e−αi w ,
X
e(w) = e
∆ P0 (w) + (17)
map s = w v .
e
i=1
There is another point that should be noted here and that is
where αi ∈ R , βi ∈ {1, . . . , v}, and Pi are polynomials in w , in
+
the proposed method can also be used to examine the stability of
particular, more complicated systems. For example, consider a system with
√
the characteristic function ∆(s) = 1 + s2 + s + 1 + e−s . In order
3
P0 (w) = a0 w p + · · · + ap−1 w + ap ,
e (18)
to find the number of unstable poles first we should apply a change
where p ∈ N and ai ∈ R for i = 0, . . . , p. Note that the of variable to make the characteristic function single valued. For
e(w) (as defined in (17)) covers almost all √
characteristic function ∆ example, we can use w =
3 2
s + s + 1 + e−s which results in
real-world applications [2]. Now, for R → ∞ and α = 2πv , the first e(w) = 1 + w. Now, according to (13), the number of unstable
∆
integral in (15) is evaluated as roots, M, can be calculated as
π
e0 (Reiθ ) iθ
∆
 
e0 (w)
∆
Z
2v
I I
1 1 1
lim R Re dθ = M = dw = dw,
R→∞ 0 e(Reiθ )
∆ 2π i e(w)
∆ 2π i w+1
Γ Γ
Z π
a0 p(Reiθ )p−1 + · · · + ap−1 iθ pπ where Γ is the projection
 
2v
√ of the semicircle shown in Fig. 1 under
lim R Re dθ = . (19)
the map s 7→ w =
3 2
0 R →∞ a 0 ( Re iθ )p + · · · + a
p 2v s + s + 1 + e−s which is shown in Fig. 3.
 F. Merrikh-Bayat, M. Karimi-Ghartemani / ISA Transactions 48 (2009) 32–37 35

Fig. 3. The contour of integration√for studying the stability of a system with

characteristic function ∆(s) = 1 + s2 + s + 1 + e−s .
3

Fig. 4. The plot of M (R, π/100) versus R corresponding to Example 1.

In this example it is easily seen that M = 0 since ∆ e0 (w)/∆e(w)
has no pole inside Γ . In general, it is not straightforward to apply
the above method to find the number of unstable poles because
the contour Γ is not easily parameterized and consequently, the
e0 (w)/∆
∆ e(w)dw is a tricky task.
H
evaluation of Γ

4. Numerical examples

In this section, several examples are provided to show the

effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. A convenient approach
Rb
to evaluate the proper integral a g (x)dx is to define I (b) :=
Rb
a
g (x)dx and then solve the initial-value problem

dI (x)
= g (x), I (a) = 0. (23)
dx
In the following examples, this approach is used to evaluate the
integrals in (15) and (21). The Matlab function ode23 which is an
implementation of an explicit Runge–Kutta (2,3) pair of Bogacki Fig. 5. The plot of M (0.92, α) versus α corresponding to Example 1.
and Shampine [13] is found to be accurate enough for this purpose.
that there are two complex conjugate roots in the region defined
Example 1. Consider the fractional-order transfer function pro- by
posed by Podlubny et al. [14] for a heating furnace:
| arg w| < π /100, 0.918 < |w| < 0.919, (27)
1
P ( s) = , (24) i.e. the modulus of the roots is between 0.918 and 0.919. By plotting
14994s1.31 + 6009.5s0.97 + 1.69
M (R, π /100) versus R ∈ [0.918, 0.919] the exact modulus of the
which is intuitively stable. In the following, we will determine the roots is found to be R1 ≈ 0.91848.
location of the (stable) poles of P (s) on the first Riemann sheet
using the proposed algorithm. The transfer function P (s) can be The phase angle of the roots can be obtained by plotting
represented in the equivalent form M (0.92, α) versus α , which is shown in Fig. 5. It is concluded from
this figure that the absolute value of the phase angles is between
1 0.03122 rad and 0.03125 rad. Hence, the roots (in the complex
P ( s) = 131 97
, (25) w plane) are calculated as w1,2 ≈ 0.91848e±i0.0312 . The location
14994s 100 + 6009.5s 100 + 1.69 of the roots on the first Riemann sheet of the s Riemann surface
which corresponds to can be obtained using the map s = w 100 , which results in s1,2 ≈
2.0275 × 10−4 e±i3.12 . As expected, both poles are located on the
1 left half-plane of the first Riemann sheet. Note that the number
P (w) =
e . (26)
14994w 131 + 6009.5w 97 + 1.69 of unstable poles can also be calculated from (21) which leads to
M (∞, π /200) = −0.0001 and can be safely regarded as zero.
It is easily seen that P (s) has 131 poles distributed on 100 Riemann
P (w) on the first
sheets. In order to find the location of the poles of e
e(w) = 14994w131 + 6009.5w 97 + 1.69 Example 2. Consider the fractional-delay characteristic function
Riemann sheet we let ∆
and then calculate M (R, π /100) from (15) for several values of √ √ √
e(w) with (17) and (18) leads to p = ∆(s) = ( s)2 + K ( s + 1)e− s , (28)
R (note that comparing ∆
131). Fig. 4 shows the plot of M (R, π /100) versus R. As it is seen, where K is a positive real constant. It has been shown by Ozturk
M (0.918, π /100) ≈ 0 and M (0.919, π /100) ≈ 2 which implies and Uraz [5] that ∆(s) corresponds to a stable system if K < 21.51
36 F. Merrikh-Bayat, M. Karimi-Ghartemani / ISA Transactions 48 (2009) 32–37

Fig. 7. The plot of M (R, π/4) versus R corresponding to Example 2 (K = 22).

Fig. 6. The plot of M (R, π/4) versus R corresponding to Example 2 (K = 21).

and has some roots in the sector of instability | arg(w)| ≤ π /4 if

K > 21.51. In order to deal with the stability of the characteristic
function (28) with the proposed method, the change of variable
w = s1/v = s1/2 is applied which results in
e(w) = w 2 + K (w + 1)e−w .
∆ (29)

Comparing (29) with (17) and (18) leads to p = 2. Numerical

evaluation of (21) for K = 22 and K = 21 results in M (∞, π /4) =
2.0000 and M (∞, π /4) = 2.1412 × 10−5 , respectively which
means that (28) has two unstable poles for K = 22 and is stable
for K = 21. Fig. 6 shows the plot of M (R, π /4) versus R for k = 21.
As it is expected, there is no integer jump in this figure. In order
to find the modulus of the unstable roots of ∆ e(w) = 0 when
K = 22, M (R, π /4) must be calculated for several values of R.
Fig. 7 shows the plot of M (R, π /4) versus R in this case. As viewed,
M (3, π/4) ≈ 0 and M (3.1, π /4) ≈ 2 which implies that there are
two (complex conjugate roots) in the region defined by
Fig. 8. The plot of M (3.5, α) versus α corresponding to Example 2 (K = 22).
π
3 < |w| < 3.1, | arg(w)| < . (30)
4 proposed method. By using the change of variable w = s1/2 the
In the same manner, by inspecting the values of R between 3 and corresponding characteristic function in w -plane is obtained as
3.1 the exact modulus of the roots is found as R1 ≈ 3.085. The
phase angle of the roots of ∆e(w) = 0 can be obtained by plotting e(w) = w3 − 1.5w 2 − 1.5w 2 e−τ w2 + 4w + 8.
∆
M (R0 , α) versus α , where R0 > R1 is an arbitrarily chosen constant. Now, the numerical evaluation of (21) for τ = 0.99 and τ = 1
Fig. 8 shows the plot of M (3.5, α) versus α . According to this figure, results in M (∞, π /4) = 2.0082 and M (∞, π /4) = −0.0047,
there are two roots in the region defined by respectively which means that (32) is stable for τ = 1 and unstable
for τ = 0.99. This result is completely consistent with the one
0 < |w| < 3.5, 0.764 < | arg(w)| < 0.7954. (31)
presented by Ozturk and Uraz [6]. One can also use the proposed
By inspecting the values of α in the interval [0.764, 0.7954] the method to find the locations of the unstable poles which is not
absolute value of the phase angle of the roots of ∆ e(w) = 0 is discussed here.
found to be 0.782 rad. Therefore, the roots of (29) in the complex w
Example 4. Consider the fractional-order characteristic function
plane are w1,2 ≈ 3.085e±i0.782 . The locations of the unstable roots
of (28) can be calculated using the map s = w 2 , which results in ∆(s) = s5/6 + (s1/2 + s1/3 )e−0.5s + e−s . (33)
s1,2 ≈ 9.5172e±i1.564 . As expected, both roots lie in the right half-
plane of the first Riemann sheet. Hwang and Cheng [9] have obtained the roots of (33) via the
Lambert W function and have shown that the corresponding
system is stable. Clearly, in order to apply the proposed numerical
Example 3. Consider a fractional-delay system with the character- algorithm, the change of variable w = s1/6 should be used which
istic function yields
√ √ √ √
∆(s) = ( s)3 − 1.5( s)2 − 1.5( s)2 e−τ s + 4( s) + 8. (32) e(w) = w5 + (w 3 + w2 )e−0.5w6 + e−w6 .
∆ (34)
Ozturk and Uraz [6] have shown that this system has no pole in the Putting (34) in (21) yields M (∞, π /12) = −0.0190 which can
sector of instability | arg(w)| ≤ π /4 for τ ∈ (0.99830, 1.57079). be safely regarded as zero. Hence, the characteristic function (33)
In the following, we study the stability properties of (32) using the corresponds to a stable system as expected.
 F. Merrikh-Bayat, M. Karimi-Ghartemani / ISA Transactions 48 (2009) 32–37
5. Conclusions
An effective numerical algorithm for stability testing of a
large class of fractional delay systems is presented. The proposed
numerical method is based on Rouche’s theorem which can be
used to find the number of zeros of a given function in a simple
closed contour. One advantage of the proposed method is that it
also provides the number and the exact location of the stable and
unstable poles. Four numerical examples are presented to confirm
the effectiveness of the proposed method.
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