DEPARTMENT OF
ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
Introduction to control systems
September 20, 2023
© Katsuhiko, O. (2010). Modern control engineering.
Prentice-Hall.
© Burns, R. (2001). Advanced control engineering.
Butterworth-Heinemann.
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General introduction
So what is control?
Control is the power to influence or direct the behaviour
of person, a system or an environment.
So what is a control system?
A control system is a system (of devices or people) that
manages, commands, directs or regulates the behaviour
of other devices to achieve a desired result.
A control system is a system which may controls other
systems to achieve a desired state.
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The principle of operation of the Watt governor is illustrated in
Figure 1
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Figure 1: The Watt centrifugal speed governor.
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Figure 2: A steam locomotive using a flywheel to distribute the power
of its single cylinder.
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Control system fundamentals
Control involves
▶ measuring the value of the controlled variable and
▶ application of a control signal to the system
In order to limit deviation of the measured value from the
desired value
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A control system should ∴ be capable of:
▶ Measuring the output of the system, and
▶ Taking corrective action in the event that the system
deviates from some desired value
This necessitates a sensing device
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A system is defined as a collection of parts, components or
procedures, acting together within some boundary, to perform a
certain objective
Thus, a system may represent a purely physical structure or just
procedures
All systems, have certain things in common; they all require
input(s) and produce output(s)
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Boundary
Figure 3: A ‘system’ can be viewed as a black box which takes in
input signal(s) and as a result generates output signal(s).
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The engineer will have direct control over some inputs. These
inputs can be used to control the plant’s outputs, and are ∴ known
as control inputs
The input signals over which the engineer has no control, will
tend to adversely deflect the plant outputs from their desired
values. These are called disturbance inputs
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In Figure 4, the rudder and engines are the control inputs,
adjusted to control the controlled variables like heading and
forward velocity
The wind, waves and current are disturbance inputs, these
induce errors (non desirable roll, pitch and heave motions) in the
controlled variables.
Figure 4: A ship
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Normally the system being controlled is referred to as the plant,
represented by the block diagram in Figure 5
This block diagram shows the relationship between the control
input, disturbance input, plant and controlled variable
Figure 5: Plant inputs and outputs
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Classification of control system
Control systems are classified into two categories:
1. Open-loop control systems
2. Closed-loop control systems
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Open-loop control systems
▶ Figure 5, is an example of an open-loop control system. Its
control action is independent of the output(s)
▶ Used for very simple applications
▶ Its main problem is that; the controlled variable is very
sensitive to changes in disturbance inputs
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Important features of open-loop systems
▶ Their ability to perform accurately is determined by their
calibration
▶ Simple in construction and easy to maintain
▶ Less expensive than a corresponding closed-loop system
▶ Convenient when output is hard/uneconomical to measure
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▶ Disturbances and changes in calibration cause errors
▶ Not generally troubled with problems of instability
▶ Recalibration is necessary from time to time, to maintain
the required quality in the output
Examples of open-loop control systems include; a man walking on
the road with eyes closed, opening a simple water tap e.t.c.
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Closed-loop control systems
▶ This is control system in which the control action is
somehow dependent on the output
▶ They are commonly known as feedback controlled systems
▶ The feedback permits the output to be compared with the
input to enable appropriate control action
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Thus,
Feedback control refers to an operation that, in the presence of
disturbances, tends to reduce the difference
between the output and the reference input of a
system, and does so on the basis of this difference
Feedback control systems refer to systems that maintain a
prescribed relationship between the output and the
reference input by comparing them and using the
difference as a means of control
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Important features of feedback/closed-loop systems
▶ Reduced effects of nonlinearities, distortion and disturbances
▶ Increased accuracy
▶ Increased bandwidth
▶ Tendency towards oscillation or instability
▶ Generally higher in cost and power
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Figure 6: Closed-loop control system.
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Examples of closed-loop control systems include
1. Room temperature control system
Figure 7: The physical realisation of a room temperature control system
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▶ In Figure 8, the output signal from a temp. sensing device is
compared with the desired temp.
▶ Any difference/error causes the controller to send a control
signal to adjust the flow of gas to the burner
▶ The desired temp. is usually obtained from manual
adjustment of a potentiometer
▶ A steady conditions occurs when the actual and desired
temperatures are the same, i.e when the heat input exactly
balances the heat loss
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Figure 8: Schematic realisations of a room temp. control system
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2. An engineering organisational system
Figure 9: Block diagram of an engineering organizational system.
A business system is a closed-loop system, with proper feedback methods, to
report the accomplishments of each group. Disturbances here include lack of
personnel or materials, human errors, e.t.c.
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Definition of terms
Output (controlled variable) The quantity (or condition) that
is measured and controlled
Control signal (manipulated variable) The quantity (or
condition) varied by the controller so as to affect
the value of the output signal
Control element (controller) The component that generates
the appropriate control signal applied to the plant
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Actuating (error signal) Is the difference between the reference
input and the feedback signal
Plant Is the equipment/body/machine of which a
particular quantity or condition is to be controlled
Feedback element The unit which provides the means for
feeding back the output quantity to compare with
the reference input
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Reference input The signal input to the control system.
Normally, it is the output required from the system
Process A progressively continuing operation, consisting of
a series of controlled actions systematically
directed toward a particular result
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Categories of control systems
1. Open and closed-loop control system
▶ An open-loop control system is one in which the output
has no effect on the input signal
▶ A closed-loop control system is one in which the output
quantity affects the input in such a manner as to
maintain the desired output value
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2. Linear and nonlinear systems
▶ A linear system is one in which the principle of
superposition applies
▶ A nonlinear system is one in which the principle of
superposition does not apply
The principle of superposition states that the response produced
by simultaneous application of two different forcing functions is the
sum of the two individual responses
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3. Linear time-invariant and time-varying systems
▶ A linear time-invariant system is a system represented by
differential equations (DEs) whose coefficients are constants
or functions only of the independent variable
▶ A linear time-varying system is a system represented by
DEs whose coefficients are functions of time
Example: A spacecraft control system, whose mass changes
as fuel is consumed
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4. Continuous-time and discrete-time systems
▶ A system is continuous-time when its input and output
signals are continuous-time
▶ A system is discrete-time when its input and output
signals are discrete-time
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x(t) Continuous-time y(t) x(k) Discrete-time y(k)
system system
Continuous-time signal is a mathematical function of an independent variable
t ∈ R, where R represents a set of real numbers.
Discrete-time signal is a single-valued mathematical function of an
independent variable k ∈ Z, where Z denotes a set of integers
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5. SISO and MIMO control systems
▶ A single-input single-output (SISO) is a control system
where one output is controlled by one control signal
▶ A multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) is a control
system whose more than one outputs are controlled by more
than one control signals
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System Order (Type)
System order (type)1 is defined by the no. of independent
energy storage elements in the system, and by the highest order
of the linear differential equation that describes the system
▶ In a transfer function representation, the order is the
highest exponent in the transfer function
▶ In a proper system, the system order is defined as the
degree of the denominator polynomial
▶ In a state-space equation, it is the number of
state-variables used in the system.
1
Type no. of a TF indicates the no. of poles in the origin that the TF has.
It can indicate whether the steady state error of the system will be zero, or a
constant value,
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Generic elements required to design and implement
a control system
1. Knowledge of the desired value; To what accuracy, and
over what range of values
2. Knowledge of the output; The output must be measured by
a feedback sensor in a form suitable for the controller to
understand
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3. Knowledge of the controlling device; The controller must
be able to accept measurements of the desired and actual
values and compute a control signal in a suitable form to drive
an actuating element
4. Knowledge of the actuating device; This amplifies the
control signal and provides the ‘effort’ to move the output
towards its desired value
In room temp. control system, the actuator is the gas
solenoid valve and burner, the ‘effort’ is the heat input
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5. Knowledge of the plant; know the static and dynamic
characteristics of the plant
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