UNIVERSITI TUN HUSSEIN ONN MALAYSIA

Faculty of Engineering Technology

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL
ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY
CONTROL LABORATORY
LAPORAN MAKMAL/LABORATORY REPORT
Kod M/Pelajaran/ ENGINEERING
BNJ 37301
Subject Code LABORATORY IV
Kod & Tajuk Ujikaji/
Code & Title of Experiment
Kod Kursus/ Seksyen /Section
Course Code
No. K.P / I.C No.
Kumpulan/Group
Nama Pelajar/Name of No. Matrik
Student
Lecturer/Instructor/Tutors 1.
Name 2.
Nama Ahli Kumpulan/ No.
Penilaian / Assesment
Group Members Matrik
1. Teori / Theory 10 %
Keputusan /
2. 15 %
Results
Pemerhatian
3. 20 %
/Observation
Pengiraan /
4. 10 %
Calculation
Perbincangan /
5. 25 %
Discussions
Tarikh Ujikaji / Kesimpulan /
15 %
Date of Experiment Conclusion
Tarikh Hantar / Rujukan /
5%
Date of Submission References
JUMLAH / TOTAL 100%
ULASAN PEMERIKSA/COMMENTS
COP DITERIMA/APPROVED
STAMP
 UNIVERSITI TUN HUSSEIN ONN MALAYSIA
Faculty of Engineering Technology

COURSE INFORMATION

COURSE TITLE: ENGINEERING LABORATORY IV (BNJ 37301)

TOPIC 4: RECTILINEAR CONTROL SYSTEM

(TRANSLATION MECHANICAL SYSTEM)

1. INTRODUCTION

In control engineering, the transfer function of a linear system is a mathematical

representation of the system which defined as the ratio of the Laplace transform of
the output variable to the Laplace transform of the input variable, with all initial
conditions assumed to be zero. The transfer function represents the relationship
describing the dynamics of the system under consideration.

Nevertheless, it is often not possible or practical to obtain a systems transfer

function analytically. This may due to the component parts that are not easily
identifiable or the system itself is closed. Given that the transfer function is a
representation of the system from input to output, the systems step response can
lead to a representation even though the inner construction of the system is not
known. With a step input, several parameters value can be measured, from which
the transfer function of the system can be calculated. This technique which uses
the experimental approach to get the transfer function of a system is known as
system identification.

2. OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this experiment are:

i. Identify the plant parameters, and

ii. Determine the transfer function of two degree of freedom (DOF)
rectilinear plant.

3. LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of this experiment, students should be able to:

i. Configure the two degree of freedom rectilinear plant for system

identification purposes,
ii. Calculate the plant parameters, and
iii. Find the transfer function of two degree of freedom (DOF) rectilinear
plant.

2 BNJ 37301-Engineering Laboratory IV

 UNIVERSITI TUN HUSSEIN ONN MALAYSIA
Faculty of Engineering Technology

4. THEORY (TWO DEGREE OF FREEDOM PLANTS)

Figure 1: Two DOF Plant Model

Figure 1(a) shows the most general form of the two degree of freedom plant
where friction is idealized as being viscous. The transfer function for the 2DOF
plant model can be obtained analytically by using the Newton second law and the
free body diagram. A dynamic equation of m1 will be obtained by summing all
forces acting on it as shown in Figure 1(b):

m 1 x 1 + c1 x 1 + (k 1 + k 2 )x 1 - k 2 x 2 = F(t) (4.1)

Similarly from Figure 1(c) for m2:

m2 x 2 + c2 x 2 + (k 2 + k3 )x2 - k2 x 1 = 0 (4.2)

By Laplace transform of Eqs (4.1,4.2) and assuming zero value of initial

conditions, the transfer functions of the 2DOF plant model are:

x 1 (s) m2 s 2 + c2 s + k 2 +k 3
=
F(s) D(s) (4.3)

3 BNJ 37301-Engineering Laboratory IV

 UNIVERSITI TUN HUSSEIN ONN MALAYSIA
Faculty of Engineering Technology

x 2 (s) k
= 2
F(s) D(s) (4.4)
Where,

D(s) = m1 m2 s 4 + m1 c2 + m2 c1 s 3 + m1 (k 2 +k 3 )+ m2 (k 1 +k 2 ) + c1 c2 s 2
+ c1 (k 2 +k 3 )+ c2 (k 1 +k 23 ) s + k 1 k 2 + k 1 k 3 + k 2 k 3
(4.5)

The transfer functions may also be expressed in the general form as:

x 1 (s) K 1 s 2 + 2z z s + z2
=
F(s) s 2 + 2p1 p1 s +p 21 s 2 + 2p 2 p 2 s +p2 (4.6)

x 2 (s) K2
=
F(s) s 2 + 2p1 p 1 s + p21 s 2 + 2p 2 p 2 s + p22 (4.7)

Where the i's and i's are the natural frequencies and damping ratios
respectively, and the gains K1 & K2, are nominally equal to 1/m1 and k1/m1m2
(but often may be measured more directly).

4.1 ADDITIONAL THEORY

4 BNJ 37301-Engineering Laboratory IV

UNIVERSITI TUN HUSSEIN ONN MALAYSIA
Faculty of Engineering Technology

5 BNJ 37301-Engineering Laboratory IV

 UNIVERSITI TUN HUSSEIN ONN MALAYSIA
Faculty of Engineering Technology

5. APPARATUS

Figure 2 shows the equipment used for this experiment. The equipment consists
of:

a. Electromechanical plant
b. System interface software
c. Real-time controller & I/O

Figure 2: The Experimental Equipment

Figure 3 shows the possible plant configurations during the experiment to

determine the parameter values.

Figure 3 : Plant Configurations

Figure 4 shows the guidelines for setting stop position.

6 BNJ 37301-Engineering Laboratory IV

 UNIVERSITI TUN HUSSEIN ONN MALAYSIA
Faculty of Engineering Technology

Figure 4: Guidelines for Setting Stop Positions

6. PROCEDURES

6.1 IDENTIFYING THE PLANT PARAMETER S1

This section gives a procedure for identifying the plant parameters applicable to
Eq's (4.1 through 4.7). The approach will be to indirectly measure the mass,
spring, and damping parameters by making measurements of the plant while set
up in a pair of classical spring-mass configurations.
1. Clamp the second mass to put the mechanism in the configuration shown
in Figure 5a using a shim (e.g. 1/4 inch nut) between the stop tab and stop
bumper so as not to engage the limit switch. Verify that the medium
stiffness spring (nominally 400 N/m) is connecting the first and second
mass carriages.
2. Secure four 500g masses on the first and second mass carriages.
3. With the controller powered up, enter the Control Algorithm box via the
Set-up menu and set Ts = 0.00442. Enter the Command menu, go to
Trajectory and select Step, Set-up. Select Open Loop Step and input a
step size of 0 (zero), a duration of 3000 ms and 1 repetition. Exit to the
background screen by consecutively selecting OK. This puts the controller
in a mode for acquiring 6 sec of data on command but without driving the
actuator. This procedure may be repeated and the duration adjusted to
vary the data acquisition period.

7 BNJ 37301-Engineering Laboratory IV

 UNIVERSITI TUN HUSSEIN ONN MALAYSIA
Faculty of Engineering Technology

4. Go to Set up Data Acquisition in the Data menu and select Encoder #1

and Encoder #2 as data to acquire and specify data sampling every 2
(two) servo cycles (i.e. every 2 Ts's). Select OK to exit. Select Zero
Position from the Utility menu to zero the encoder positions.

Figure 5: Configurations for Plant Identification

5. Select Execute from the Command menu. Prepare to manually displace

the first mass carriage approximately 2.5 cm. Exercise caution in
displacing the carriage so as not to engage the travel limit switch. With
the first mass displaced approximately 2.5 cm in either direction, select
Run from the Execute box and release the mass approximately 1 second
later. The mass will oscillate and attenuate while encoder data is collected
to record this response. Select OK after data is uploaded.
6. Select Set-up Plot from the Plotting menu and choose Encoder #1
Position then select Plot Data from the Plotting menu. You will see the
first mass time response.
7. Choose several consecutive cycles (say ~5) in the amplitude range
between 5500 and 1000 counts (This is representative of oscillation
amplitudes during later closed loop control maneuvers. Much smaller
amplitude responses become dominated by nonlinear friction effects and
do not reflect the salient system dynamics). Divide the number of cycles
by the time taken to complete them. Be sure to take beginning and end
times from the same phase of the respective cycles.1 Convert the resulting

1
You may zoom the plot via Axis Scaling for more precise measurement in various areas. For an
even greater precision, the data may be examined in tabular numerical form

8 BNJ 37301-Engineering Laboratory IV

 UNIVERSITI TUN HUSSEIN ONN MALAYSIA
Faculty of Engineering Technology

frequency in Hz to radians/sec. This damped frequency, d, approximates

the natural frequency, n, according to:

(6.1)
where the "m11" subscript denotes mass #1, trial #1. (Close the graph
window by clicking on the left button in the upper right hand corner of the
graph. This will collapse the graph to icon form where it may later be
brought back up by double-clicking on it.)
8. Remove the four masses from the first mass carriage and repeat Steps 5
through 7 to obtain nm12 for the unloaded carriage. If necessary, repeat
Step 3 to reduce the execution (data sampling only in this case) duration.
9. Measure the initial cycle amplitude Xo and the last cycle amplitude Xn for
the n cycles measured in Step 8. Using relationships associated with the
logarithmic decrement:

(6.2)

find the damping ratio m12 and show that for this small value the
approximations of Eq's (6.1, 6.2) are valid.
10. Repeat Steps 5 through 9 for the second mass carriage. Here in Step 6 you
will need to remove Encoder #1 position and add Encoder #2 position to
the plot set-up. Hence obtain nm2 , nm22 and m22. How does this
damping ratio compare with that for the first mass? Be sure to save this
plotted data as it will be used in the next experiment.
11. Connect the mass carriage extension bracket and dashpot to the second
mass as shown in Figure 5c. Open the damping (air flow) adjustment knob
2.0 turns from the fully closed position. Repeat Steps 5, 6, and 9 with four
500 g masses on the second carriage and using only amplitudes 500
counts in your damping ratio calculation. Hence obtain d where the "d"
subscript denotes "dashpot".

9 BNJ 37301-Engineering Laboratory IV

 UNIVERSITI TUN HUSSEIN ONN MALAYSIA
Faculty of Engineering Technology

12. Each brass weight has a mass of 500 10 g. (You may weigh the pieces if
a more precise value is desired.) Calling the mass of the four weights
combined mw, use the following relationships to solve for the unloaded
carriage mass mc2, and spring constant k.2

k/(mw+mc2) = (nm21)2 (6.3)

k/mc2 = (nm22)2 (6.4)

Find the damping coefficient cm2 by equating the first order terms in the
equation form:
s 2 + 2 n s + 2n = s 2 + c/m s + k/m (6.5)
Repeat the above for the first mass carriage, spring and damping mc1, cm1
and k respectively.3 4 Calculate the damping coefficient of the dashpot,
cd.
13. Remove the carriage extension bracket and dashpot from the second mass
carriage, replace the medium stiffness spring with a high stiffness spring
(800 N/m nominally), and repeat Steps 5 and 6 to obtain the resulting
natural frequency m23. Repeat this frequency measurement using the
least stiff spring (nominally 200 N/m) to obtain m24. Calling the value
of stiffness obtained in Step 12 above kmed stiffness; calculate khigh
stiffness and klow stiffness from the frequency measurements of this step.
Calling the value of stiffness obtained in Step 12 above kmed stiffness;
calculate khigh stiffness and klow stiffness from the frequency
measurements of this step.

Now all dynamic parameters have been identified! Values for m1 and m2 for any
configuration of masses may be found by adding the calculated mass contribution
of the weights to that of the unloaded carriages5.

6.2 ESTABLISHING THE HARDWARE GAIN

The following procedure is necessary to establish the hardware gain for

control modeling purposes.

2
Note that the calculated masses mc1 and mc2 will include the reflected inertias of all connected
elements e.g. motor pinion and armature.
3
Step 12 may be done later, away from the laboratory, if necessary.
4
The resulting value for k should be very close to that measured when considering the second mass
case. You may use the average of the two for your identified k value.
5
In Model 210 configurations where the third mass is used, the inertia and damping parameters of
the third carriage may generally be assumed to be the same as for the second carriage. For more
precise results, steps 5 through 9 and 12 may be repeated for the third mass.

10 BNJ 37301-Engineering Laboratory IV

 UNIVERSITI TUN HUSSEIN ONN MALAYSIA
Faculty of Engineering Technology

1. Remove the spring connecting the first and second masses and secure four
500 g masses on the first mass carriage. (You should label this particular
spring so that the identified parameter k2 will be consistent when used in
later experiments). Use the limit clamps to secure the second mass clear
from the first. Verify that the masses are secure and that the carriage slides
freely. Hook up the drive power to the mechanism. Position the first mass
approximately 3 cm to the left (negative x1 position) of its center of travel.
2. In the Trajectory window deselect Unidirectional moves (i.e. enabling
bi-directional inputs) select Step, Set-up. Choose Open Loop Step, and
input 2.00 Volts, 75 ms, 2 reps. Execute this open loop step via the
Execute menu. (This move may trip a software speed limit or motion
travel limit which disables the controller indicated by "Limit Exceeded" in
the Controller Status box in the "desk top". Again, to reset, simply
reselect Execute from the Execute menu.) Go to Set-up in the Plot
Data menu and select Encoder #1 velocity for plotting.
3. Plot this data and observe four velocity profile segments with nominal
shapes of: linear increase (constant acceleration), constant (zero
acceleration6), linear decrease (deceleration), and constant. Obtain the
acceleration, 2
1e (counts/s ) by carefully measuring the velocity
difference and dividing by the time difference (75 ms) through the
positive-sloped linear segment. 7,8 Repeat this for the negative-sloped
segment. Calculate the average magnitude of the positive and negative
accelerations for use in obtaining khw below.
4. Save any files or plots of interest. Exit the executive program and power
down the system.

6.3 TRANSFER FUNCTION CALCULATION

The so-called hardware gain, khw,9 of the system is comprised of the

product:

khw = kckaktkmpkekepks (6.6)

6
Some small deceleration will exist due to friction.
7
For more precise measurement you may "zoom in" on this region of the plot using Axis Scaling in
the Plotting menu.
8
It is possible to read the accelerations directly by plotting Encoder #1 acceleration. This data,
obtained by double numerical differentiation, is typically somewhat noisy however. The student
may want to verify this by observing the acceleration plot
9
It contains software gain also. This software gain, ks is used to give higher controller-internal
numerical resolution and improves encoder pulse period measurement for very low rate estimates.

11 BNJ 37301-Engineering Laboratory IV

 UNIVERSITI TUN HUSSEIN ONN MALAYSIA
Faculty of Engineering Technology

Where:
kc, the DAC gain, = 10V / 32,768 DAC counts
ka, the Servo Amp gain, = approx 2 (amp/V)
kt, the Servo Motor Torque constant = approx 0.1 (N-m/amp)
kmp, the Motor Pinion pitch radius inverse = 26.25 m-1
ke, the Encoder gain, = 16,000 pulses / 2 radians
kep, the Encoder Pinion pitch radius inverse = 89 m-1
ks, the Controller Software gain, = 32 (controller counts / encoder or ref
input counts)10

In Step 15, we obtained the acceleration 1e (counts/s2) of a known inertia,

m1=mw+mc1 with a known voltage applied at the DAC. This relates to the
applied force during the acceleration according to:

Applied Force = m1 1 avg = m1 1e /(k e k ep ) (6.7)

Thus we have a direct measurement of the five-term product

kaktkmpkekep. i.e.:
2.00V kaktkmp = Applied Force in Step 15 (6.8)

Use (6.6 through 6.8) to solve for khw using the specified values for ke and ks.For
control purposes it is generally desirable to put the transfer function in
denominator-monic form (leading term in D(s) has unity coefficient).

10
These are the counts that are actually operated on in the control algorithm. i.e. The system input
(trajectory) counts and encoder counts are multiplied by 32 prior to control law execution.

12 BNJ 37301-Engineering Laboratory IV

 UNIVERSITI TUN HUSSEIN ONN MALAYSIA
Faculty of Engineering Technology

7. OBSERVATION

13 BNJ 37301-Engineering Laboratory IV

 UNIVERSITI TUN HUSSEIN ONN MALAYSIA
Faculty of Engineering Technology

14 BNJ 37301-Engineering Laboratory IV

 UNIVERSITI TUN HUSSEIN ONN MALAYSIA
Faculty of Engineering Technology

8. RESULT/CALCULATIONS

8.1 Calculation of plant parameters (f, d, m and n) for medium stiffness

spring

a. Plant parameters (f, dm11, m11 and nm11) of loaded masses in the first
mass carriage (Encoder #1)

15 BNJ 37301-Engineering Laboratory IV

 UNIVERSITI TUN HUSSEIN ONN MALAYSIA
Faculty of Engineering Technology

b. Plant parameters (f, dm12, m12 and nm1) of unloaded masses in the
first mass carriage (Encoder #1)

16 BNJ 37301-Engineering Laboratory IV

 UNIVERSITI TUN HUSSEIN ONN MALAYSIA
Faculty of Engineering Technology

c. Plant parameters (f, dm21, m21 and nm21) of loaded masses in the
second mass (Encoder #2)

17 BNJ 37301-Engineering Laboratory IV

 UNIVERSITI TUN HUSSEIN ONN MALAYSIA
Faculty of Engineering Technology

d. Plant parameters (f, dm22, m22 and nm22) of unloaded masses in the
second carriage (Encoder #2)

18 BNJ 37301-Engineering Laboratory IV

 UNIVERSITI TUN HUSSEIN ONN MALAYSIA
Faculty of Engineering Technology

8.2 Calculation of plant parameter ( d) for medium stiffness spring

a. Find the plant parameter ( d)

19 BNJ 37301-Engineering Laboratory IV

 UNIVERSITI TUN HUSSEIN ONN MALAYSIA
Faculty of Engineering Technology

8.3 Calculation of plant parameters ( unloaded mass carriage, m, spring

constant, k, and damping coefficient, c) for medium stiffness spring

a. Plant parameters (mc1, kmed stiffness and cm1) of first mass carriage

20 BNJ 37301-Engineering Laboratory IV

 UNIVERSITI TUN HUSSEIN ONN MALAYSIA
Faculty of Engineering Technology

b. Plant parameters (mc2, kmed stiffness and cm2) of second mass carriage

21 BNJ 37301-Engineering Laboratory IV

 UNIVERSITI TUN HUSSEIN ONN MALAYSIA
Faculty of Engineering Technology

c. Calculate the damping coefficient of the dashpot, cd.

22 BNJ 37301-Engineering Laboratory IV

 UNIVERSITI TUN HUSSEIN ONN MALAYSIA
Faculty of Engineering Technology

8.4 Calculation of hardware gain

a. Find the acceleration, x1e (counts/s2 )

23 BNJ 37301-Engineering Laboratory IV

 UNIVERSITI TUN HUSSEIN ONN MALAYSIA
Faculty of Engineering Technology

b. Find the hardware gain, khw using the specified values for kc and ks.

24 BNJ 37301-Engineering Laboratory IV

 UNIVERSITI TUN HUSSEIN ONN MALAYSIA
Faculty of Engineering Technology

8.5 Calculate the plant parameters (nm23, nm24, khigh stiffness, and klow
stiffness)

25 BNJ 37301-Engineering Laboratory IV

 UNIVERSITI TUN HUSSEIN ONN MALAYSIA
Faculty of Engineering Technology

9. DISCUSSIONS

a. Discuss all printed plots. Please make some results comparisons

26 BNJ 37301-Engineering Laboratory IV

 UNIVERSITI TUN HUSSEIN ONN MALAYSIA
Faculty of Engineering Technology

27 BNJ 37301-Engineering Laboratory IV

 UNIVERSITI TUN HUSSEIN ONN MALAYSIA
Faculty of Engineering Technology

b. Report the measured properties and derived parameter values:mw, mc1,

mc2, mc3, cm1,cm2, cm3 , cd, klow stiffness, kmed stiffness,
khigh stiffness, and khw.

28 BNJ 37301-Engineering Laboratory IV

UNIVERSITI TUN HUSSEIN ONN MALAYSIA
Faculty of Engineering Technology

29 BNJ 37301-Engineering Laboratory IV

 UNIVERSITI TUN HUSSEIN ONN MALAYSIA
Faculty of Engineering Technology

c. Construct a denominator-monic plant model suitable for control design

for the case of four 500g weights on each of the first and second mass
carriers with the 400 N/m (nominal) spring connecting the two and
dashpot connected to the second mass see Figure 6.1-1d. Use the
above results and equations (5.1-4 through 5.1-6) to generate these
transfer functions where the hardware gain multiplies the numerator for
each transfer function. Construct the plant model for the same case
except where there is no dashpot.

30 BNJ 37301-Engineering Laboratory IV

 UNIVERSITI TUN HUSSEIN ONN MALAYSIA
Faculty of Engineering Technology

d. What are the units of khw?

10. CONCLUSION

Deduce conclusions from the experiment. Please comment on your experimental

work in terms of achievement, problems faced throughout the experiment and
suggest recommendation for improvements.

31 BNJ 37301-Engineering Laboratory IV

 UNIVERSITI TUN HUSSEIN ONN MALAYSIA
Faculty of Engineering Technology

32 BNJ 37301-Engineering Laboratory IV

 UNIVERSITI TUN HUSSEIN ONN MALAYSIA
Faculty of Engineering Technology

11. REFERENCES

33 BNJ 37301-Engineering Laboratory IV