ECE 425

CONTROL SYSTEMS

INTRODUCTION
 OBJECTIVES
◆ Possess a basic understanding of control system engineering
◆Be able to recount a brief history of control systems and their role
in society.
◆ Define control system
◆ Discuss advantages of control system
◆ Discuss Open-loop and closed-loop control systems
◆ Discuss Feedback
◆ Discuss Characteristics of feedback.
◆ Define Analog and digital control systems
 Exercises
Prob.1.1. Identify the input and output for the pivoted, adjustable
mirror of Fig. 1-2.
 Exercises

Prob. 1.2. Identify a possible input and a possible output for a rotational
generator of electricity.

Prob. 1.3. Identify the input and output for an automatic washing machine.

Prob1.4. Identify the organ-system components, and the input and output,
and describe the operation of the biological control system consisting of a
human being reaching for an object.
1.2 EXAMPLES OF CONTROL SYSTEMS
1.2 EXAMPLES OF CONTROL SYSTEMS
1.2 EXAMPLES OF CONTROL SYSTEMS
1.2 EXAMPLES OF CONTROL SYSTEMS
1.2 EXAMPLES OF CONTROL SYSTEMS
1.2 EXAMPLES OF CONTROL SYSTEMS
1.2 EXAMPLES OF CONTROL SYSTEMS
 1.3 OPEN-LOOP AND CLOSED-LOOP CONTROL SYSTEMS
Control systems are classified into two general categories:
1. open-loop system
2. closed-loop system

• The distinction is determined by the control action, that quantity

responsible for activating the system to produce the output.

• The term control action is classical in the control systems literature,

but the word action in this expression does not always directly
imply change, motion, or activity.
1.3 OPEN-LOOP AND CLOSED-LOOP CONTROL SYSTEMS

Definition 1.5 An open-loop control system is one in which the control

action is independent of the output.

Definition 1.6 A closed-loop control system is one in which the control

action is somehow dependent on the output.
 1.3 OPEN-LOOP AND CLOSED-LOOP CONTROL SYSTEMS
Two outstanding features of open-loop control systems are:

1. Their ability to perform accurately is determined by their calibration.

To calibrate means to establish or reestablish the input-output
relation to obtain a desired system accuracy.

2. They are not usually troubled with problems of instability, a concept

to be subsequently
discussed in detail.
 1.3 OPEN-LOOP AND CLOSED-LOOP CONTROL SYSTEMS
• To classify a control system as open-loop or closed-loop, we must
distinguish clearly the components of the system from components
that interact with but are not part of the system.

EXAMPLE 1.6. Most automatic toasters are open-loop systems because they are
controlled by a timer. The time required to make ‘‘good toast” must be estimated by
the user, who is not part of the system. Control over the quality of toast (the output) is
removed once the time, which is both the input and the control action, has been set.
The time is typically set by means of a calibrated dial or switch.
 1.3 OPEN-LOOP AND CLOSED-LOOP CONTROL SYSTEMS

EXAMPLE 1.7. An autopilot mechanism and the airplane it controls is a

closed-loop (feedback) control system. Its purpose is to maintain a specified airplane
heading, despite atmospheric changes. It performs this task by continuously
measuring the actual airplane heading, and automatically adjusting the airplane
control surfaces (rudder, ailerons, etc.) so as to bring the actual airplane heading into
correspondence with the specified heading.
The human pilot or operator who presets the autopilot is not part of the control
system.
1.3 OPEN-LOOP AND CLOSED-LOOP CONTROL SYSTEMS
COMPARISON OF OPEN-LOOP AND CLOSED-LOOP CONTROL SYSTEMS
 Check up
Which of the control systems in Problems 1.1, 1.2, and 1.4 are
open-loop? Closed-loop?

Prob.1.1. Identify the input and output for the pivoted, adjustable mirror of Fig. 1-2.

Prob. 1.2. Identify a possible input and a possible output for a rotational generator of
electricity.

Prob 1.4. Identify the organ-system components, and the input and output, and
describe the operation of the biological control system consisting of a human being
reaching for an object.
 1.4 FEEDBACK
• Feedback is that characteristic of closed-loop control systems which
distinguishes them from open-loop systems.
Definition 1.7: Feedback is that property of a closed-loop system which
permits the output (or some other controlled variable) to be compared with
the input to the system (or an input to some other internally situated
component or subsystem) so that the appropriate control action may be
formed as some function of the output and input.

More generally, feedback is said to exist in a system when a closed sequence of

cause-and-effect relations exists between system variables.
 1.4 FEEDBACK
EXAMPLE 1.8. The concept of feedback is clearly illustrated by the autopilot
mechanism of Example 1.7.
• The input is the specified heading, which may be set on a dial or other instrument of
the airplane control panel, and the output is the actual heading, as determined by
automatic navigation instruments. A comparison device continuously monitors the
input and output. When the two are in correspondence, control action is not required.
When a difference exists between the input and output, the comparison device
delivers a control action signal to the controller, the autopilot mechanism.
• The controller provides the appropriate signals to the control surfaces of the airplane
to reduce the input-output difference. Feedback may be effected by mechanical or
electrical connections from the navigation instruments, measuring the heading, to the
comparison device. In practice, the comparison device may be integrated within the
autopilot mechanism.
 1.5 CHARACTERISTICS OF FEEDBACK
CHARACTERISTICS OF FEEDBACK
1. Increased accuracy. For example, the ability to faithfully reproduce the
input.
2. Tendency toward oscillation or instability.
3. Reduced sensitivity of the ratio of output to input to variations in system
parameters and other characteristics.
4. Reduced effects of nonlinearities.
5. Reduced effects of external disturbances or noise.
6. Increased bandwidth. The bandwidth of a system is a frequency
response measure of how well the system responds to (or filters)
variations (or frequencies) in the input signal
 1.6 ANALOG AND DIGITAL CONTROL SYSTEMS FEEDBACK

The signals in a control system, for example, the input and the output
waveforms, are typically functions of some independent variable,
usually time, denoted t.

Definition 1 . 8 A signal dependent on a continuum of values of the independent

variable t is called a continuous-time signal or, more generally, a continuous-data
signal or (less frequently)
an analog signal.

Definition 1.9: A signal defined at, or of interest at, only discrete (distinct) instants
of the independent variable t (upon which it depends) is called a discrete-time, a
discrete data, a sampled-data, or a digital signal.
 1.6 ANALOG AND DIGITAL CONTROL SYSTEMS FEEDBACK

EXAMPLE 1.9. The continuous, sinusoidally varying voltage v( t ) or

alternating current i( t ) available from an ordinary household electrical
receptable is a continuous-time (analog) signal, because it is defined at
each and every instant of time t electrical power is available from that
outlet.

EXAMPLE 1.10. If a lamp is connected to the receptacle in Example 1.9,

and it is switched on and then immediately off every minute, the light
from the lamp is a discrete-time signal, on only for an instant every
minute.
1.6 ANALOG AND DIGITAL CONTROL SYSTEMS FEEDBACK
 1.6 ANALOG AND DIGITAL CONTROL SYSTEMS FEEDBACK

• Control systems can be classified according to the types of signals

they process: continuous-time (analog), discrete-time (digital), or a
combination of both (hybrid).

Definition 1.10: Continuous-time control systems, also called

continuous-data control systems, or analog control systems, contain
or process only continuous-time (analog) signals and components.
 1.6 ANALOG AND DIGITAL CONTROL SYSTEMS FEEDBACK

Definition 1.11: Discrete-time control systems, also called

discrete-data control systems, or sampled data control systems,
have discrete-time signals or components at one or more points in the
system.
• We note that discrete-time control systems can have continuous-time as well as
discrete-time signals; that is, they can be hybrid. The distinguishing factor is that a
discrete-time or digital control system must include at least one discrete-data signal.
Also, digital control systems, particularly of sampled-data type, often have both
open-loop and closed-loop modes of operation.
 1.6 ANALOG AND DIGITAL CONTROL SYSTEMS FEEDBACK
EXAMPLE 1.13. A target tracking and following system, such as the one described in
Example 1.3 (tracking and pointing at an object with a finger), is usually considered an
analog or continuous-time control system, because the distance between the “tracker”
(finger) and the target is a continuous function of time, and the objective of such a
control system is to continuously follow the target. The system consisting of a person
driving an automobile (Example 1.5) falls in the same category. Strictly speaking,
however, tracking systems, both natural and manufactured, can have digital signals or
components. For example, control signals from the brain are often treated as “pulsed”
or discrete-time data in more detailed models which include the brain, and digital
computers or microprocessors have replaced many analog components in vehicle
control systems and tracking mechanisms.
1.6 ANALOG AND DIGITAL CONTROL SYSTEMS FEEDBACK
1.6 ANALOG AND DIGITAL CONTROL SYSTEMS FEEDBACK
1.6 ANALOG AND DIGITAL CONTROL SYSTEMS FEEDBACK
1.6 ANALOG AND DIGITAL CONTROL SYSTEMS FEEDBACK
1.6 ANALOG AND DIGITAL CONTROL SYSTEMS FEEDBACK
 1.7 THE CONTROL SYSTEMS ENGINEERING PROBLEM

Design by analysis – accomplished by modifying the characteristics of an

existing or standard system configuration

Design by synthesis – defining the form of the system directly from its
specifications.
 1.7 THE CONTROL SYSTEMS ENGINEERING PROBLEM

• Control systems engineering consists of analysis and design of control

systems configurations.
Analysis is the investigation of the properties of an existing system.

The design problem is the choice and arrangement of system components

to perform a specific task

Two methods exist for design:

1. Design by analysis
2. Design by synthesis
 1.8 CONTROL SYSTEM MODELS OR REPRESENTATIONS
CONTROL SYSTEM MODELS OR REPRESENTATIONS

• To solve a control systems problem, we must put the specifications

or description of the system configuration and its components into
a form amenable to analysis or design.
 1.8 CONTROL SYSTEM MODELS OR REPRESENTATIONS

Three basic representations (models) of components and systems are

used extensively in the study of control systems:

1. Mathematical models, in the form of differential equations, difference

equations, and/or other mathematical relations, for example, Laplace- and
z-transforms.

2. Block diagrams
3. Signal flow graphs
 1.8 CONTROL SYSTEM MODELS OR REPRESENTATIONS
• Mathematical models are needed when quantitative relationships
are required, for example, to represent the detailed behavior of the
output of a feedback system to a given input. Development of
mathematical models is usually based on principles from the
physical, biological, social, or information sciences, depending on
the control system application area, and the complexity of such
models varies widely.
• One class of models, commonly called linear systems, has found
very broad application in control system science. Techniques for
solving linear system models are well established and documented
in the literature of applied mathematics and engineering
1.6 ANALOG AND DIGITAL CONTROL
SYSTEMS FEEDBACK
 REFERENCES

1. Modern Control Systems 12th Edition by Richard C. Dorf/Robert H.

Bishop
2. Control system by Distefano
3. Control system Engineering by Nise

Supplementary videos
1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZDPMTBCbYA
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9t3ddvBkYU