Simulink^®

Dead Zone

Provide region of zero output

Library

Discontinuities

Description

The Dead Zone block generates zero output within a specified region, called its dead zone. The lower and upper limits of the dead zone are specified as the Start of dead zone and End of dead zone parameters. The block output depends on the input and dead zone:

If the input is within the dead zone (greater than the lower limit and less than the upper limit), the output is zero.
If the input is greater than or equal to the upper limit, the output is the input minus the upper limit.
If the input is less than or equal to the lower limit, the output is the input minus the lower limit.

This sample model uses lower and upper limits of -0.5 and +0.5, with a sine wave as input.

This plot shows the effect of the Dead Zone block on the sine wave. While the input (the sine wave) is between -0.5 and 0.5, the output is zero.

Data Type Support

The Dead Zone block accepts and outputs a real signal of any data type supported by Simulink^® software, except Boolean. The Dead Zone block supports fixed-point data types.

For a discussion on the data types supported by Simulink software, see Data Types Supported by Simulink^®.

Parameters and Dialog Box

Start of dead zone: Specify the lower limit of the dead zone. The default is -0.5.
End of dead zone: Specify the upper limit of the dead zone. The default is 0.5.
Saturate on integer overflow: Select to have overflows saturate.
Treat as gain when linearizing: The linearization commands in Simulink software treat this block as a gain in state space. Select this option to cause the commands to treat the gain as 1; otherwise, the commands treat the gain as 0.
Enable zero crossing detection: Select to enable zero crossing detection to detect when the limits are reached. For more information, see Zero Crossing Detection.
Sample time (-1 for inherited): Specify the time interval between samples. To inherit the sample time, set this parameter to -1. See Specifying Sample Time.

Characteristics