Extension of the root-locus method to a certain class of fractional-order systems

In this paper, the well-known root-locus method is developed for the special subset of linear time-invariant systems commonly known as fractional-order systems. Transfer functions of these systems are rational functions with polynomials of rational powers of the Laplace variable s. Such systems are defined on a Riemann surface because of their multi-valued nature. A set of rules for plotting the root loci on the first Riemann sheet is presented. The important features of the classical root-locus method such as asymptotes, roots condition on the real axis and breakaway points are extended to the fractional case. It is also shown that the proposed method can assess the closed-loop stability of fractional-order systems in the presence of a varying gain in the loop. Moreover, the effect of perturbation on the root loci is discussed. Three illustrative examples are presented to confirm the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. (C) 2008 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.