What is Overshoot?

The output going past its final value in a step response or similar, and also the maximum amount by which it does so. In control engineering it is expressed as a percentage of the final value; for a second-order system without zeros it is exp(−πζ/√(1 − ζ²)), determined by the damping ratio ζ alone. In feedback control systems, the smaller the phase margin, the larger the overshoot. In electronic circuits, the same word is used when a signal or voltage waveform temporarily exceeds its final level because of wiring inductance or reflections.

Japanese name: オーバーシュート

Overshoot appears in 11 practice questions across 4 topics, including Control Engineering Basics, Analog and electronic circuits, Power semiconductors.

Field: Control Engineering Basics

Try it: questions about Overshoot

A step is applied to a second-order system (standard form without zeros) with a damping ratio ζ = 0.5. Which of the following is closest to the overshoot (the maximum excursion beyond the final value, as a fraction of the final value)?

AAbout 16%
BAbout 21%
C50%

Show answer and explanation

Answer: A. About 16%

The overshoot of a standard second-order system is exp(−πζ/√(1 − ζ²)) and does not depend on the natural angular frequency ωn. For ζ = 0.5 it is exp(−π × 0.5/√0.75) ≈ exp(−1.81) ≈ 0.163, about 16%. For ζ ≈ 0.707 (1/√2) it is about 4.3%, a value often used as a guideline for a response with little overshoot. The overshoot peaks at the time π/ωd, where ωd = ωn√(1 − ζ²).

Overshoot in the explanations

The overshoot of a standard second-order system is exp(−πζ/√(1 − ζ²)) and does not depend on the natural angular frequency ωn.
A step is applied to a second-order system (standard form w…
A small margin causes overshoot and ringing in the step response, and zero margin means oscillation.
Which metric is used to judge whether a negative-feedback a…
For ζ = 1 the poles are a repeated negative real root, and the response settles fastest among responses without overshoot (critically damped).
Which of the following is the range of the damping ratio ζ …
The overshoot is exp(−πσ/ωd), which grows as ωd increases.
A second-order system without zeros has its poles at s = −σ…
For the standard system whose loop transfer function is ωn²/(s(s + 2ζωn)), the overshoot is about 9% at a phase margin of 60° and about 42% at 30°.
Raising the gain of the loop transfer function reduced the …