Simulation of dynamic systems with output saturation

This paper concerns the design of simulation schemes for dynamic systems with output saturation. The use of saturation blocks commonly available in simulation programs leads to incorrect results if the saturation is simply inserted at the output of a dynamic system model. The underlying problem is discussed on the basis of a simplified theoretical example, and a solution based on a state-space model of the system is proposed. Experimental results involving a dc motor with shaft speed saturation are presented to illustrate the inadequacy of the simple saturation model and to validate the proposed simulation scheme.