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Control of Continuous Linear Systems
Control of Continuous
Linear Systems

Kaddour Najim
First published in Great Britain and the United States in 2006 by ISTE Ltd

Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or
review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may
only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior
permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in
accordance with the terms and licenses issued by the CLA. Enquiries concerning reproduction
outside these terms should be sent to the publishers at the undermentioned address:

ISTE Ltd ISTE USA

6 Fitzroy Square 4308 Patrice Road
London W1T 5DX Newport Beach, CA 92663
UK USA
www.iste.co.uk

© ISTE Ltd, 2006

The rights of Kaddour Najim to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by
them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Najim, K.
Control of continuous linear systems / Kaddour Najim.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-1-905209-12-5
ISBN-10: 1-905209-12-6
1. Linear systems--Automatic control--Mathematics. 2. Linear control systems. 3. Calculus,
Operational. I. Title.
TJ220.N35 2006
629.8'32--dc22
2006009140

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 10: 1-905209-12-6
ISBN 13: 978-1-905209-12-5

Printed and bound in Great Britain by Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham, Wiltshire.
 Contents

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Chapter 1. On Process Modeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

1.1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1.2. Model classification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
1.2.1. Heat and mass balances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
1.2.2. Mechanical systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
1.2.3. Electrical systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
1.3. Linearization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Chapter 2. Laplace Transforms and Block Diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

2.1. The Laplace transform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
2.2. Transfer functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
2.3. Laplace transform calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
2.4. Differential and integral equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
2.5. Block diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
2.6. Feedback systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Chapter 3. Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

3.1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
3.2. Step responses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
3.3. System identification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
3.4. Frequency response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

Chapter 4. Stability and the Root Locus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

4.1. Stability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
4.1.1. The Routh–Hurwitz criterion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
4.1.2. Revers’s criterion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208

5
6 Control of Continuous Linear Systems

4.2. The root locus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231

Chapter 5. Regulation and PID Regulators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255

5.1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
5.2. Direct design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
5.3. PID tuning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269

Appendices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304
A. On Theoretical Aspects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
A.1. The Dirac impulse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
A.1.1. Residence time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
A.2. The unit step . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
A.3. The Routh–Hurwitz criterion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
A.4. The Nyquist criterion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
A.5. The root locus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325
A.6. Computation of integrals of the form J2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
A.7. On non-linear systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336

Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349
Control of Continuous Linear Systems
This page intentionally left blank
Control of Continuous
Linear Systems

Kaddour Najim
First published in Great Britain and the United States in 2006 by ISTE Ltd

Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or
review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may
only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior
permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in
accordance with the terms and licenses issued by the CLA. Enquiries concerning reproduction
outside these terms should be sent to the publishers at the undermentioned address:

ISTE Ltd ISTE USA

6 Fitzroy Square 4308 Patrice Road
London W1T 5DX Newport Beach, CA 92663
UK USA
www.iste.co.uk

© ISTE Ltd, 2006

The rights of Kaddour Najim to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by
them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Najim, K.
Control of continuous linear systems / Kaddour Najim.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-1-905209-12-5
ISBN-10: 1-905209-12-6
1. Linear systems--Automatic control--Mathematics. 2. Linear control systems. 3. Calculus,
Operational. I. Title.
TJ220.N35 2006
629.8'32--dc22
2006009140

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 10: 1-905209-12-6
ISBN 13: 978-1-905209-12-5

Printed and bound in Great Britain by Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham, Wiltshire.
 Contents

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Chapter 1. On Process Modeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

1.1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1.2. Model classification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
1.2.1. Heat and mass balances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
1.2.2. Mechanical systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
1.2.3. Electrical systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
1.3. Linearization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Chapter 2. Laplace Transforms and Block Diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

2.1. The Laplace transform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
2.2. Transfer functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
2.3. Laplace transform calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
2.4. Differential and integral equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
2.5. Block diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
2.6. Feedback systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Chapter 3. Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

3.1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
3.2. Step responses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
3.3. System identification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
3.4. Frequency response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

Chapter 4. Stability and the Root Locus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

4.1. Stability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
4.1.1. The Routh–Hurwitz criterion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
4.1.2. Revers’s criterion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208

5
6 Control of Continuous Linear Systems

4.2. The root locus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231

Chapter 5. Regulation and PID Regulators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255

5.1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
5.2. Direct design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
5.3. PID tuning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269

Appendices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304
A. On Theoretical Aspects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
A.1. The Dirac impulse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
A.1.1. Residence time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
A.2. The unit step . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
A.3. The Routh–Hurwitz criterion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
A.4. The Nyquist criterion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
A.5. The root locus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325
A.6. Computation of integrals of the form J2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
A.7. On non-linear systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336

Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349
 Introduction

Reader’s guide

In this book, we present a method of teaching the theory of the control of linear con-
tinuous systems. This method consists of introducing some basic definitions, and then
presenting the theory related to these systems in the form of solved problems while
appealing to computer tools for the more difficult problems. This method has another
advantage, in that students will be more involved in the educational process and will
have to play an active and dynamic role that will be beneficial to their training.

The objective of this book is to provide the reader with problems and their solu-
tions in order to aid them to acquire and deeply understand the fundamental notions
related to the foundations of the control of linear continuous systems, and to help them
to be able to implement control systems. Many problems can be solved using avail-
able software such as MATLAB. We have rejected this solution. The computer has
become an essential tool, but we see very dangerous drift. In fact, students have blind
confidence in this tool. They tend to lose their spirit of criticism and analysis. As
teachers, we have to review our pedagogy. In other words, the primary purpose of this
book is to help the reader to acquire a deep knowledge of the theoretical tools related
to the control of linear continuous systems. For example, learning how to sketch a
root locus is very important in order, among other things, to check the results of a
simulation, and drawing a Bode diagram manually gives us an understanding of how
the location of poles and zeros affects the shape of this diagram. This does not prevent
the reader from using computer tools in order to obtain, for example, a more precise
drawing of the root locus or a rapid study of the stability of the system. We recall the
main definitions and theoretical tools at the beginning of each chapter.

The first chapter is dedicated to process modeling. It presents some modeling tech-
niques for chemical, electrical and mechanical systems. A set of accurate models is
presented. Taking into account developments in computer technology, phenomeno-
logical models can be used in order to support decisions that need to be taken online.
8 Control of Continuous Linear Systems

The reader should observe that, for a given process, many phenomenological models
can be developed. They depend on the assumptions made about its behavior and the
desired objective, i.e., for what purposes the model will be used. In a sense, the model
designer can be considered as a photographer who get obtain, for the same subject,
different photos with different zooms. The main objective of Chapter 1 is to help the
reader to understand and to develop phenomenological models, or at least to be able
to understand the main lines related to the kinds of models developed by engineers
involved in the areas concerned (electrical, chemical, mechanical, etc.). The treatment
presented in this chapter is not intended as a complete description of modeling tech-
niques but merely as a basic introduction to the subject. This introduction may help
automatic-control engineers to communicate easily with engineers involved in other
areas.

The main core of Chapter 2 deals with the use of Laplace transforms for solving
various kinds of problems. In particular, the derivation of transfer functions, as well
as block diagrams and their simplifications, is considered. Laplace transforms signif-
icantly support the modeling of systems by providing simple rules for manipulating
a set of interconnected systems. Of paramount concern in linear control theory is the
transfer function, which leads to block diagrams. Block diagrams agglomerate all the
available information concerning a given process. We end the chapter by presenting
a general method for calculating the coefficients of the partial fraction expansion of a
rational function.

Chapter 3 is devoted to the transient and frequency analysis of linear systems.

Many examples are treated in order to illustrate such an analysis. We present a set of
approaches to the statement of the frequency response of a given system. As a large
class of systems can be modeled by a first – or second-order – system, we present a
set of identification techniques based on the impulse and step responses of these sys-
tems, and simple ideas for distinguishing a high-pass filter from a low-pass filter. The
chapter also presents an analysis of some commonly used filters (band-pass, notch,
etc.). Chapter 4 is dedicated to stability and precision analysis. Stability is one of
the most important challenges in the design of control systems. Before one optimizes
the behavior of, for example, a chemical reactor where an exothermic reaction takes
place, it is necessary to study its stability. Algebraic and graphical stability criteria
are presented. A method based on integral phase evaluation is presented. This method
allows one to check the stability of feedback systems without visual inspection of the
Nyquist diagram. Examples illustrating precision and stability analysis are described.
A set of examples should help the reader to draw easily the root locus of any system.

The primary purpose of Chapter 5 is to introduce a number of PID tuning tech-

niques. We focus our attention mainly on the ideas behind the development of these
tuning techniques. It is impossible to make an analytical comparison of the available
PID tuning techniques because they are based on different model approximations, dif-
ferent control objectives and, sometimes, different PID parameterizations. Taking into
 Introduction 9

account the control objective and the process model, the reader has to select the tun-
ing method which yields the best control performance. In a thermal power plant, it
may happen that a turbine is damaged, and it is necessary to heat the turbine at spe-
cific points to straighten it. These specific points, as well as the energy to be used for
heating the turbine, depend on the know-how of the technician who carries out this
job. This know-how cannot be found in books on heat transfer and materials. This job
can be compared to the job of a PID designer (open-loop shaping by manipulating the
gain, zeros and poles) who has to select the PID settings in order to modify the dia-
gram (Bode, Nyquist or Nichols) of the uncompensated system such that the diagram
(frequency-response curve) of the compensated system will correspond to the desired
diagram (a curve which meets the control specifications). We can also compare the
job of a PID designer to the operation done by an ophthalmic surgeon in order to cor-
rect the curvature of the eyes of a person with myopia using a laser. Several problems
dealing with the design of transfer functions from specifications related to the desired
dynamics of the controlled system are presented in detail. The chapter ends with a
brief introduction to the integrator wind-up problem, and to the two main useful rep-
resentations of non-linear systems, namely the Wiener and Hammerstein structures.
These structures are very interesting in the sense that if they are connected to the in-
verse of the static non-linear part, any control strategy designed for linear systems can
be implemented.

In each chapter, we recall the necessary mathematical tools in a very simplified

and didactic manner. As signal processing and automatic control use the same tools,
we study some commonly used filters.

The book ends with an Appendix which presents some mathematical and practical
developments related to the impulse function (or Dirac delta function) and its relation
to the residence time and the unit step, as well as some proofs concerning stability.
We present proofs of the Nyquist and Routh–Hurwitz criteria, and a proof related to
the asymptotes of the root locus. We present a rigorous statement of the formulae
giving the intersection of the asymptotes of the root locus with the real axis. Some of
these results are difficult to find in books dedicated to the control of continuous linear
systems. These results are very important in the sense that:
1) for a given plant, stability is the main objective to be achieved, before optimiz-
ing its behaviour;
2) the proofs constitute good exercises in themselves.

Recent chemical disasters remind us, unfortunately, that stability is very impor-
tant. For example, it is absolutely necessary to stabilize a chemical reactor where
an exothermic reaction occurs, before optimizing its yield. The Appendix also deals
with the quas-ilinearization of non-linear systems such as relays. This method is used
to find the limit cycle (crossover frequency) and some other points of the frequency
responses of systems, which are useful in some PID tuning methods.
10 Control of Continuous Linear Systems

In summary, the objective of this book is to provide the reader with a sound under-
standing of the foundations of the modelling and control of linear continuous systems.
In other words, this book should provide the reader with depth and breadth of knowl-
edge in this field. It contains more than 150 solved problems. This book is written
in such a manner that students should be able to extend their knowledge to address
new problems that they have not seen before. From a mathematical point of view,
this book is self-contained. The book also can serve as a tool for students to test their
knowledge.

I would like to thank my friends and colleagues E. Ikonen (University of Oulu,

Finland), A. S. Poznyak (CINVESTAV, Mexico City) and P. Thomas (Université Paul
Sabatier, Toulouse, France) for providing valuable comments on the manuscript.

Professor Kaddour Najim

Process Control Laboratory, ENSIACET, I.N.P. Toulouse, France

University of Oulu, Finland

 Introduction 11

Notation

Throughout this book, we use the following notation:

1 (t) Unit step

F (s) Closed-loop transfer function

G (s) Transfer function of the forward path

H (s) Transfer function of the feedback path

OS Overshoot

Q Q factor

R (s) Transfer function of the regulator

T (s) Open-loop transfer function

Tu Ultimate period

W (s) Sensitivity transfer function

d(t) Perturbation

g (t) Impulse response

k Static gain

kc Controller gain

klim Critical (ultimate) gain

km Gain margin

pi ith pole

u (t) Process input

v (t) Voltage

y (t) Process output

yr (t) Desired output (set-point)

12 Control of Continuous Linear Systems

zi ith zero

Ξ (s) Laplace transform of the error

δ (t) Dirac impulse (impulse function)

ε (t) Error

ζ Damping factor

τ Time delay

τd Derivative time

τi Integral time

ϕm Phase margin

wc Critical frequency

wr Resonance frequency

Indices

i = 1, N i = 1, 2, 3, · · · , N

r Reference

A filled square ¥ indicates the end of a proof.

 Chapter 1

On Process Modeling

1.1. Introduction

Modeling is a common activity in many engineering areas [AGU 99]. A model

can be considered as a mapping of input variables into output variables. This chapter
presents a set of problems related to some fundamental notions about the represen-
tation of dynamical systems in the form of models. The most serious difficulty in
implementing control strategies is the lack of adequate models. A myriad of models
can be developed for a given process. The models obtained are in general complex
(non-linear, high-scale, etc.).

Observe that the complexity of a system is not correlated with its scale. It is, for
example, easier to derive a control policy for an industrial phosphate-drying furnace
40 m long than for a rapid thermal system used in a semiconductor wafer fabrication
process. Notice also that the complexity can be derived from multiple simple dynamic
components that interact in varying and complex ways. For various reasons (improved
conversion and selectivity, heat integration benefits, avoidance of azeotropes, etc.),
chemical engineers are now concerned with process intensification [RAM 95], which
generally leads to simple systems. For example, the manufacturing of methyl acetate is
usually done in a plant consisting of a chemical reactor and nine distillation columns.
This manufacturing can be done instead in a single reactive distillation. The resulting
reactive distillation process is very simple and more economical, and it is easier to
control it than to control a set consisting of a reactor, nine distillation columns, and
many heat exchangers and pumps.
14 Control of Continuous Linear Systems

We can consider linearity as a view of our mind. There exists no general technique
for the design of controllers for non-linear systems. This explains why linear mod-
els are used, because also the theory related to the control of linear systems is well
established1. The model obtained is linearized around a given operating point.

We begin this chapter by reviewing the main approaches used in processes model-
ing, bearing in mind our objective: the development of a control strategy in order to
achieve the desired control objective.

1.2. Model classification

Models can be classified into three main categories [IKO 02]:

1) phenomenological models;
2) input-output (black-box) models;
3) grey-box models.

Phenomenological models are developed on the basis of physical laws describing

the behavior of a given system. In simple mechanical systems, setting force equal to
mass times acceleration yields the equation of motion. The parameters of the model
have physical significance: for example, the heat transfer coefficient in a thermal pro-
cess. In chemical engineering, mass, energy and momentum balances are the basis of
the development. Observe that the total derivative also plays an important role in the
development of models for large-scale processes, where assumptions concerning the
homogeneity of temperatures, concentrations, etc. along the three axes (x, y, z) cannot
be done [NAJ 88]. The models obtained depend on the assumptions made about the
behavior of the system. Indeed, changes in one or more assumptions lead to different
models [NAJ 83]. In some sense, the model designer can be considered as a photog-
rapher who obtains, for the same subject, different photos with different zooms. For
a given system, many phenomenological models can be derived. The model is devel-
oped according to the objective to be achieved and the use for which it is designated.
The development of this kind of model is, in general, very time-consuming and neces-
sitates a deep understanding of the phenomena (transfers, kinetics, fluid mechanics,
etc.) involved in the process considered.

For the synthesis of black-box models, designers adopt a model structure (trans-
fer function, state-space representation, Hammerstein structure, neural network, etc.),

1. Notice that the Wiener, Hammerstein and Uryson models are quite general representations of
non-linear systems. Recall that the Hammerstein structure consists of a non-linear static system
followed by linear dynamics. On the basis of the use of the inverse of the non-linear static
system, any linear control strategy can be used for the control of this kind of system (see for
instance [IKO 02]).
 On Process Modeling 15

Figure 1.1. Drying furnace

and by making use of the available data, they identify the parameters of the struc-
ture. These parameters have no physical significance. Compared with the previous
approach, the time savings of this approach are evident.

Gray-box models are a combination of the modeling approaches described above.

For example, in an electric heating system, it is preferable to use the energy, which is
related to the square of the voltage, as a control variable instead of the voltage itself.
In other words, gray-box models are input-output models where physical insight into
the process considered is included.

For many processes, the variation of the dynamics is usually due to changes of the
operating point (feed flow rate, etc.). For these processes, another modeling approach
can be used. This approach consists of building local models on the basis of a database
(measurements) for a specific operating point when they are needed. This approach is
called “model-on-demand” and has been studied mainly in the Division of Automatic
Control and Communication Systems, University of Linköping, Sweden.

P ROBLEM 1.1. Consider the prune-drying rotary furnace depicted in Figure 1.1. This
dryer consists of a combustion chamber, a drying tube of length L, a vane and a
chimney. Derive its block diagram.

S OLUTION 1.1. Let us first determine the list of the physical variables characterizing
the behavior of this dryer. The behavior of this furnace depends on the following main
variables: fuel flow rate, air flow rate, combustion gas temperature, flow rate of damp
prunes, moisture content of damp prunes, ambient temperature, moisture content of
dried prunes, and temperature and flow rate of dried prunes. These physical variables
play different roles in the behavior of the furnace, and are classified as control and
controlled variables, measured perturbations, and random perturbations as shown in
16 Control of Continuous Linear Systems

Figure 1.2. Block diagram of the drying furnace

the block diagram given in Figure 1.2, where the flow rate of fuel (F ) and air (A) are
the control variables, the flow rate of damp prune (Pd ), the ambient temperature (Ta )
and the moisture content of the damp prunes (Hda ) represent the measured perturba-
tion and the unmeasured2 random perturbations. The moisture content of the dried
prunes (Hdr ), the flow rate (Pdr ) and the temperature of the dried prunes (Ptr ) corre-
spond to the controlled variables. Notice that if the input flow rate of the damp prunes
is not fixed at its nominal value, which corresponds to the capacity of the dryer, and
can be varied, then it can be considered as a control variable.

R EMARK 1.1. The establishment of a list of the physical variables conditioning the
behavior of a given process and their classification is the first step for the gathering of
knowledge about the behavior of the process. This step is fundamental in the frame-
work of the development of control systems. The most valuable contribution of block
diagrams is their ability to identify and categorize information about the controlled
process.

R EMARK 1.2. Figure 1.2 defines in a certain manner the border between the process
considered and its environment: a system.

P ROBLEM 1.2. Characterize the time delay associated with this drying furnace.

S OLUTION 1.2. There is a noticeable delay between the instant a change in the input
(control variable) is implemented and when the effect is observed, with the process
output displaying an initial period of no response. When a process involves mass or
energy transport, a time delay (transportation lag) is associated with the movement. In
this case, this time delay is equal to the ratio L/V , where V represents the velocity of
the raw material (prunes).

2. In the case where the furnace is not equipped with sensors for the online measurement of the
corresponding variables.
 On Process Modeling 17

Figure 1.3. Tank-level-regulation system

Figure 1.4. Block diagram of the tank-level-control system

The next problem shows that the role (control variable, output, etc.) played by a
given physical variable depends on the system considered.

P ROBLEM 1.3. Consider a tank-level-regulation system (see Figure 1.3). This consists
of a manual valve and a tank. Determine a block diagram and a dynamic model of this
level-control system.

S OLUTION 1.3. The block diagram is shown in Figure 1.4, where the rate of opening
of the valve is x, the inlet flow rate is Fin , the tank level is L and the liquid leak rate
is Fout .

In view of the previous remark, we observe that the inlet flow rate plays two roles:
a controlled variable for the valve and a control variable for the tank. The dynamic
model can be derived from a mass balance consideration. For an interval dt of time,
we obtain:

Fin dt − Fout dt = variation of the volume of liquid contained in the tank,

Fin dt − Fout dt = A dL,
18 Control of Continuous Linear Systems

where A represents the cross-section of the tank. Observe that the accumulation of
water in the tank is modeled by an integrator. The association of an integrator with a
time delay permits us to model many chemical processes.

1.2.1. Heat and mass balances

The next problems concern the development of a phenomenological model of a

set of systems. Let us first recall the main idea behind this development process. If,
in a given system, mass and/or heat transfers take place, mass and/or energy balances
yield differential equations governing the behavior of the process. In the framework
of fluid mechanics, the force-momentum balances are also considered:
– Mass balances express the fact that the quantity of material entering the system
minus the quantity of material leaving it is equal to the accumulation of material in
the system.
– Energy balances express the fact that the heat (energy) supplied to the system
is equal to the sum of the quantities of heat transferred to all the components of the
system and its surroundings, plus the accumulation of energy in the system.

The heat transfer may occurs via conduction, radiation or convection. Radiation oc-
curs at high temperature. The heat transferred by radiation is proportional to T 4 ,
where T represents the absolute temperature expressed in kelvin. It remains negligi-
ble for temperatures less than 200 − 300˚C. Transfer by conduction is proportional
to the temperature gradient. For example, if the outside temperature decreases, the
loss of energy from a furnace increases. Convection corresponds to heat transfer by
mass motion of a fluid such as air (heating in a building) or water (in a kettle) when
the heated fluid, which carries energy with it, moves away from the source of heat. In
processes involving mass transfer, non-linearities of product type appear. The quantity
of a product A contained in a mixture is given by:
Fm (t) CA (t)
where Fm (t) and CA (t) represent the flow rate of the mixture and the concentration
of the component A, respectively.

P ROBLEM 1.4. Consider the system depicted in Figure 1.5. This consists of a feed
system (valve), two tanks and two restrictions. Derive a mathematical model of this
system.

S OLUTION 1.4. This system involves only mass (liquid) transfer. During an interval
of time dt, the mass balances lead to the following equations:

Fin dt − Fout1 dt = accumulation of water in the first tank, (1.1)

Fout1 dt − Fout2 dt = accumulation of water in the second tank.
 On Process Modeling 19

Figure 1.5. System of two tanks

Now let us calculate the accumulation of water (liquid) in the two tanks. This accu-
mulation corresponds to the change in the volume of water contained in each tank:
first tank: A1 dL1 ,
(1.2)
second tank: A2 dL2 .
where A1 and A2 represent the cross-sections of tank 1 and tank 2, respectively. From
(1.1) and (1.2), we derive:
dL1 dL2
Fin − Fout1 = A1 , Fout1 − Fout2 = A2 . (1.3)
dt dt
According to Bernoulli’s law,3 the restrictions induce flow rates varying according to
the square root of the level, i.e.:
p p
Fout1 = k1 L1 , Fout2 = k2 L2 . (1.4)
Finally, we obtain the following non-linear model:
p dL1 p p dL2
Fin − k1 L1 = A1 , k1 L1 − k2 L2 = A2 . (1.5)
dt dt

3. In simple words, Bernoulli’s law states that the output flow rate Fout is proportional to the
square root of the level L of water in the tank considered, i.e.:
√
Fout = k L.
This relation can also be used to model the relation between the output flow rate of a valve and
its opening ratio.
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 CHAPTER VI

VACATION’S LAST FLING

“Gid-ap!” cried Betty, waving a willow switch, but not touching her
old horse with it. Four or five girls were urging their gentle steeds
along the pretty country road near the camp to which Betty Lee and
Kathryn had come for their last fling before school.
“This is like old days at the farm,” remarked Betty, rather jerkily, as
her horse picked up his pace and stride and jolted her. One of the
girls that Betty had recently met at camp passed now with a clatter
of horse’s hoofs and a flapping of girl elbows.
“She can’t ride any better than we can,” cried Kathryn, grinning. “It’s
us for riding lessons this fall, isn’t it Betty?”
Betty only nodded. This was great fun, riding up hill and down dale
in the country-side near the camp to which Betty had duly come,
although all that they had planned had not been carried out. Mr. Lee
had not brought Mrs. Lee and Amy Lou to New England, since
business in New York held him there. But the Penroses, driving up to
the Maine village to investigate all its delights, of which they were
hearing in letters from Gwen and cards from their sons, left at the
psychological moment, Gwen said, to take Kathryn and Betty with
them.
It was a little hard to leave Carolyn behind. She had given up all idea
of camp and Betty really did not see how any one could leave the
ocean unless she had to. But the restless boys had been making
ready to leave on some other trip, by boat, if Larry Waite had his
way. There would be some scattering.
Betty and Kathryn were taken by car to Boston, where they
embarked for New York, going on a “delirious” jaunt by a coast
steamer to New York. There they joined the Lees, Amy Lou doing
the honors of the city with great dignity and telling the girls where to
see different things of importance. Betty would not spoil Amy Lou’s
enthusiasm by reminding her that she had been there before. That
was one pleasant custom in the Lee family, to give each member a
fair chance with enthusiasms or accomplishments. To take the wind
out of anybody’s sails—well, that was too deadly!
But Betty and Kathryn had a gay time for a a week. They ate lobster
in one delightful place and had French dainties in another. And both
agreed that no summer which they ever should have could come up
to this one. Here they were now in this wonderful camp; and Betty
declared that having seen her father and mother and Amy Lou had
been quite enough to stave off any homesickness. She never would
want to go home now. Imagine! School!
This was more like school in numbers, this Indiana camp of Girl
Reserves. The group in the Maine village had been more or less an
exclusive, or small one. Here were about sixty girls, only a few of
whom Betty knew, though there were some from other high schools
in her home city. And were they friendly—and noisy, at certain
times? So Betty queried in her home letter written the day after
arrival. But it was only the camp freedom, supervised, to be sure,
that found expression here as in all camps.
Betty and Kathryn, rather expecting this to be something of an anti-
climax after Maine, were pleasantly disappointed. Why, it was
“gorgeous!” And it may be that the extravagant expressions of youth
were justified. It was “like being away to school—and without
lessons!” Betty’s only other camp experience had been a week-end
attendance upon a Fall Retreat. That she had “loved” and it had
made her happy in her interest in Lyon “T,” but it did not last long
enough. By arrangement she was here for three weeks and would
see some changes in the personnel of the girls. Many of them came
for only a week; some, for two weeks.
The camp had been a gift to the Y. W. C. A., and consisted of the
buildings and grounds of a country resort, close to a tiny country
town. The main building, originally a country hotel or club house,
was a three-story structure and had been adapted to its present use,
very much like a girls’ dormitory. Wide porches, a large room with a
fireplace for the open fires they sometimes had in cool evenings, an
immense dining room, a big “back porch” which was practically a
large room and now glassed in and screened, to be thrown open
often—all these were prominent features.
There were several small cottages and because the next group of
Girl Reserves was a large one, Kathryn and Betty had been placed in
one of these, as they were to stay over into the next period. The
girls were at first a trifle disappointed, but when they found that a
phoebe was nesting on the ledge above their very door, undisturbed
with their passing in and out, they were quite delighted.
Main building, cottages and all were perched on a wooded bluff
above the banks of a beautiful little river. It was not the ocean, to be
sure, but Betty was satisfied when she first realized the loveliness of
the place, its tall trees, the birds nesting close by and their songs in
the morning. And oh, the nice space! Little country roads, deep
hollows, thick woods, all sorts of growths with the wild flowers of
the late season! There was a safe backwater in which to swim and
bathe—and the water was warm, and did not taste salty! Inland
country had a beauty of its own. Moreover, there was some one to
tell you about everything.
A young science instructor from one of the colleges had charge of a
nature interest group, for which Betty and Kathryn promptly signed.
Betty joined the dramatic group and Kathryn signed up for
handicraft. Both were in the recreation group, and they concluded
that a poetry club would be “instructive.”
Yet it was not in the least like school and classes. The nature group
met out under the trees and planned or executed a hike. The
recreation group played tennis, volley ball and other outdoor games
or scampered over the country on horseback, as Betty and Kathryn
were doing now. The dramatic group took the lead in the funny
plays or masquerades or stunts with which the whole camp was
entertained.
And now the girls were jogging slowly home from their ride. The
horses would be given a little rest and another set of riders would
have their turn.
“I had a note from Ramon this morning, Kathryn,” said Betty, as she
tied her horse to the proper place and joined Kathryn in a stroll
down the hill to the bridge that crossed the river. “I haven’t had a
good chance before to tell you without somebody around.”
“Then he’s still alive,” said Kathryn, her eye on a rabbit that popped
out of the bushes and went scurrying down the little road.
“He was when he wrote it,” giggled Betty. Then she sobered,
thinking that it was not very nice of her to make a joke of anything
connected with that harassed boy.
“You didn’t tell us much about your talk with Ramon, Betty,”
remarked Kathryn, with an air of inviting confidences.
“There was so little of it,” musingly returned Betty. “Look! There’s
that Kentucky warbler that we’ve been trying to see! I didn’t know
that they nested here till Miss Davenport told us.”
“Well, Kentucky is the name of it, and if this is Indiana, camp isn’t so
far north of the Ohio River.”
Even the girls’ low voices had made the bird whisk out of sight
again. Quiet indeed must she who follows the birds learn to be!
There was no further conversation while the girls stealthily tiptoed to
a vantage point and watched the thick bushes that concealed the
warbler. Then—oh joy!—there were both of the mates. First the male
bird flew from the bush to a tree above. On a lower limb, in plain
sight, he rested for a few moments, a ray of sunlight catching the
bright yellow of his breast and showing clearly the black markings of
the head. But whisk—they were both there on the same limb for a
second, then gone! Bird study was like that!
“Now you see them and now you don’t see them!” said Betty,
wishing that she had her notebook. “Don’t let me forget, Kathryn, to
put all that down for our reports, and about the little field sparrow’s
nest we found at the foot of that tree. Gracious! I’m afraid now of
stepping on some nest when we dash around!”
“Go on about Ramon, Betty.”
The girls stopped on the great bridge and leaned on its railing to
look down at the water below. A little green heron started from a
thicket close to the river and a spotted sandpiper flew close to the
sands or gravel upon a “sand-bar” and kept on its low flight for
some distance up the stream.
“I suppose I told you how relieved he was to hear that his mother
and sister were found and all right. I tried to get him to see how
much more his mother would want him than any money, but he
doesn’t look at it that way.”
“Maybe there’s some reason we don’t know, Betty. Then folks are
different about those things. Perhaps they do care about the jewels
and their family and all more than about living, without them.”
Betty considered. “I suppose they do hate to be taken advantage of
and I suppose awful things must have happened through that old
scoundrel.” Betty looked around almost as if she expected to see
him. “Oh, let’s forget about it. Ramon Sevilla-sky will just have to
have his old adventures if he will be so obstinate. All he said in his
letter was that he was still alive and on the trail. He just wrote to
thank me for everything, he said, and he could write to Father later
on, if he had any success.”
Kathryn, who had laughed at Betty’s combination of Ramon’s name,
repeated meaningly “if he has any success!”
When the girls went back to headquarters again, they found things
humming as usual in the merry beehive of activity. Bernadine Fisher,
one of the dramatic group, handed them each a large scrap of
brown paper, torn in irregular shape and written upon with a very
black pencil. This was the invitation to a barn dance, to take place
that evening. “Look as crazy as you can,” said Bernadine. “And after
the barn dance we’re going to put on our masterpiece. Don’t forget,
Betty, that you are the heroine that gets kidnapped and everything.
Ask Miss Mercer about costume. You remember we talked about
that.”
“Yes—but what do I say?”
“Oh, make it up! The heroine doesn’t have to say much. She will
probably be gagged anyhow if she is kidnapped!”
“Yes, but I’m one of the villains,” said Kathryn, “and we didn’t write
up anything but the plot!”
“That’s all right. We almost never do for a stunt like this. Just get the
general idea and work out the details as you do it.”
Kathryn and Betty looked at each other with large-sized smiles as
Bernadine left them, though Betty was thinking to herself that
kidnapping and being gagged was not so funny in real life. She had
seen Ramon after such an experience.
“This goes in my stunt-book,” said Kathryn, holding up the artistically
torn piece of brown paper. “It’s loads of fun, Betty, but I guess we’d
better see Miss Mercer about when to come in with our speeches. It
wouldn’t do to be standing around waiting for each other before the
audience. What did I ever let you work me into this play for?”
“You know you wouldn’t miss it, Gypsy! Oh, yes, Miss Davenport, I
should say we will help you put up the bird pictures! Wait till I get
the thumb tacks for you. Have we really seen that many?”
On the big sun porch Kathryn and Betty were soon busy helping put
up, from the excellent portfolio of bird pictures published by the New
York State Museum or the “University of the State of New York,”
such pictures as represented birds actually seen by the nature group
in camp. “We have not as many as we would see in the migration
season,” Miss Davenport explained, “but it is easy enough to get at
least fifty birds that nest about here on our list. I’m making a tree
list now for the camp; and don’t forget to report all the wild flowers,
girls.”
The play that night was a great success, a few bad moments for the
actors, when something wrong was done, resulting only in shrieks of
delight and enjoyment from the audience. It was rather entertaining
to hear several startled and perfectly distinct remarks from a heroine
that was supposed to be unable to speak or call for aid. But Betty
thought she was going to be dropped by the excited villains and
spoke before she thought. “Oh!” she finished much mortified, and
Kathryn saved the day by clapping a hand over the heroine’s mouth
and calling for “another gag.”
“She will rouse the neighbors yet!” cried Kathryn with a dramatic
gesture, “and all will be lost! See, varlets, that you make a good job
of it this time!” True, “varlets” and “job” scarcely seemed to belong
to the same vernacular, but what mattered a little thing like that?
Besides, they were giving a “real play” at the end of the week.
Ah, the fun they had, the friendships they made and the lessons
they learned in “good sportsmanship” and living together! From
reveille to taps they went from one activity to another, or slept in
rest hour, or sang at meals. Two things Betty declared that she could
never forget. One was a wet evening when a fire in the big fireplace
was comfortable. It was their hearth fire and camp fire in one and
the girls sat around on the floor before it or ranged themselves in
comfortable seats at a greater distance, while one of the young
teachers who was a fine story-teller told all that they asked for of
the old tales, and more amusing or thrilling newer ones.
The other great moment came during the beautiful ceremonial at the
end of the period. Betty and Kathryn had been leaders in the school
organization and found themselves useful here. Both received
honors at the recognition service. And oh, that lovely night, with its
moon, its firelight outdoors, its lights carried by the girls among the
shadows and its inspiration!
“I like you, Betty Lee,” facetiously, yet truthfully said one of the
camp directors as Betty bid her goodbye on the big bridge. A whole
procession of girls was walking across it to take the train at the
village station and a loaded old truck was ahead of them with
suitcases galore.
The young director withdrew her arm which she had linked with
Betty’s as she strolled with the girls as far as the bridge.
“I mean it,” laughed she. “You are a wholesome, happy girl, and I
like your influence upon other girls. I hope you’ll be president of
Lyon ‘Y’ this year again.”
Betty shook her head in the negative, looking ahead at Kathryn who
was walking with one of their many new friends. “No—I’ve had that
and I want Kathryn in this year, if possible. But I’ll work for it just as
hard and all the more for having been here! Thank you for your
good opinion of me—I’ll try to deserve it. And we all just love you!
Thank you for everything! I’ve had just the happiest time!”
“I’m glad of that, my dear. Come back next year for we have bigger
plans than ever. Remember, Betty Lee, that wherever you go you are
going to have an influence you do not realize on other girls.”
“Mercy, Miss Dale, don’t tell me that! I don’t want to! If there’s
anything I hate it’s trying to manage anybody!”
“I don’t mean that,” smiled Miss Dale. “You may find out what I do
mean some day.”
But Betty dismissed this thought. The train was late and as the
crowd of girls waited they sang Skin-a-ma-rink-a-dink-a-dink, Sing-a-
linga-ling, Yawning, and other camp classics, varied by their own
versions and their hiking and goodbye songs. A tear or two had to
be wiped away over a few sentimental partings. But after the train
came in, demure and bright-eyed travelers happily boarded it.
 CHAPTER VII

SENIORS!

Could it be possible that the short summer was over? The Lee family
had exchanged news and experiences and made ready for a busy
school year. Dick, whose new name for the family was the “Foxy
Five,” had changed most of all since his summer at camp. All at once
Dick seemed to have grown up and to be as old as his twin, who
had shown an earlier maturity. He was rather heady and important
upon his first arrival, but had calmed down somewhat by the time of
school’s opening. He and Doris rather took the house, to use their
father’s expression, and regaled their parents with stories of camp
life. They took a mild interest in Betty’s trips and spent some time
together in arguing over camp matters, or comparing notes on
canoeing, swimming and the like.
And now here they all were, in the same old scramble to get to
school on time.
“It seems to me,” said Mr. Lee, “that Betty might be more simply
dressed for school.”
He and Mrs. Lee were standing before the wide window of their
front room to watch Betty, Doris and Dick start to school. Amy Lou’s
active little figure had already disappeared around the corner as she
hurried off to the grade school, near enough to be reached by
walking. There Amy Lou would be in the advanced class and felt
very old indeed.
The September morning was quite warm. Both girls wore cool, light
frocks and had taken great pains with their toilets; and Betty, as
Doris had told her, did not look as “schoolish” as usual.
The three were talking and laughing as they swung their books and
walked with light, rapid steps toward the usual corner, where they
would catch the street car. Mr. Lee sometimes drove them to school;
but this morning he was working out something at home before
going to his office. Betty carried a new, shining brown brief-case.
Doris had a gay bag. Dick swung his books from a strap.
In spite of Mr. Lee’s critical remark, the paternal eyes that followed
the three were fond and smiling. Mrs. Lee laughed a little, as she
linked her arm in that of her husband and smiled up at him. “Betty is
a little more dressed up than usual, Father, I will admit. But there is
the first auditorium session this morning and Betty for the first time
will sit in the senior section!”
“Ah!—I understand. No further explanation is necessary.”
“She can be a senior only once in this big school,” reflectively added
Betty’s mother. “I hope the child will have a happy year.”
“And not kill herself with all she wants to do,” finished Mr. Lee, “but I
insist on the honor roll.”
“Betty’s pride will keep her on that. We’ve talked things over, Betty
and I; but by this time we have found out that there is no way of
settling things beforehand. I’m not going to waste any time or
energy in worry.”
“Good!” laughingly returned Mr. Lee. “See that you keep to that
resolution. Doris is going to be more of a handful than Betty, for she
has great ideas sometimes and is more impulsive—ready to try
anything new. And Dick—I shall have to be a good father this year
and keep an eye upon what companions he has, any new ones.
Perhaps I can get out to some of the athletic events with him. I
understand he’s going to try to get on some team or other.”
“Is that so?” queried Mrs. Lee, rather dismayed. “Get us an extra
supply of liniment then!”
Meanwhile, Amy Lou had reached her school and her young friends.
The other three were on a crowded street car, full of high school
pupils, sitting and standing. Ignorant of their parents’ plans for
oversight, they were naturally and properly filled with anticipations
of the day or making their own plans for the interesting program of
events and activities that lay ahead.
Betty was not a little excited and happy over her new dignity as a
senior. Had she entered upon it unprepared, she might have been
confused. But three years in the large and well-organized high
school of which she was so proud and to which she was so loyal,
had made her entirely at home there. Now their classes had the
opportunity to lead and give tone to affairs. In some respects they
must show what they could do. This morning, taking their places in
the large, central senior section was the source of some thrills
indeed. And boys and girls who had successfully passed through the
first three years of high school had some reason to be proud. Senior
complacency is another thing; but life has a great way of taking that
out of all of us.
This morning, as the crowds of young people filled the doors and
swarmed up the aisles of the assembly hall, Carolyn, who was ahead
in Betty’s small group of friends, deliberately stepped back at the
row of seats toward the front that was vacant, and gently pushed
Betty in first. “This is all right for this morning, isn’t it?” she asked
Kathryn, who was next. “We want to hear everything.”
Betty gasped a little, for she knew that if she went in first she would
have to sit next to some boy coming in from the right hand aisle. It
was understood that the boys had the right half of the senior
section; the girls, the left. But the girls were pushing into the seats
behind her, so with no choice she obeyed Carolyn. Gwen was there,
too, and Kathryn was sending her in after Carolyn. It had happened,
and Gwen was a conditional senior in Lyon High.
“You clever old skeezicks!—making me go in first!” Betty paused a
little to say this in Carolyn’s ear.
But Carolyn only grinned, then had the grace to change expression
as she said, “Betty, I’m sorry! Look who’s coming.”
Betty looked, glanced back at the crowd of girls following and sat
down in a seat not quite midway, only to hop up again as she saw
that the whole row must be filled. “Oh, it’s all right, Caro’. I’ll not
mind.”
Nonchalant, as nattily dressed as ever, Ted Dorrance had appeared
in his most effective suit, better looking than ever. Jack Huxley came
toward Betty, stopped in the exact middle of the row and looked
down at her from a somewhat superior height.
“’Lo, Betty,” said he in friendly fashion.
“Hello, Jack,” she responded. She sat down, tucked her books under
the seat and rose again to wait till the principal was ready to lead in
the salute to the flag, with which every assembly session began.
Carolyn, repentant, began to talk to her, but Gwen was asking
questions on the other side of Carolyn. They were early. The room
was not yet full.
“Have a good vacation, Betty?” asked Jack.
“Ever so nice,” replied Betty.
“You didn’t know that I saw you, did you in the East?”
“No—where?” Betty looked up wonderingly. It was pleasant to have
Jack rather friendly, but the memory of that experience at his
birthday party and of her necessary frankness to him about it later
was not a happy one. And for him it had doubtless been more
annoying. Well, she couldn’t help it.
“I was with a party at an inn on a little Maine lake. We were just
leaving when you drove up. I knew some of your girls, but only the
Dorrances and Larry Waite of the boys.”
“Oh—yes—I remember. But I didn’t see you at all. Of course I wasn’t
looking for any one that I knew. I didn’t look at you and not speak,
did I?”
“No. One of the boys was out and snapping a picture of you all in
the car.”
“Oh, that was Archie Penrose! Funniest thing—we met the Penroses
on the way East. I was with the Gwynnes, motoring. We all got
acquainted, of course, and they said they were thinking of moving
here. Then we were together in a lot of fun in Maine; Kathryn and I
motored to Boston with them, and I never knew at all that Mr.
Penrose was considering going into the same firm my father’s in, not
until I was home and Father asked me ‘who are these Penroses you
talk about? There’s a man by that name in the firm now!’”
“Probably Penrose was undecided and not talking about it,” Jack
suggested.
“That was it—so Father supposed. And Father was awfully busy in
New York, too full of his own affairs to listen to my babblings. And
probably I didn’t babble to him much, either.”
Betty was babbling now and knew it. She had always tried to be as
friendly to Jack in public as would ordinarily be natural.
Some thought of the sort seemed to occur to Jack. All at once he
bent toward her and said, “You’re a peach, Betty Lee. I’ve forgiven
you.” He said it with a laugh and turned to speak to the boy standing
on his other side.
Betty sighed with relief and turned to Carolyn; but a hush fell over
the assembly and all eyes were on the principal and the flag.
Busy, pushing hours followed. After all, there was something good
about being at work. You were getting somewhere and there wasn’t
any time going to waste!
After school some of the girls were playing hockey and a number
were at the tennis court. There, tired after games, a group of the
reunited seniors were gathered. On a grassy elevation, heels dug
into the slight incline, Betty, Carolyn and Mary Emma Howland were
recovering breath from their last effort.
“One thing,” Mary Emma was saying, “about playing hockey with
seniors is that they know how to play by this time and you’re not in
danger of having some girl swing her stick over her head and give
you a side swipe!”
That amused Carolyn Gwynne. “Did I ever hit you when I was a
freshman, Mary Emma?”
“Never, Carolyn. You don’t get excited when you’re learning
anything. Who beat at tennis?”
“Betty beat, you might know,” laughed Carolyn, looking at her recent
opponent. “But I don’t care. I can play tennis all right and I
occasionally beat even Betty.”
Betty was too pre-occupied just now to do more than give Carolyn a
smiling look. The two girls understood each other.
Kathryn Allen now strolled up with Gwen Penrose and Betty hopped
up, saying that she forgot to tell Gwen to save a certain date for
“something doing.” And as Betty moved toward the girls, near at
hand, Mary Emma said softly to Carolyn, “Remember, Carolyn, that
we simply must have Betty as President of the G. A. A. this year. I’ve
got to talk to you about it. Mathilde has something started already
about it and there is another girl that would like to be it.”
“Mathilde! Why, she couldn’t do it any more than a—rabbit!”
“Mathilde has some following, Carolyn, and she is a sorority girl. I
doubt if Mathilde could get it herself, but she might fix it up so Betty
couldn’t divide the vote and—you know—get a ‘second best’ girl in to
keep Betty out, even if she couldn’t get it for herself.”
“Does she dislike Betty that much?”
“She has always been jealous of her.”
“By the way, does anybody know whether Lucia Coletti is coming
back or not? Betty hadn’t heard at last accounts.”
“Well, Betty would be the first one. I wish she would come back. She
and Peggy Pollard have a good deal of influence with the sorority
girls. I sometimes think Betty should have gone in. She had the
chance, I know, with the Kappa Upsilons.”
Carolyn did not reply to this, and Betty was turning back with the
girls, who selected a grassy seat and dropped down to join their
friends. “Can you realize it, girls?” queried Kathryn. “We’re actually
seniors at last!”
“Let’s have a club,” suggested Betty. “I was thinking about that just
before you and Gwen came up.”
“Another club?” asked Carolyn. “Seems to me Lyon High needs most
anything more than any new organization.”
“I didn’t mean a big club. I mean a little club of our own, not a
sorority and not exactly secret; but just to get together sometimes,
for fun and to plan things if we want to.”
“A secret caucus!”
“That’s it, Kathryn,” laughed Betty, who had no such intention at all.
“We could have it a hiking club or a swimming club or even a literary
club—for collateral reading.”
“Now wouldn’t that be wonderful!” cried Carolyn, as sarcastically as
generous Carolyn ever could manage. Betty giggled.
“Think of the time we’d save, reading together,” suggested Mary
Emma, in pretended sincerity.
“No,” urged Betty, “but here we are together this year for the last,
maybe. Carolyn’s going East to school, Mary Emma’s folks may move
to California, I don’t know what I’m going to do, and anyhow we’ve
this grand senior year together. Besides, what’s the matter with
taking a book along if we go on a picnic together and having—
Carolyn, who is so so enthusiastic about the literary idea—read us
some famous poem, or whatever they give us this year? Somebody
think up a name for it, though if you all don’t want it, I’m too lazy to
urge it.”
“I think that the Hiking Hoodlums or some pretty name like that
would be least revealing of our real object,” giggled Mary Emma.
“Lovely,” assented Betty. “We can consider that suggestion. By the
way—I ought to get home before too late. I called up Mother at
noon about something very important—a change in my schedule,
and she told me that a letter from Lucia had come and was ‘waiting
for me!’ I hope it is to tell me that she’s coming back to Lyon High,
don’t you!”
The assent was general and emphatic. “I was just talking to Carolyn
about Lucia,” said Mary Emma. “Do call us all up and tell us the
news after you have read it.”
“I will if I have time,” promised Betty. “Come on, seniors. Let’s make
up a senior song of our own and sing it on the first hike of the
Happy Hoodlums.”
“Oh, Betty!” cried Carolyn. “You wouldn’t really have such a name for
a club, would you?”
“Unless you promise to read poetry to us,” threatened Betty.
“I don’t know which would be worse,” laughed Carolyn.
In high spirits the senior girls separated; but Mary Emma caught up
with Betty before they left the grounds. “By the way, Betty,” said
she, “wasn’t it terribly dramatic and wasn’t Ramon Balinsky simply
thrilled to find out that his mother and sister were living?”
It was all Betty could do not to show her surprise and a certain
dismay at this speech from Mary Emma. “Gwendolyn Penrose told
me all about it this noon at lunch,” Mary Emma added.
“Why no, Mary Emma,” said Betty. “You would expect it to be
dramatic, I know. But you see Ramon was so nearly dead when the
boys told him, partly to rouse him, Ted said; and when he finally
took it in, he was by himself, I suppose, though the boys would
never make a big story of it anyhow. But you must be careful, Mary
Emma, not to tell about it, because Ramon had to go after that man,
he said, and they might worry if they knew. So we’re not telling his
mother and sister yet, because he asked us not to.”
“I think that’s all nonsense,” said Mary Emma, “but I won’t tell
anyhow. I promised Gwen I wouldn’t. And isn’t Gwen Penrose an
addition to the class and our crowd! Everybody that meets her likes
her so far.”
“Gwen is nice, Mary Emma, and you must meet her brothers. One is
a real artist already. They’re just getting settled now. And what do
you think? We may move, the first of the month to a whole house
instead of an apartment. Father and Mother are looking, to decide
now. It is a terrible undertaking, but it will be wonderful to have
more room. If we do, I’m going to have a party first thing!”
But Betty wondered, on her way home, how in the world, with all
the people knowing about it that did, “the facts were to be kept from
Mrs. Sevilla and Ramona Rose.” That was what Ramon had called his
sister, Betty remembered.
 CHAPTER VIII

ONE OF THOSE A-D PARTIES

“It will probably not reach them very soon, Betty,” comfortably said
Mrs. Lee when Betty expressed her concern over “the way Gwen
was telling the girls” about Ramon. “Moreover, that is a risk that
Ramon runs, not you, by his request and not sending them word
himself. Other people can only try to be considerate. So far as I am
concerned, I should prefer to know all about my children, to bear
the trouble with them if necessary. Never keep anything from me
with the idea of sparing me, Betty!”
“All right, Mamma. We’ll probably need you too badly to do any
stunts of the sort!”
Betty was soon in the midst of Lucia Coletti’s letter, running excitedly
to find her mother again after she had finished reading it. “Why,
Mother, she is coming! Isn’t that great? And moreover she said that
she might get here before the letter.
“See—it’s mailed at Milan. They were in Switzerland for the hot
weather, but when they decided to have Lucia come to finish her
senior year at Lyon High, she and her mother ‘ran down to Milan’ to
their ‘palazso’ for some things Lucia wanted and Lucia might just go
right on and sail as soon as she was all packed up. It all depended
on what reservations or accommodations or whatever you call it they
could get on a steamer. That also made it uncertain what route she’s
coming by, whether from Naples or Cherbourg or what. Here, read it
Mother. It’s a short one. She has stacks of things to tell me, she
says.”
Mrs. Lee smilingly read the brief letter, enclosed in a noticeable
envelope, very elegant, Betty said, and having the “family crest” or
some “Italian sign” on it. It amused Betty’s mother to hear her
running comments as she read and she handed back the letter with
the remark that Lucia had “not neglected to acquire some of the
American vocabulary.”
“Certainly,” said senior Betty. “And she thinks about it when she
writes to me!”
“I wonder what arrangements she will make here. I suppose she will
stay at her uncle’s. If you like to invite her to be with you, Betty, part
of the time or for any visit, we could manage it. We have just
decided, your father and I, to take the house we looked at this
afternoon. I’m almost sorry that it could not be the one out in the
same suburb as the Gwynne’s your sake, or the one Mrs. Dorrance
recommended, not very far from their fine place. But this seems
suitable in every way. The only one of your friends that I know lives
anywhere near is Marcella Waite—though our place is much more
modest. Marcella is not in your class, of course, but I understand
that she is to attend the university.”
“Yes, she is not to be away from her mother this year. And besides,
Marcella does not want to leave the crowd that’s going to the
university this year. Why, Mother, it does not matter about living near
Carolyn. We see each other every day at school and at other times,
too, though it would be convenient to be near. I am crazy to see the
house. Did you just find it for the first or is it one you looked at?”
“Just discovered it. It is for sale, too, and after living in it a while to
try it out, so to speak, we might buy it.”
“Oh, Mother! Then it wasn’t a mistake to come to the city?”
“Your father is doing very well now,” said Mrs. Lee with her
customary reserved way of putting things.
This decision and the immediate prospect of change was even more
exciting than the news from Lucia. Betty expected to call up her
friends as she had almost promised, but not until more of her
curiosity had been satisfied in regard to the new home. Would they
sell the old home at Buxton? No, that was to be kept. It was well
rented now. Would they have to have much new furniture? Very
little. They would add good furniture as it seemed advisable.
“Our oldest things are the best, Betty, you know, the ‘antiques’ that
Mrs. Dorrance admires so much. And I think I can persuade one of
my friends in Buxton to let me have some that she has, at a fair
price. I happened, too, to think of old Mrs. Buxton, for whose family
the town was named—and she has no one to leave her things to—
she has closed her house, I think, and has a tiny apartment in
Columbus, with some one to take care of her.”
In great enthusiasm Betty called up Carolyn first. Good news was
always shared first with her, though Kathryn was “a close second.”
“Yes, Lucia is actually coming! Isn’t that wonderful? I can scarcely
wait to hear all about it,” said Betty at the telephone, outlining
Lucia’s letter after this burst of rejoicing. “And we’re moving, and I
haven’t yet seen the place! Mother and Father just found the house
they want.”
Carolyn naturally wanted street and number and the conversation
was so prolonged that some one who wanted the line impatiently
took a receiver off and replaced it several times, till Betty realized
the situation. “Somebody wants the line, Carolyn, so I’ll have to ring
off. So long.”
After dinner that evening, Mr. Lee, who had a key to the recently
rented house, drove his interested family around to it. Betty was
secretly not particularly sorry to have the new home in the suburb
that held the Waite home. She had always liked Marcella very much,
even if she were not intimate and had not joined the sorority to
which Marcella belonged. Then, to be sure, there was Larry! But
Betty did not mention him when Doris on the way was saying that
with Chet “so attentive to Betty” it would be better for him if they
had taken “that house Mrs. Dorrance wanted us to have.” Doris had
seen that.
“I fancy that if Chet wants to see me he will be able to find us,”
demurely said Betty to Doris. “And, you know what pretty trees and
big yards they have out near Marcella.”
Doris nodded assent and approval began to increase as Mr. Lee
drove into a comparatively quiet street and drew up before an
attractive place in the middle of the square or block. “We’ll be more
peaceful in the center of things,” said he. “Our yard is wide and fairly
deep and you see that pretty little wooded ravine at its end? There
are some advantages about a city with hills. There is room enough
for Amy Lou to slide down hill in winter, though the land does not all
belong to this place. It is shared by the various owners.”
It was fascinating to go into the house with its vacant and echoing
rooms and halls. It was modern, comparatively new, and with
enough bedrooms! Dick said that it would be pretty foxy to have a
“real room” of his own instead of the “den.” Doris and Betty could
now have separate rooms and Amy Lou was to have a small room
perhaps intended only as a dressing room. But she was happy over
it. “What shall we do when Amy Lou grows up?” asked Doris, though
executing a lively dance with Betty about the empty room that was
to be hers.
“I think we need not worry about that,” replied Mr. Lee. “From
present indications I should say that if we keep both our older girls
till that happens we shall do well.”
“Father!” cried Betty, giving Doris a whirl and stopping the
evolutions.
“I think I’d like Betty’s room,” soberly said Amy Lou, “when she
marries Ch——”
But Betty had clapped a hand over that pretty and mischievous
mouth of her small sister. “Amy Lou, your imagination works
overtime!”
Amy Lou struggled, but laughed. “Doris says that the girl Kathryn
calls ‘Finny’ and Jack Huxley got engaged this summer. Senior girls
do!”
“Not if they have any sense,” said Betty, but her mother shook her
head at her. “What, Mother—do you approve? Is the world coming to
an end?”
“I do not approve for you, Betty, or Doris,” said Mrs. Lee, much
amused by the whole incident, “but I should not say that it is out of
place for all girls to marry early.”
“I shall remember that, Mrs. Lee,” said Doris, walking off with quite
an air while Mr. Lee who had heard from the next room, came in to
add his last contribution to the affair.
“See what you have done, Mother! But we’re going to have such a
pretty home of it here that I defy any lad to carry off one of my girls
for a while! Now come on into this other room for a moment,
Mother, and tell me what furniture we need for it.”
“Silly!” Dick was saying to Doris. “Before you like anybody too much
just let your old twin pick him out. I’m likely to know more than you
do about the kids.”
Doris gave Dick a rather impertinent glance, then brightened,
replying, “All right, provided you let me do the same for you!”
Betty, going into the upstairs room which would be hers, stood there
alone, deciding where the furniture should be placed, but she
thought of what Amy Lou had said. Amy Lou dashed after her to say
that she thought Betty’s room was the best bedroom of all because
it overlooked the ravine at the rear. “I meant it, Betty,” she said
earnestly, “but you mustn’t think that I want it for—oh, the longest
time!”
Betty stooped, took the pretty face between her palms and kissed it.
“That is all right, Amy Lou! Just please don’t pick out whom I’m
going to marry yet, will you?”
Eyes as blue as Betty’s looked up and a golden mop of almost as
bright as Betty’s hair was shaken back. “Yes, of course. You might
change your mind, mightn’t you?”
“And perhaps I’ve never made it up at all,” whispered Betty.
Amy Lou nodded and went away, satisfied that she had had a
confidence from that big sister of hers. Chet needn’t think Betty
wondered where her sister had heard about “Finny.” But if there
were anything in the report she would soon hear at school.
Long they tarried in the empty house and about the yard. There
were flowers and shrubs and some pretty trees, beside those of the
ravine, with its thickets and the one long track or path to the
bottom. “May I have a party right away?” asked Betty, looking
around at the large front room whose hall was almost a part of it,
and the room which Doris said should be a library widely opening
behind it. Doris and Amy Lou immediately asked the same question,
till Mrs. Lee suggested that they move in first.
“Yes,” said she. “That is one pleasure for us in this roomy house. I
plan some entertaining myself. You shall have your turn all of you,
Dick, too.”
It was dark when at last the Lees reached home; and Betty, though
called by lessons to prepare, remembered one more responsibility
and ran to call up Marcella Waite.
“Oh, but I’m glad to have found you in, Marcella. Why, they’ve made
me chairman of the committee for the A-D party, Marcella, and I
thought I’d better ask you what you did. I missed the party when I
was a freshman myself and now that we give it, I ought to know a
few details. I asked one of the teachers about it after assembly this
morning, and she said, ‘Oh, yes, one of those A-D parties,’ with such
a bored air that I thought I’d better ask somebody who might have a
speck of enthusiasm. I suppose they do get tired of some things,
though.”
Betty could hear Marcella’s low laugh. Then her friends briefly
outlined the usual A-D program and wound up her remarks by
saying that Larry would make a flying visit home before ‘college
began.’ “I’ll have him drive over for you and bring you over for
dinner,” said Marcella, “and then we can discuss A-D parties and
other things. Will you come?”
“Will I? How soon does the university start, Marcella? All right. It will
seem good to see Larry. What fun we all had this summer! ’Bye.”
 CHAPTER IX

THE SENIORS ENTERTAIN

The A-D party was probably the first “official” senior duty, or
pleasure, said Betty. It was the entertainment of the D class, or
freshmen, by the A class, or seniors. By long custom it was
celebrated at the beginning of the year and constituted a sort of
initiation or adoption of the freshman class into Lyon High. There
was nothing difficult about it and much that was sheer fun, including
the refreshments. Oh, yes, it might be mentioned that it was
confined entirely to the senior and freshman girls. No masculine
member of the freshman class was ever asked to dress in more or
less infantile fashion and so appear, at a party and even in some
fashion that marked them, at least, during the day at school which
preceded the party.
One morning, as Betty was getting her locker open, a shy, attractive
little freshman girl came up to her. “Please, Miss—Betty Lee, are you
too busy to tell me something?”
“Always ready to impart knowledge,” jokingly Betty replied, putting a
book on the shelf of her locker and taking another out. “What can I
do for you, Eileen? Did you get my invitation to the A-D party?”
“Yes—that’s it. Thank you so much for asking me to be your ‘little
sister.’ I’ve felt better ever since to have a girl like you ask me.” The
slight girl looked at Betty and continued.
“I thought I’d better ask you about it because I’ve heard so many
things about what the freshman girls have to do, dressing up like
babies and going around all day at school that way. And must we
look crazy?”
“No,” laughed Betty, “just ‘cute,’ and while you are supposed to have
some badge of childhood all day, you needn’t be dressed that way at
classes. Bring whatever you are going to dress up in to school and
put it in your locker. You have such nice hair—why don’t you have
long curls and tie them with a ribbon. You would look darling!”
The rather worried face brightened. “Why, I used to have curls! I’ll
just do it, Betty Lee. Thanks awfully.”
“You’ll make a hit in classes,” said Betty. “Excuse me, I’ll have to run.
See me again if you have any doubts about anything.”
“That is Betty Lee,” explained Eileen to the freshman girl she joined
on leaving the vicinity of Betty’s locker. “I just adore her! She’s going
to take me to the A-D party.”
“Oh, I’ve seen her. She’s a very prominent senior and wins
swimming matches and everything.”
It was a pity that Betty could not hear this sincere freshman tribute,
but as it was she was likely to be spoiled enough, if Betty could be
spoiled, before her senior year was over.
“Girls,” Betty, chairman of the A-D entertainment committee, said
that day after school, to an assembled few whom she had asked to
stay, “there absolutely isn’t time to get up a real play or anything we
have to learn. How are we going to entertain the freshmen? Speak
up, ladies, or else ‘forever after,’ and so forth.”
“Are we supposed to be the ‘cast?’” asked Mary Jane Andrews.
“You are.”
“Then I speak for a pantomime.”
This statement met with a general giggle from the seniors as well as
some applause.
“What pantomime do you know, Mary Jane?” severely asked Betty,
rapping for order and pretending to glare at Mary Jane.
“Well—I don’t just think of one right now!”
“Why not give the Tragedy of the Lighthouse Keeper?” Selma Rardon
suggested.
“Has that been given lately?”
“Not that I know of.”
“Who does know?”
“I know positively,” said Dotty Bradshaw, “what the seniors have
done since we were freshmen ourselves. It’s always written up in the
Lyon Roar, you know. What they did back in the ages doesn’t
concern us, you know.”
“Is it as old as that?” asked Carolyn.
“I’m sure I don’t know how old it is, but the freshmen could stand it
if they’ve heard it before—I mean, seen it. It’s all in the funny
costumes and acting anyhow and with the present cast anything
could be done.”
“Yes,” laughed Betty, “I’m afraid of that!”
At that the girls all claimed to be desperately offended and Kathryn
said she was sure she could not act after such an implication.
“I take it all back. It was too good an opportunity to lose, Dotty. You
are always getting things off on us. Well, now, shall we decide to
take Selma’s suggestion? I’m just swamped with work and with Mary
Jane and Mary Emma saying that they will see to ordering the
refreshments and getting somebody to bring the ice-cream over to
the gym, that is one load off. Now if we decide on this, one practice
will be enough, just to know when to do what. Dotty, will you be
director?”
“You don’t need a director, Betty. I’d rather be the villain. I have a
lovely pirate costume of my brother’s.”
“Good. You’ll make a beautiful villain, then. Be sure your knife is
made of pasteboard.”
“What else?” laughed Dotty.
“Do you think, Betty, that our freshman children ought to see such a
pantomime?”
“We might change it, Carolyn, and have the lighthouse keeper only
slightly injured and the villain caught. Carolyn, you be director!”
“All right. I’d rather do that than act in that dizzy thing.”
Plans were at last all made, parts assigned, the time for the one
practice in the gym set. Betty knew that she could count on these
girls and went off to the next thing on hand as school girls do,
dismissing all immediate responsibility.
The freshmen naturally took the event more seriously than their
senior entertainers, for they were the ones who had to make
themselves conspicuous all day at school. They blossomed forth in
childish arrangement of hair as far as possible, if it were nothing
more than wearing a hair ribbon, and that whether the children of
the period wore hair ribbons or not. Bibs or wide collars were the
order of the day. Sashes decorated otherwise ordinary dresses,
though lockers were full of childish outfits.
As the freshmen girls much outnumbered the seniors, it was
necessary for a senior girl to escort more than one freshman. And to
the relief of the freshmen, they remained in the home room until
called for, each senior doing her best to make her freshmen girls feel
at ease and happy over the fun.
“We might call it a ‘tea dance,’” said Betty, as she escorted her two
freshmen over to the girls’ gymnasium. “First we’ll have a bit of a
program, a sort of welcome to the freshmen. Then there will be a
silly little play; and then we’ll dance, and have refreshments. It’s
easy gym dancing, you know. You look just lovely, girls! How in the
world did I happen to pick two long-haired freshmen?”
Betty’s “baby sisters” did happen to have a taking arrangement of
their hair. Eileen had long black curls, caught back at the proper
places by ribbons, and the other, known as Ann, wore her hair in two
tight brown braids. Although her hair was drawn straight back from
her face, oddly enough the effect was becoming.
The first event was announced as the “Freshman Initiation” and little
“ohs,” and “oh dear, how awful!” ran through the assembled
freshmen. But the initiation turned out to be only a “Baby Parade” in
which the freshmen marched in time to music and rather enjoyed
showing off themselves and their funny costumes. There was also a
ridiculous pledge read by one of the senior girls with great sobriety,
hard to maintain amid the giggles and occasional shrieks of laughter
from the freshmen who listened. All the ridiculous things that Dotty
Bradshaw could think of were included in this freshman pledge, such
as sweeping curtseys to the senior girls whenever they met them in
the halls or on the street. But by some “oversight,” as Betty
announced later, Dotty forgot to have the pledge passed to be
signed.
Whether or not any of the freshmen had seen or taken part in a
“Tragedy of the Lighthouse Keeper” did not appear to matter, for
they laughed as heartily as could be desired. First appeared Selma
as the lighthouse keeper, wearing a long coat and an ancient vest
over her own dress. True, her pretty silk hose and low shoes looked
a bit incongruous, but Betty had announced that imagination had a
good deal to do with this pantomime.
The lighthouse keeper picked up his lantern and began to go around
before the audience in large circles, gradually narrowing. His steps
began to grow slower as he was supposed to ascend the circular
stair to the light. And now, what was that figure that stealthily
entered the outer circles, crept round and round and within the
narrower circles gradually approaching the lighthouse keeper? Dotty,
in full pirate costume, velvet knee breeches, sash and large
pasteboard knife, painted red, was received with shrieks of delight,
though Eileen said to Ann that it almost made her nervous to see
them going round and round.
But every one’s imagination could picture the ascending circular
stairs to the top of the lighthouse. Presently the dramatic moment
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