Sensitivity of discrete systems to variation of sampling interval

The purpose of this paper is to extend the methods of sensitivity analysis to discrete systems, with major emphasis on the determination of the effects of perturbations in sampling frequency on system performance. A method for the derivation of a sensitivity difference equation is presented. The method is applied to the study of both local effects (i.e., effects upon the next sampled value) and global effects (i.e., effects upon the entire solution sequence). The global sensitivity function is applied to extrapolation of system performance. The local sensitivity function is used as a basis for the synthesis of a discrete system with an adaptive sampling control law.