INTRODUCTION

The overall goal of the laboratory portion of this course is to design a controller for the Quanser
Flexible Joint system. This integration of theory and material learned in class into a series of hands-
on experiments allows for a better understanding of the material. For the first experiment, the
students are introduced to open-loop control using a Simulink interface. The apparatus used for the
experiment is a flexible joint designed and built by Quanser (Figure 1). This system consists
primarily of an electric motor driving a rotor with a flexible arm.

FIGURE 1: QUANSER ROTARY FLEXIBLE JOINT
The specific objectives of this experiment are two-fold. The first objective is to investigate the
response of the Quanser link to open-loop control. The second objective is to validate our model by
comparing the theoretical and experimental results.
The students first develop a theoretical model for the system, using methods learned in class. In
systems analysis, the relationship between the input and output of a system may be modeled by a
transfer function. By modeling the transfer function in the frequency domain, a Bode plot may be
generated. Bode plots are powerful tools, as they allow for the rapid analysis of system behaviour
over a large range of frequencies.

RESULTS
Q1
The theoretical Bode plot of the system across a large frequency domain is shown in Figure 2.
Further, the experimental results and theoretical values are plotted together in Figure 3, isolated in
the experimental frequency domain. It can be seen that the experimental results follow a similar
trend to the theoretical model, especially at lower frequencies. At higher frequencies there appears
to be a divergence. Considering the many potential sources of error, the experimental results were
reasonably similar to what was expected from the theoretical model.

FIGURE 2: THEORETICAL BODE PLOT