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Control Systems - Signal Flow Graphs

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14 views5 pages

Control Systems - Signal Flow Graphs

Uploaded by

Emmanuel Kutani
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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01/07/2024, 14:33 Control Systems - Signal Flow Graphs

Control Systems - Signal Flow Graphs


Signal flow graph is a graphical representation of algebraic equations. In this chapter, let
us discuss the basic concepts related signal flow graph and also learn how to draw signal
flow graphs.

Basic Elements of Signal Flow Graph


Nodes and branches are the basic elements of signal flow graph.

Node
Node is a point which represents either a variable or a signal. There are three types of
nodes — input node, output node and mixed node.

Input Node − It is a node, which has only outgoing branches.

Output Node − It is a node, which has only incoming branches.


Mixed Node − It is a node, which has both incoming and outgoing branches.

Example

Let us consider the following signal flow graph to identify these nodes.

The nodes present in this signal flow graph are y1, y2, y3 and y4.

y1 and y4 are the input node and output node respectively.

y2 and y3 are mixed nodes.

Branch

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Branch is a line segment which joins two nodes. It has both gain and direction. For
example, there are four branches in the above signal flow graph. These branches have
gains of a, b, c and -d.

Construction of Signal Flow Graph


Let us construct a signal flow graph by considering the following algebraic equations −

y2 = a12 y1 + a42 y4

y3 = a23 y2 + a53 y5

y4 = a34 y3

y5 = a45 y4 + a35 y3

y6 = a56 y5

There will be six nodes (y1, y2, y3, y4, y5 and y6) and eight branches in this signal flow
graph. The gains of the branches are a12, a23, a34, a45, a56, a42, a53 and a35.

To get the overall signal flow graph, draw the signal flow graph for each equation, then
combine all these signal flow graphs and then follow the steps given below −

Step 1 − Signal flow graph for y2 = a13 y1 + a42 y4 is shown in the following figure.

Step 2 − Signal flow graph for y3 = a23 y2 + a53 y5 is shown in the following figure.

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Step 3 − Signal flow graph for y4 = a34 y3 is shown in the following figure.

Step 4 − Signal flow graph for y5 = a45 y4 + a35 y3 is shown in the following figure.

Step 5 − Signal flow graph for y6 = a56 y5 is shown in the following figure.

Step 6 − Signal flow graph of overall system is shown in the following figure.

Conversion of Block Diagrams into Signal Flow Graphs


Follow these steps for converting a block diagram into its equivalent signal flow graph.

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01/07/2024, 14:33 Control Systems - Signal Flow Graphs

Represent all the signals, variables, summing points and take-off points of block
diagram as nodes in signal flow graph.
Represent the blocks of block diagram as branches in signal flow graph.

Represent the transfer functions inside the blocks of block diagram as gains of the
branches in signal flow graph.

Connect the nodes as per the block diagram. If there is connection between two
nodes (but there is no block in between), then represent the gain of the branch as
one. For example, between summing points, between summing point and takeoff
point, between input and summing point, between take-off point and output.

Example

Let us convert the following block diagram into its equivalent signal flow graph.

Represent the input signal


R(s) and output signal C(s) of block diagram as input node
R(s) and output node C(s) of signal flow graph.

Just for reference, the remaining nodes (y1 to y9) are labelled in the block diagram. There
are nine nodes other than input and output nodes. That is four nodes for four summing
points, four nodes for four take-off points and one node for the variable between blocks
G1 and G2 .

The following figure shows the equivalent signal flow graph.

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With the help of Mason’s gain formula (discussed in the next chapter), you can calculate
the transfer function of this signal flow graph. This is the advantage of signal flow graphs.
Here, we no need to simplify (reduce) the signal flow graphs for calculating the transfer
function.

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