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CONTROL SYSTEMS

BASIC CONCEPTS

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Introduction
• Society relies heavily on automatic control systems
for its day-to-day operation.
• These control systems range from very simple to
fairly complex in nature.
• Automatic washing machines, refrigerators, and
ovens are examples of some of the simpler systems
used in the home.
• Aircraft automatic pilots, welding and inspection
robots used in manufacturing, and electric power
generation and distribution systems represent
complex control systems. .

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Introduction
• In this chapter some of the terms commonly
used to describe the operation, analysis, and
design of control systems are discussed
• The concept of a control system is introduced
and its operation is explained.

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Control Terminology
• System
– Subsystem
• Element (Component)
• Block
• Control
• Automatic
• Control System
• Automatic Control System

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System
• A system is a collection, set, or arrangement of
elements (subsystems).
• The concept of a system is perhaps the most
important-but also the most misunderstood-concept.
• A system is an entity that can be considered on its
own.
• It may be very large and complex, such as a planetary
system, or it may be small and simple, such as the
thermostatic temperature control of a steam iron or
the water-level control system in a toilet.

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The concept of a system

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The concept of a system
• Figure shows various elements (objects) A, B, C,..., F.
• System Z contains only one element F.
• System Y ctmtains D, and E, whereas system X contains
elements A, B, and C. In other words, system Y is concerned
only with the interaction of elements D and E .
• If the operation of a system is dependent upon elements A, B,
C, D, and E, a larger system, XX, is formed.
• X and Y, formerly known as systems, are now better described
as subsystems.
• Similarly, in case of system XXX,XX is termed a subsystem
of XXX

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Element
• An electrical control system contains several active
and passive components, some of which may work
together to form an active filter. It may be sufficient
to deal with a filter network containing operational
amplifiers, resistors, and capacitors network as a
whole.
• Even though individual component properties dictate
the filter characteristics, it is sufficient to treat the
filter as a black box, which contains all the
characteristics of an active filter network.

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Element
• It is then fair to say that the active filter can be treated
as an element of the control system, without any
reference to its components.
• An element (component) is the smallest part of
a system that can be treated as a whole (entity)
• In a small socioeconomic system, a community may
be treated as an element, even though it may
incorporate several families, with every family
consisting of one or more members.

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Block
• A block is a set of elements that can be
grouped together, with overall characteristics
described by an input output relationship.

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Block
• The block is an important concept in analysis
and design of control systems

• Input and output characteristics of entire group


of elements within the block can be described
by suitable mathematical expressions.

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Block

• Block diagram representation contains only the input


output characteristics and leaves no indication about
the physical arrangement of the elements within the
block (Figure). It is nearly impossible to determine
the true nature of elements from a block
representation, such as whether it is electrical,
pneumatic, mechanical, thermal, etc.

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Automatic control system
• Control means to regulate, direct, or govern.
• Automatic implies self-action without any
human intervention.
• A control system is a group of physical
components arranged to control themselves or
another system.
• An automatic control system is a control
system that is self-regulating, without any
human intervention.
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Automatic control system
• An automatic control system does not require
human intervention for its operation. It
monitors the output variable through a
feedback loop and manipulates the plant or
process to maintain the output at or near the
desired value. Once the controller set point
input has been entered, an automatic control
system will attempt to maintain the output
variable at or near the desired value.

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Automatic control system
• An oven is an example of an automatic control
system. Once the desired temperature is set on
the dial, the oven-temperature controller takes
over and maintains the oven temperature to the
desired value.
• A manual control system is a control system
regulated through human intervention.

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Some more examples
• Opening or closing of a window in a room,
thus regulating air temperature or air quality
(manual control)
• Activation of a light switch to change
illumination in a room (manual control)
• Porch-light activation through an optical
sensor at dusk or dawn
• Thermostatic temperature control of home
(automatic control)
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Some more examples
• River water-flow control system (may be a
very complex system involving several
hydroelectric stations and reservoirs)
(combination of manual and automatic
control)
• Boiler temperature control in a nuclear reactor
(complex automatic control)
• Autopilot control system in a commercial
airliner (complex automatic control)
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Open-loop control system
• An open-loop control system is a control
system in which the control (regulating) action
is independent of the output.

Closed-loop control system


A closed-loop control system is a control
system in which the control (regulating)
action is influenced by the output.

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Feedback
• An important feature of a closed-Ioop control
system is that a control system output signal is
fed back to the input stage,providing
information to the controller about the current
output state and facilitating an appropriate
control action. It is not possible to have a fully
functional automatic or even manual control
system without a feedback signal.

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Example
• Consider a car being driven on a road.
– In this case, the driver acts as the controller;
– The car, its components, and the road become part of a closed-loop
control system.
– Visual feedback provides information to the driver about the location
of the car with respect to the surroundings.
– Through the help of this feedback, the driver can slow down or speed
up and manipulate the steering in order to maintain a desired heading.
– If his (visual) feedback signal is removed (e.g., by a newspaper
covering the windshield), the control system becomes an open-loop
control system, rendering safe driving nearly impossible.
– Admittedly, if there is no traffic or curves on the road, it is still
possible to maintain the car heading without a disaster.
– But the system will fail as soon as there is a change in the operating
environment.

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A regulator system
• A regulator system is a control system where the
reference (input) is normally fixed.
– A home-heating system is an example of a regulator
system.
– The reference temperature is normally set to a constant
value, and the furnace is regulated to maintain the output
temperature at a steady value.
– Variation in outside temperatures and wind velocity place
varying heating loads and tend to vary the house
temperature.
– A temperature controller senses the variation in
temperature and corrects it by changing the amount of heat
added through the furnace.

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A regulator system
• Regulator systems also experience variation in
reference input.
– In a home-heating control system, the night time
temperature setting may be different than the
daytime temperature setting.
– However, these changes are less frequent, and so
the control system has to cater mainly to load
variation due to external disturbances.

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Servomechanism
• A servomechanism (follower system) is a
control system where the reference (input)
varies continuously and the system operates so
that the output follows the input.

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Servomechanism
• Servomechanism is (sometimes) used to describe
control systems where the output variable is a
mechanical position, velocity, or acceleration of an
object. It originated from the Greek term seruus,
meaning servant.
• A solar power panel with continuous tracking of the
sun (for optimum power generation) falls in this
category.
• Other examples include robotics-movement, plotter-
position, and hard-disk-drive control systems.

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Single-input, Single-output (SISO)
system
• A single-input, single-output (SISO) system
is a system where only one parameter is
entered as input and only one parameter
represents the output.

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Single-input, Single-output (SISO)
system
• A home-heating (or cooling) system involves a
SISO system.
• A single parameter, the desired room
temperature, is entered as the reference
variable and results in only one controlled
(output) variable: actual room temperature.
• It is highly desirable to incorporate control of
humidity, but that is left to a separate
humidifier control system.

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Multiple-input, multiple-output
(MIMO) system
• A multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO)
system is a system where several parameters
may be entered as input and output is
represented by multiple variables.

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Multiple-input, multiple-output
(MIMO) system
• A typical residential home-heating system is a SISO
system where a single parameter, the room
temperature, is monitored and controlled.
• There is a growing consensus that humidity control
should be added to the home-heating system
(environmental control system). With this, both
temperature and humidity are monitored and
controlled, making the system an MIMO type.
• A chemical process plant typically has several
reference inputs and requires the control of several
output variables.

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A linear system
• A linear system is a system where
input/output relationships may be represented
by a linear differential equation.
– Ohm's law assumes a linear relationship between
the voltage drop across a resistor and the current
flow through it. It is certainly valid over a wide
range of currents and voltages but does not hold
for very high values of current flow through a
metal wire.

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A time-invariant system
• A time-invariant system is a system
described by a differential equation with
constant coefficients.
– A spring mass and damper system represents a
time-invariant system if the characteristics of all
three components do not change with time.

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A time-variant system
• A time-variant system is a system described by
a differential equation with variable
coefficients.
– A rocket burning fuel represents a time-variant
system. The mass of the rocket does not remain
constant during a flight but changes as fuel is
burned.

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Our Course
• All the discussions in our course assume that
all the control components and systems are
linear and time-invariant.
• It is further assumed that the control systems
are of the single-input, single-output (SISO)
type.
• Furthermore, all systems considered are
negative-feedback closed-loop control
systems.
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FUNCTIONING OF A CONTROL
SYSTEM
• All control systems, whether simple or
complex, function in a very similar manner.
• The controller (brain of the control system)
compares the actual value of the controlled
variable to the desired value and tries to
manipulate the process in such a fashion that
the controlled variable approaches the desired
value.
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Human example
• Operation of a control
system is no different than
tasks routinely carried out
by humans.
• Consider the task of
reaching for a glass on a
table (Fig).
• The objective of the task is
fairly simple: the hand has
to be moved so that it
touches the glass.
• The entire process can be
summarized as follows:

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Human example

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Human example
• Reference input (objective)
– Reach for the glass.
• Controller (human brain)
– Look at the glass (feedback) and determine (estimate) the
distance between the hand and the glass
• Manipulate (final control element)
– Move the arm toward the glass.
• . Feedback (eye)
– Get a new estimate of distance between the hand and the
glass.

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Human example
• Loop (repeat)
– Move the arm untll feedback (eye) indicates that the hand
has reached the glass.
• The visual feedback is the single most important part
of the whole process. Without visual feedback, it is
not possible to reach for the glass. Movement of the
human hand is very imprecise. It cannot move
through a precise distance on command (desire), but
the use of (visual) feedback allows the hand
movement to be very precisely controlled.

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Robot example
• Have you ever considered using a fancy robot
to thread a needle? With feedback, the
controller can modify its action, and even
imprecise machinery can be made to work
satisfactorily in demanding applications.
• If it can be measured, it can be controlled.

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Oven-temperature control
• The oven contains a closed-loop temperature control system.
– A controlling relay located at the back panel of the oven is
responsible for maintaining the oven at the desired
temperature.
– The user turns the oven on and sets the temperature dial to
the desired value.
– Actual oven temperature is measured by a thermocouple
(temperature sensor) located at the back wall of the oven. It
provides the crucial feedback of oven temperature to the
controlling relay.
– If the actual temperature is below the desired temperature by
a (factory-) set margin, the oven-heating element is turned
on.
– The element is turned off when the oven temperature
exceeds the desired value by the set margin.
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Automobile speed control
• The driver brings the automobile to the desired
speed and activates the cruise control, which
latches the speed data into the onboard
computer memory.
• The computer gets the actual vehicle speed
data from the speedometer (velocity
transducer) and compares it with the set speed.
• It then adjusts the fuel intake into the engine
manifold to bring the vehicle speed to the
desired value.
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Electronic voltage regulator

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Electronic voltage regulator
• The unregulated voltage-input terminal is connected
to the source voltage and the output voltage is
obtained from the regulated voltage-output terminal.
• In the case of a fixed-voltage regulator, the input is
kept fixed (factory set) to a predefined voltage, e.g., 5
V. A buried voltage reference provides this fixed-
input reference voltage.
• Two resistors, Rl and R2, provide feedback
information about the actual output voltage.
• An onboard op-amp acts as a controller. It compares
the two input voltages and controls the amount of
current passing through the series pass transistor, thus
controlling the output voltage.
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Electronic voltage regulator
• An adjustable voltage regulator does not use
an internal fixed reference but allows a user
programmable voltage to be entered as the
reference. It is generally set either using a
potentiometer or as a combination of two
precise resistors. A practical voltage regulator
contains additional components to provide
protection against excessive current and/or
overheating.

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Aircraft instrument landing system
• Instrument landing systems systems are highly
complex and very sophisticated.
• A computer aboard the aircraft acts as a control1er.
This controller is responsible for receiving real-time
data from the airport computer and operating various
flight controls.
• Ground-based instrumentation provides information
about aircraft position, velocity, altitude, etc., to the
aircraft controller.
• This controller, in turn, continuously adjusts the
various controls on the aircraft to gently bring it
down to the airport runway.
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Metal-rolling mill velocity control
• In metal-rolling operations, multiple rolling stands
are utilized.
• Material entering the first stand has the largest
thickness, and the material leaving the last stand has
the smallest thickness.
• As metal is rolled at a stand, its thickness is reduced,
and as a result the linear velocity of material leaving
the stand is larger than the velocity of material
entering the stand.
• In order to make up for increased material velocity,
the rolls at the next stand have to spin faster.

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Metal-rolling mill velocity control

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• Each stand is driven by a dc servomotor.
• The rotational velocity of the servomotor at the
second stand is slightly higher than the velocity of the
motor at the first stand. The actual difference in
velocity depends on several factors, including the
material stiffness, reduction in thickness at the first
stand, and entry velocity.
• A high-performance controller with fast response
actuators and a precision tension load cell is required
for successful implementation.
• The controller is responsible for controlling the
velocity of the second stand. Instead of using the
linear velocity as the input, the controller works on
the sheet material tension in between the stands.
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• If the rolls at the second stand match the
velocity of incoming material (from the first
stand), the tension in between the two stands
will be minimal.
• The operator enters the desired tension value
and the controller accepts the actual tension
from the load cell as the feedback signal.
• It then manipulates the velocity of the second-
stand servomotor, thus controlling the tension
to the desired level.

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Metal-rolling mill velocity control

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Problems
1. Provide an example of each of the following:
– Manual control system
– Automatic control system
– Biological control system
– Natural control system.

2. Provide an example of an open-loop control


system that is manually controlled.

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Problems
1. State whether the following systems are open-loop
or closed-loop.
– Firing of a bullet
– Opening of a faucet
– Throwing a ball
– Turning on of a hot plate to a certain setting
– Operation of an oven (setting it to a specified
temperature)
2. Consider the task of adjusting the water temperature
in a shower. Identify the input, output, and control
action.
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