Preface
This book is about the use of digital computers in the real-time control of dynamic systems such
as servomechanisms, chemical processes, and vehicles that move over water, land, air, or space.
The material requires some understanding of the Laplace transform and assumes that the reader has
studied linear feedback controls. The special topics of discrete and sampled-data system analysis are
introduced, and considerable emphasis is given to the z-transform and the close connections between
the z-transform and the Laplace transform.
The book’s emphasis is on designing digital controls to achieve good dynamic response and
small errors while using signals that are sampled in time and quantized in amplitude. Both transform
(classical control) and state-space (modem control) methods are described and applied to illustrative
examples. The transform methods emphasized are the root-locus method of Evans and frequency
response. The root-locus method can be used virtually unchanged for the discrete case; however,
Bode’s frequency response methods require modification for use with discrete systems. The state-
space methods developed are the technique of pole assignment augmented by an estimator (observer)
and optimal quadratic-loss control. The optimal control problems use the steady-state constant-gain
solution; the results of the separation theorem in the presence of noise are stated but not proved.
Each of these design methods—classical and modern alike—has advantages and disadvantages,
strengths and limitations. It is our philosophy that a designer must understand all of them to develop
a satisfactory design with the least effort.
Closely related to the mainstream of ideas for designing linear systems that result in satisfactory
dynamic response are the issues of sample-rate selection, model identification, and consideration of
nonlinear phenomena. Sample-rate selection is discussed in the context of evaluating the increase in
a least-squares performance measure as the sample rate is reduced. The topic of model making is
treated as measurement of frequency response, as well as least-squares parameter estimation. Finally,
every designer should be aware that all models are nonlinear and be familiar with the concepts of the
describing functions of nonlinear systems, methods of studying stability of nonlinear systems, and
the basic concepts of nonlinear design.
Material that may be new to the student is the treatment of signals which are discrete in time and
amplitude and which must coexist with those that are continuous in both dimensions. The philosophy
of presentation is that new material should be closely related to material already familiar, and yet, by
the end, indicate a direction toward wider horizons. This approach leads us, for example, to relate
the z-transform to the Laplace transform and to describe the implications of poles and zeros in the
z-plane to the known meanings attached to poles and zeros in the s-plane. Also, in developing the
design methods, we relate the digital control design methods to those of continuous systems. For
more sophisticated methods, we present the elementary parts of quadratic-loss Gaussian design with
minimal proofs to give some idea of how this powerful method is used and to motivate further study
of its theory.
The use of computer-aided design (CAD) is universal for practicing engineers in this field, as in
most other fields. We have recognized this fact and provided guidance to the reader so that learn-
ing the controls analysis material can be integrated with learning how to compute the answers with
M ATLAB, the most widely used CAD software package in universities. In many cases, especially
in the earlier chapters, actual M ATLAB scripts are included in the text to explain how to carry out
a calculation. In other cases, the M ATLAB routine is simply named for reference. All the routines
given are tabulated in Appendix E for easy reference; therefore, this book can be used as a reference
