Topic 1 :

Introduction to Control
System and mathematical
Review

Introduction to Control Systems and

Mathematical Review (3 hours)
1.
2.
3.
4.

Definition and Concepts.

Review of Laplace Transform
Elements of Control Systems.
Open-loop and Closed-loop Systems.

Definitions

System
A system is a collection of objects (components)
connected together to serve an objective or a system is
a combination of components that act together to
perform a certain objective
Control System
A control system is that means by which any quantity of
interest in a machine , mechanism or some other
equipment is maintained or altered in accordance with a
desired manner or A control system is a system in which
the output quantity is controlled by varying the input
quantity

Cont

Physical system
A physical system is a collection of physical objects
connected together to serve as objective
Physical model
An idealised physical system
Mathematical model
The mathematical representation of the physical model
Linear mathematical model
A mathematical model is said to be linear, if the
differential equation has coefficients which are
constants.

Definitions and Concepts

Controlled Variable and Manipulated Variable

The controlled variable is the quantity or condition that is measured and controlled. The
manipulated variable is the quantity or condition that is varied by the controller so as to
affect the value of the controlled variable.
Plants/Systems:

A plant is a piece of equipment, perhaps just a set of machine parts functioning together, the
purpose of which is to perform a particular operation. Any physical object to be controlled
(such as heating furnace, a chemical reactor etc) is called a plant
Processes:

A process can be defined as a natural, progressively continuing operation or development

marked by a series of gradual changes that succeed one another in a relatively fixed way and
lead toward a particular result or end: or an artificial or voluntary, progressively continuing
operation that consists of a series of controlled actions or movements systematically directed
toward a particular result or end.
Disturbances:

A disturbance is a signal which tends to adversely affect the value of the output of the
system. If a disturbance is generated within the system, it is called internal; while an external
disturbance us generated outside the system, and is an input.
Feedback control:

Feedback control is an operation which, in the presence of disturbances, tends to reduce the
difference between the output of a system and the reference input (or an arbitrary varied,
desired state) and which does so on the basis of the difference. Here, only unpredictable
disturbances (i.e. those unknown beforehand) are designated for as such, since with
predictable or known disturbances, it is always possible to include compensation within the
system so that measurements are unnecessary.

Types of Control Systems

Open loop control systems

Control systems in which the use of feedback

control action in order to reduce system error.

Closed loop control systems

Control systems in which the output has no

effect on the control action.

Open-loop control systems

Output

Input
Controller

Plant or Process

Disturbance Input

PROCESS/
SYSTEM

Manipulated Input

Reponse Input

Disturbance Input

Command
Input

CONTROLLER

Open loop control system

Manipulated
variable

PROCESS/
SYSTEM

Controlled Output

Open-loop control systems

Open-loop control systems are control systems in which

the output has no effect upon the control action.

In any open-loop control system the output is not

compared with the reference input.

the accuracy of the system depends on the calibration.

In the present of disturbances an open-loop control

system will not perform the desired task.

Open-loop control can be used in practice only if the

relationship between the input and output is known and if
there are neither internal nor external disturbances.

Clearly such systems are not feedback control systems.

Note that any control system on time basis is open-loop.

Figure: Closed-loop Control Systems

Figure : Elements of a Simplified Feedback System with disturbance

Closed-loop control systems

A system that maintains a prescribed relationship between

the output and the reference input is called a closed-loop
system (or feedback control system).
In a closed-loop control system the actuating error signal,
which is the difference between the input signal and the
feedback signal (which may be the output signal or a function
of the output signal and its derivatives), is fed to the
controller so as to reduce the error and bring the output of
the system to a desired value.
The term closed-loop always implies the use of feedback
control action in order to reduce error.
A close-loop control system is one in which the output signal
has a direct effect upon the control action. That is, closed
loop control systems are feedback control systems.
In a close-loop control system the output is measured and
used to alter the control inputs applied to the plant under
control.

The main reason for closed-loop control is the need for

systems to perform well in the presence of uncertainties.
It can reduce the sensitivity of the system to plant
parameter variations and help reject or mitigate external
disturbances.
Among other attributes of closed-loop system is the ability
to alter the overall dynamics to provide adequate stability
and good tracking characteristics.

Figure 1: Gun Positioning System

Figure 1 Speed control system.

Figure 2 Temperature control system

Figure 3 Block diagram of an engineering organizational system.

val ve

Gear
assembl y

The water level control

system:

f l oat

mot or

W
at er pool

ampl i f i er

resistance comparator
Desired
water level
Input

amplifier
Error

Actuator
Motor

Gearing

Valve

Water
container
Process

controller
Float
Feedback
signal

Figure
1.1

Fig.

measurement
(Sensor)

Actual
water level
Output

Outline ofControl Engineering Contents

1) Three parts: mathematical modeling; performance analysis ;

compensation (design).
2) Three types of systems:
linear continuous; nonlinear continuous; linear discrete.
3) three performances: stability, accuracy, rapidness.
in all: to discuss the theoretical approaches of the control
system analysis and design.

Basic performance requirements of control

systems
1) Stability.
2) Accuracy (steady state performance).
3) Rapidness (instantaneous characteristic).

Control system design process

1. Establish control goals

6. Describe a controller and select

key parameters to be adjusted

2. Identify the variables to control

7. Optimize the parameters and

3. Write the

specifications
for the variables

4. Establish the system

configuration
Identify the actuator

5. Obtain a model of the process,

the actuator and the sensor

analyze the performance

Performance does not

Meet the specifications

Performance
meet the
specifications

Finalize the design

Sequential design example: disk drive read system

A disk drive read system Shown in Fig.1

Rotation
of arm

Spindle
Disk

Track a
Track b

Actuator
motor

Arm

Head slider

Fig.1. A disk drive read system

Configuration
Principle

Sequential design:here we are concerned with the design steps

1,2,3, and 4 of Fig.1.

(1) Identify the control goal:

Position the reader head to read the date stored on a track on

the disk.
(2) Identify the variables to control:
the position of the read head.
(3) Write the initial specification for the variables:

The disk rotates at a speed of between 1800 and 7200 rpm and the
read head flies above the disk at a distance of less than 100 nm.
The initial specification for the position accuracy to be controlled:
1 m (less than 1 m ) and to be able to move the head from track a to
track b within 50 ms, if possible.

(4) Establish an initial system configuration:

It is obvious : we should propose a closed loop system , not a open loop
system.
An initial system configuration can be shown as in Fig.2

Desired
head
position

error Control
device

Actuator
motor

Read
arm

sensor

Fig.2 system configuration for disk drive

Actual
head
position

MATHEMATICAL BACKGROUND

The Laplace transform method is an operational method,

which can be used advantageously for solving linear
differential equations.
By use of Laplace transform, one can convert many common
functions such as sinusoidal functions, damped sinusoidal
functions and exponential functions into algebraic functions
of a complex variable.
Operations such as differentiation and integration can be
replaced by algebraic operations in the complex plane. Thus, a
linear differential equation can be transformed into an
algebraic equation in a complex variable.
The solution of the differential equation may then be found
by a Laplace transform table or by use of the partial fraction
technique.

Cont..

An advantage of Laplace transform method is that it

allows the use of graphical techniques for predicting the
system performance without actually solving the system
differential equations.
Another advantage of Laplace transform is that when one
solves the differential equations, both the transient
component and steady state component of the solution can
be obtained simultaneously.

Complex Variables

A complex number has a part and an imaginary part, both of which

are constant. Such that:
z= x + j y or z = x + iy where

i j 1

z x jy
r sin

r cos

Why use the Laplace Transform?

In many cases, the indirect Laplace transform approach is

easier than the direct approach.
From the transformed algebraic equation, we get a transfer
function, which represent the input-output relation of the
system.
Classical control theory has been built on the concept of
transfer function.
Frequency response (useful for analysis and/or design) can be
obtained easily from the transfer function.

Laplace Transform

Differential Equation

LaplaceTransform

Algebraic equation

Simplified
Solution of the
Inverse Laplace Transform
form
Differential Equation
(Table look-up)

Laplace Transform

Definition

F ( s ) LF (t ) e st f (t ) dt
0
Laplace Transform

Time Domain

(Complex)
Frequency
Domain (s-domain)

The constant parameter, s, is assumed to be positive and large

enough to make the product converge to zero as t tends to
infinity. The actual value of s is not important, since this value
is not directly involved in the working

Inverse Laplace Transform

Definitions
c j
1
-1
st
[ F ( s )] f (t )
F ( s )e ds
2j c j

for t > 0, where c, the abscissa of convergence, is a constant and is

chosen larger than the real parts of all singular points F(s)

Table 2: Laplace transform table

Example 1

Exponential functions
for f (t ) 0 for t 0
t
f
(
t
)

Ae
for
for t 0
where A and are constants. The Laplace
transforms of is obtained as follows:

L[ f (t )] Ae
0

st

e dt

A e ( s )t dt
0

A
s

Example 2

Step Function.

f(t) =0 for t < 0

f(t) = A for t > =0
The Laplace transform of f(t) is given by

L[ f (t )] Ae st dt
0

A
s

Example 3

Ramp Function

f(t) =0 for t < 0

f(t) = At for t > =0

where A is a constant. The Laplace transform of the ramp

function is given by

[ f (t )] te
0

st

dt A e st dt
s 0

A
s2

Example 4

Sinusoidal Function.

f(t) =0 for t < 0

f(t) = Asint for t > =0

where A and are constants, is obtained as follows:

L[ f (t )] A (sin t )e st dt
0

L[ f (t )]

A jt
jt
st
(e e )e dt
2j 0

A 1
A
1

2 j s j 2 j s j

A
s2 2

Example using Laplace Table

d2

d
y ( t ) 4 y ( t) 3 y ( t)
2
dt
dt
Initial Conditions:

Y( 0)

2 r( t )

d
y ( 0)
dt

r( t)

The Laplace transform yields:

s 2 Y(s ) s y( 0) 4 (s Y(s ) y(0)) 3 Y(s )

Since R(s)=1/s and y(0)=1, we obtain:
( s 4)
2
Y( s )

2
2
s 4s 3
s s 4s 3

2 R( s )

The partial fraction expansion yields:

1
1
3

2
1
2
2
3
3
Y( s )

( s 3) ( s 1)
( s 3)
s
( s 1)

Therefore the transient response is:

y( t)

3 e t 1 e 3 t 1e t 1 e 3 t 2

2
2
3

The steady-state response is:

lim y ( t)
t

2
3

Control actions.

Industrial controller

Two-position or on-off controllers

Proportional controllers
Integral controllers
Proportional-plus-integral controllers
Proportional-plus-derivative controllers
Proportional-plus-derivative-plus-integral controllers.