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 in the guided sequence
- Used in Career Directions
Choose later
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
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.
The 10 modules
01 | Module
Introduction to System Dynamics and Modeling
System boundaries, lumped elements, and the spring-mass natural frequency.
02 | Module
Mechanical System Modeling
Translational and rotational elements, damping ratio, and reflected inertia.
03 | Module
Electrical and Electromechanical Systems
RLC circuits as dynamic systems and the DC motor time constants.
04 | Module
Fluid and Thermal System Modeling
Fluid and thermal resistance and capacitance, and the first-order time constant.
05 | Module
Energy Methods, Generalized Variables, and Analogies
Effort and flow variables, stored energy, and the cross-domain analogies.
06 | Module
Laplace Transforms and Transfer Functions
From differential equations to transfer functions, poles, and DC gain.
07 | Module
First-Order System Response
The time constant, the step response, and the 63 percent rule.
08 | Module
Second-Order System Response
Natural frequency, damping ratio, overshoot, and settling time.
09 | Module
State-Space Modeling and Simulation
State variables, the state matrix, and eigenvalues as system poles.
10 | Module
Frequency Response and System Analysis
The frequency response function, corner frequency, and the resonant peak.