01 | Module
Introduction to System Dynamics and Modeling
System boundaries, lumped elements, and the spring-mass natural frequency.
Start module →Course 18 | Core
System Dynamics
Model mechanical, electrical, thermal, and fluid systems using differential equations, transfer functions, state-space basics, and time response.
Course snapshot
- Purpose
- System Dynamics teaches how physical systems behave before feedback control is designed.
- Next course
- Used in Career directions
- Content status
- Lesson hub
How to study this course
- Define the system boundary
- Choose state or input-output variables
- Build the dynamic model
- Analyze time response
- Check physical sense against limiting cases
01
How this course is designed
One language for every domain
Mechanical, electrical, fluid, and thermal systems share the same first and second-order forms. The course teaches the effort and flow variables that make the analogies exact, so one skill set covers them all.
Model, then read the response
The first five modules build models; the last five read their behaviour through Laplace transforms, transfer functions, first and second-order response, state space, and frequency response.
Worked numbers throughout
Every module includes two fully worked examples with verified arithmetic, grounded in standard system dynamics. Natural frequency, damping ratio, and time constant appear again and again until they are second nature.
02
The 10 modules
02 | Module
Mechanical System Modeling
Translational and rotational elements, damping ratio, and reflected inertia.
Start module →03 | Module
Electrical and Electromechanical Systems
RLC circuits as dynamic systems and the DC motor time constants.
Start module →04 | Module
Fluid and Thermal System Modeling
Fluid and thermal resistance and capacitance, and the first-order time constant.
Start module →05 | Module
Energy Methods, Generalized Variables, and Analogies
Effort and flow variables, stored energy, and the cross-domain analogies.
Start module →06 | Module
Laplace Transforms and Transfer Functions
From differential equations to transfer functions, poles, and DC gain.
Start module →07 | Module
First-Order System Response
The time constant, the step response, and the 63 percent rule.
Start module →08 | Module
Second-Order System Response
Natural frequency, damping ratio, overshoot, and settling time.
Start module →09 | Module
State-Space Modeling and Simulation
State variables, the state matrix, and eigenvalues as system poles.
Start module →10 | Module
Frequency Response and System Analysis
The frequency response function, corner frequency, and the resonant peak.
Start module →