Principles of Control Systems

Chapter 1
Introduction to Control Systems

Company
LOGO
 Objectives

Upon completing this topic, you should know;

 the fundamentals of Control System
 the comparison between open loop and closed
loop control schemes
 the design objectives of acquiring control system
 Introduction

Student activity 1: Brainstorming

In 1 minutes, discuss with your partner what

a “Control System” is all about ?

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 Basic Component of a control
system

 Control System Definition

Consists of subsystems and processes/plants assembled
for the purpose of controlling the outputs of the processes.
Provides an output or response for a given input or
stimulus
A control system is an interconnection of components
forming a system configuration that would provide a
desired output in response to input signals.

Input; stimulus Control Output; response

Desired response System Actual response

Basic Block Diagram of Control System

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Control System Objectives
 Control/regulate the output from some
process to be constant at the
required/desired value.
 Make the process output follow a
particular changing form.

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 Advantages of Control System

• We build control systems for four primary reasons:

 -Power amplification - e.g. radar antenna position
 -Remote control - e.g. robots in contaminated areas
 -Convenience of input form - e.g. temperature control system
 -Compensation for disturbances - e.g. antenna position in
the presence of strong wind

 In addition, we can
 move large equipment with precision
 point huge antennas toward the farthest reaches of
universe to pick up faint radio signals
 Some Examples Of Control System
Applications

1. The student-teacher learning process.

2. Modern ship uses electrical, mechanical and hydraulic components to
develop rudder commands in response to desired heading commands to
steer the ship.

Simplified block diagram of a ship steering control

3. Thickness control system for a steel plate finishing mill.

Steel plate thickness control system

4. Aircraft wing control system.
5. Anti-aircraft radar-tracking control system.
 Response Characteristics
 A control system responses to an input by undergoing a
transient response, before reaching a steady state.
 Response characteristic – input, output, transient response,
steady-state response and steady-state error
desired response gradual change before the steady
state response

Actual response

differences between
input and output
 Response Characteristics
 Input/stimulus – a desired response
 Output – the actual response
 Transient response – a gradual change from one
steady state to another when there are changes in
the input
 Steady-state response – a state after transient
component settle down

Only exists for a stable system
 Steady-state error – the differences between input
and output
A typical response of a system to a step input.
 System Configurations: i) Open-
loop Control System(OLCS)

 The output signal of OLCS is not fed back to influence the control action
 The control action of an OLCS depends only on the input signal
 OLCS are not capable of filtering disturbances or noise
 OLCS are suitable when input signal for satisfactory system performance
can be estimated/approximated and does not change
 Advantages of OLCS are that its structure is simple compared to a closed
loop control system and is cheaper to build.

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 ii) Closed-loop Control
System(CLCS)

 The output signal of a CLCS is fed back to influence the control action and
improve the overall system performance
 Examples: robot arms, velocity control systems, temperature control systems
 However, in practical, a combination of both OLCS and CLCS is normally used.
For example, washing machine: the process of filling up the tank with water is a
CLCS operation, while the process of washing and rinsing is an OLCS operation

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 Decide OLCS @ CLCS

CLCS
OLCS

OLCS & CLCS

CLCS
Try draw the block diagram of OLCS
the systems 17
 OLCS vs CLCS
Type of System Advantages Disadvantages Examples

OLCS • Simple construction and ease • The system response • Toaster

of maintenance. very sensitive to • Rice cooker
• Less expensive than a external disturbance • Electric fan
corresponding closed-loop and internal variations • Photocopy machine
control system in system parameters.
• There is no stability problem • Recalibration is
• Convenient when output is necessary from time to
hard to measure or time in order to
measuring the output maintain the required
precisely is economically not quality in the output
feasible
CLCS • insensitive to external • Risk instability • Positioning CS
disturbance and internal • Complexity in analysis (robot arms)
variations in system and implementation • Velocity CS (vehicles
parameters. and expensive cruise system)
• Possible to use relatively • Temperature CS
inaccurate and inexpensive (Air-conditioner)
components to obtain the
accurate control of a given
plant.
• Better control of transient &
steady-state response
• Increased accuracy
• Increased ability to reproduce
output with varied input

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 Example 1

Steering a car on a curve road

Discuss how to control a car when driving

on a curve road??

Desired
direction
Actual Block Diagram
direction

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 Example 2

Input

Output

Sensor

Block Diagram

Controller
Plant

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 Example 3

Input
Controller

Pilot

Gyro Sensor
Plant
Output

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 Lets see some animation on control syste
m!!

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 Analysis And Design Objectives

 Control systems are dynamic : they

response to an input by undergoing a
transient response before reaching
steady-state response that generally
resembles the input.
 3 major objectives:-

Producing the desired transient response

Reducing steady-state error

Achieving stability
 Analysis And Design Objectives
 Three major objectives:

1 Producing the desired transient response

2 Reducing steady-state error

3 Achieving stability
 Analysis And Design
Objectives
i) Producing the desired transient response. Transient
response is the case when the plant is changing from one
steady state to another, when there are change in the input
signal; example: elevator
ii) Reducing steady state error. Steady state response only
exist for stable system. An important characteristic for design is
the steady state error. Example an elevator that does not stop at
the same level at the floor may cause serious accident to its
passengers.
iii) Achieving stability: A system that can produce a
consistent/steady output is a stable system. An unstable system
is harmful to the plant and may cause serious accidents.
 Analysis And Design Objectives

Transient Response
 Important in control system
 E.g. In the case of an elevator, a slow transient makes
passenger impatient, whereas an excessively rapid
response makes them uncomfortable.
 Too fast a transient response could cause permanent
physical damage.
 Therefore, we have to analyze the system for its existing
transient response.
 Then, adjust parameters or design components to yield a
desired transient response.
 Analysis And Design Objectives

Steady-State Response
 This response resembles the input and is usually what
remains after the transients have decayed to zero.
 We define steady-state errors quantitatively,
 Analyze a system’s steady-state error, and then
 Design corrective action to reduce this error.
 The Design Process
 The design of a control system follows
these steps:
 Computer Aided Design
(CAD)
 Using computer, we can perform analysis,
design and simulation with one program.
 With the ability to simulate a design
rapidly, we can easily make changes and
immediately test a new design.
 In this subject, we use ScicosLAb for
CAD.
Try more examples
in Nise Book
(Chapter 1)!!

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