Experiment One Introduction to Control

Systems Design

Control Systems Laboratory

Dr. Zaer Abo Hammour

Dr.ZaerAboHammour
ControlSystemsLaboratory
Experiment1:Introduction to Control Systems Design

1.1 Control System Design

The design of control systems is a specific example of engineering design. The goal of control
engineering design is to obtain the configuration, specifications, and identification of the key
parameters of a proposed system to meet an actual need.

The control system design process is illustrated in Figure 1.1. The design process consists of seven main building
blocks, which we arrange into three groups:

1. Establishment of goals and variables to be controlled, and definition of specifications

(metrics) against which to measure performance
1. System definition and modeling
2. Control system design and integrated system simulation and analysis

Figure 1.1: The Control System Design Process

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1. Establishing The System Goals

For example, we may state that our goal is to control the velocity of a motor accurately. The second
step is to identify the variables that we desire to control (for example, the velocity of the motor). The
third step is to write the specifications in terms of the accuracy we must attain. This required accuracy
of control will then lead to the identification of a sensor to measure the controlled variable. The
performance specifications will describe how the closed-loop system should perform and will include
(1) good regulation against disturbances, (2) desirable responses to commands, (3) realistic actuator
signals, (4) low sensitivities, and (5) robustness.

2. System Definition and Modeling

As designers, we proceed to the first attempt to configure a system that will result in the desired control
performance. This system configuration will normally consist of a sensor, the process under control,
an actuator, and a controller, as shown in Figure 1.2. The next step consists of identifying a candidate
for the actuator. This will, of course, depend on the process, but the actuation chosen must be capable
of effectively adjusting the performance of the process. For example, if we wish to control the speed
of a rotating flywheel, we will select a motor as the actuator. The sensor, in this case, must be capable
of accurately measuring the speed. We then obtain a model for each of these elements.

Figure 1.2: Closed Loop feedback Control System

3. Control System Design, Simulation, and Analysis

The next step is the selection of a controller, which often consists of a summing amplifier that will
compare the desired response and the actual response and then forward this error-measurement signal
to an amplifier. The final step in the design process is the adjustment of the parameters of the system
to achieve the desired performance. If we can achieve the desired performance by adjusting the
parameters, we will finalize the design and proceed to document the results. If not, we will need to
establish an improved system configuration and perhaps select an enhanced actuator and sensor. Then
we will repeat the design steps until we are able to meet the specifications, or until we decide the
specifications are too demanding and should be relaxed.

In summary, the controller design problem is as follows: Given a model of the system to be controlled
(including its sensors and actuators) and a set of design goals, find a suitable controller, or determine
that none exists. As with most of engineering design, the design of a feedback control system is an
iterative and nonlinear process. A successful designer must consider the underlying physics of the
plant under control, the control design strategy, the controller design architecture (that is, what type of
controller will be employed), and effective controller tuning strategies. In addition, once the design is
completed, the controller is often implemented in hardware, and hence issues of interfacing with

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hardware can appear. When taken together, these different phases of control system design make the
task of designing and implementing a control system quite challenging.

1.2 Mechatronics Systems

A natural stage in the evolutionary process of modern engineering design is encompassed in the area
known as Mechatronics. The term mechatronics was coined in Japan in the 1970s. Mechatronics is
the synergistic integration of mechanical, electrical, and computer systems and has evolved over the
past 30 years, leading to a new breed of intelligent products. Feedback control is an integral aspect of
modern mechatronic systems. One can understand the extent that mechatronics reaches into various
disciplines by considering the components that make up mechatronics. The key elements of
mechatronics are (1) physical systems modeling, (2) sensors and actuators, (3) signals and systems,
(4) computers and logic systems, and (5) software and data acquisition. Feedback control encompasses
of all five key elements of mechatronics, but is associated primarily with the element of signals and
systems, as illustrated in Figure 1.3.

Advances in computer hardware and software technology coupled with the desire to increase the
performance-to-cost ratio has revolutionized engineering design. New products are being developed
at the intersection of traditional disciplines of engineering, computer science, and the natural sciences.
Advancements in traditional disciplines are fueling the growth of mechatronics systems by providing
"enabling technologies." A critical enabling technology was the microprocessor which has had a
profound effect on the design of consumer products. We should expect continued advancements in
cost-effective microprocessors and microcontrollers, novel sensors and actuators enabled by
advancements in applications of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), advanced control
methodologies and real-time programming methods, networking and wireless technologies, and
mature computer-aided engineering (CAE) technologies for advanced system modeling, virtual
prototyping, and testing. The continued rapid development in these areas will only accelerate the pace
of smart (that is, actively controlled) products.

Figure 1.3: The Key Elements of Mechatronics

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An exciting area of future mechatronic system development in which control systems will play a
significant role is the area of alternative energy production and consumption. Hybrid fuel automobiles
and efficient wind power generation are two of systems that can benefit from mechatronic design
methods. In fact, the mechatronic design philosophy can be effectively illustrated by the example of
the evolution of the modern automobile. Before the 1960s, the radio was the only significant electronic
device in an automobile. Today, many automobiles have 30-60, up to 100 electric motors, about 200
pounds of wiring, a multitude of sensors, and thousands of lines of software code. A modern
automobile can no longer be classified as a strictly mechanical machineit has been transformed into
a comprehensive mechatronic system.

1.3 Control System Design MATLAB SIMULINK

MathWorks tools for control system design support each stage of the development process, from plant
modeling to deployment through automatic code generation. Their widespread adoption among control
engineers around the world comes from the flexibility of the tools to accommodate different types of
control problems. If your control problem is unique, you can create a custom tool or algorithm
using MATLAB.

Figure 1.4 :Control System in MATLAB

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1. Creating Accurate Plant Models

Figure 1.5: Plant Models

Control system design starts with an accurate plant model. You can describe the complex dynamics of
your plant using a variety of modeling approaches, all supported by MathWorks tools. Because these
tools work together in the Simulink modeling environment, you can use the most appropriate
modeling approach for each component in your plant to create the system-level plant model.

Create Models from Test Data

When you dont know the physics of your system, you can employ system identification, a common
data-driven modeling technique that uses input-output data to create a plant model. This approach lets
you rapidly develop accurate plant models without knowing the detailed structure of the model.

Develop Complex Multidomain Plant Models Using Physical Modeling

MathWorks physical modeling tools let you construct plant models by using blocks that represent
mechanical, electrical, magnetic, hydraulic, pneumatic, and thermal components to map the
component topography and physical connections of your system. With this approach, you can
efficiently create complex multidomain plant models without having to derive the underlying first-
principles equations. If you know the plant equations explicitly, you can implement them by using
Simulink blocks or express them in the SimScape language. First-principles modelsthose built
with physical modeling tools or by implementing equations explicitlycan be developed without
access to physical prototypes or plant hardware.

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Improve Model Accuracy Through Parameter Estimation

First-principles models contain parameters that correspond to physical properties of the plant, such as
mass, electrical resistance, and flow area, that may not be known. Simulink Design Optimization uses
experimental data to improve model accuracy by calibrating model parameters with input-output test
data.

Build Environmental Effects into Your Plant Models

Model environmental effects, such as atmosphere, gravity, wind turbulence, and the Earths magnetic
fields, with Simulink and Aerospace Blockset. You can create custom environmental models from
Simulink blocks, such as lookup tables

2. Design Feedback Compensators and Control Logic

Figure 1.6:Design Feedback Compensators and Control Logic

Once an accurate plant model has been created, control engineers analyze and develop closed-loop
compensators and open-loop supervisory strategies using a range of MathWorks tools.

Analyze Control Systems

Perform a critical analysis of your control system within MATLAB or Simulink through the following
tasks:
1) Assess key performance parameters, such as overshoot, rise time, and stability
2) Trim, linearize, and compute the frequency response of nonlinear Simulink models
3) Model and analyze the effects of uncertainty on the performance and stability of your models

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Systematically Apply a Control Design Technique

Simulink Control Design and Robust Control Toolbox eliminate the need for trial and error by
providing systematic methods for tuning single-loop and multiloop control systems entirely within
Simulink. You can:
1) Automatically tune PID controllers
2) Apply linear control design techniques using interactive root locus, Bode, and Nichols
diagrams
3) Automatically tune decentralized multivariable controllers
4) Leverage advanced control strategies, such as model predictive control and fuzzy logic

All of these control techniques can be easily evaluated and verified in MATLAB and Simulink.

Optimize System Performance

Improve system performance and reduce system cost by automatically tuning design parameters in
your Simulink model with Simulink Design Optimization. You can optimize controller gains to
meet rise-time and overshoot constraints, or jointly optimize physical and algorithmic parameters to
maximize overall system performance.

Design and Simulate Supervisory Logic

Stateflow enables you to model, design, and simulate the supervisory logic in your control system,
which schedules the operation of the controller, controls the operational mode of the system, and
performs fault detection, isolation, and recovery (FDIR).

3. Deploying Designs to Embedded Controllers Through Automatic Code

Generation

Figure 1.7: Implementation of Controller

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After the control system has been designed and tested, you refine it for implementation. For example,
you can specify all the fixed-point data type properties of your design to prepare it for implementation
with fixed-point arithmetic.

Use Automatic Code Generation to Deploy Your Design

You can deploy your design onto an embedded controller through automatic code generation. With
this approach you generate highly efficient code for your controller and avoid errors that can happen
when your design must be reinterpreted during manual coding. You can generate:
1) ANSI/ISO C and C++ code for targeting microprocessors and microcontrollers
2) IEC 61131 structured text for targeting programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and
programmable automation controllers (PACs)
3) Verilog and VHDL code for targeting FPGAs for applications such as AC motor control.

4. Verifying Control Design Through Simulation and Formal Verification

Methods

Figure 1.8: Test and Verification

MathWorks provides tools for comprehensive testing of your control systems, using desktop
simulation, real-time testing, and formal verification methods.

Test Control Systems Using Desktop Simulation

Test control algorithms through desktop simulation to find design errors before building hardware
and creating production software. Such early-verification testing reduces the need for expensive
and difficult-to-access prototypes. To perform early-verification testing, you combine the plant
model and control algorithm into one model and simulate the closed-loop system behavior. For
this simulation, utilize the plant model used for control design or develop one with higher fidelity.

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One option for creating a higher fidelity plant model is to use a third-party product for your specific
application or industry from the MathWorks Connections Program.

Test Control Algorithms in Real Time

If a real-time simulation or physical prototype of the system is available, you can perform real-
time testing of your control algorithm by:
1) Implementing it on a hardware target and connecting the target to a prototype (often called
rapid prototyping)
2) Simulating it in real time through hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing

You can reuse the plant model that you developed for compensator design for HIL testing.

Test Using Formal Verification Methods

MathWorks provides additional tools for verifying, validating, and testing your design that enable you
to:
1) Run test cases through your controller and check model coverage, including Modified
condition/decision coverage MC/DC coverage
2) Use formal verification methods to automatically create test cases that provide 100% coverage
of your control logic and prove specific model properties
3) Check the real-time code for certain run-time errors and trace the origins of errors in the model

Real Time Testing

1) Rapid Control Prototyping

Is a process which lets the engineer quickly test and iterate their control strategies on a real-time
computer with real input/output devices. Rapid control prototyping figure 1.9 differs from HIL in that
the control strategy is simulated in real-time and the plant, or system under control, is real. Rapid
control prototyping is now the typical method used by engineers to develop and test their control
strategies. Rapid control prototyping was first used for developing powertrain control strategies. The
simple reason is that the control software, which is in the engine and transmission control units, is
difficult and time-consuming to modify. It has since been adopted industry wide in applications such
as anti-lock braking, anti-roll, vehicle stability, active cruise control, and torque distribution.

Figure 1.9: Rapid Control Prototyping

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2) Hardware in the Loop

Hardware-In-the-Loop (HIL) Figure 1.10 is a technique for combining a mathematical simulation

model of a system with actual physical hardware, such that the hardware performs as though it
were integrated into the real system. For testing and development of embedded electronic
controllers, the hardware controller and associated software are connected to a mathematical
simulation of the system plant, which is executed on a computer in real time. To connect the real
time model to the Hardware Controller, the real time computer receives electrical signals from the
controller as actuator commands to drive the plant, and converts these signals into the physical
variables connected to the plant model. The plant model calculates the physical variables that
represent the outputs of the plant, which are converted into electrical signals that represent the
voltages produced by the sensors that feed the controller.

Figure 1.10: Hardware in the Loop

Real-time simulation and testing enables you to:

1) Refine and verify the functional operation of control system designs with your hardware
2) Continuously explore and test new ideas using a flexible, scalable platform
3) Test control system hardware even when a physical plant or system is unavailable
4) Investigate scenarios and hardware interactions that are complex, expensive, or dangerous to
perform with production hardware
5) Avoid costly design flaws by detecting errors early when they are still cost-effective to correct

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1.4 Model-Based Design:

1 What Is Model-Based Design?

Model-Based Design is a process that enables faster, more cost-effective development of dynamic
systems, including control systems, signal processing, and communications systems. In Model-Based
Design, a system model is at the center of the development process, from requirements development,
through design, implementation, and testing. The model is an executable specification that you
continually refine throughout the development process. After model development, simulation shows
whether the model works correctly.
When software and hardware implementation requirements are included, such as fixed-point and
timing behavior, you can automatically generate code for embedded deployment and create test
benches for system verification, saving time and avoiding the introduction of manually coded errors.
Model-Based Design allows you to improve efficiency by:
Using a common design environment across project teams
Linking designs directly to requirements
Integrating testing with design to continuously identify and correct errors
Refining algorithms through multi-domain simulation
Automatically generating embedded software code
Developing and reusing test suites
Automatically generating documentation
Reusing designs to deploy systems across multiple processors and hardware targets

2 Model-Based Design Process

There are six steps to modeling any system:
1. Defining the System
2. Identifying System Components
3. Modeling the System with Equations
4. Building the Simulink Block Diagram
5. Running the Simulation
6. Validating the Simulation Results
You perform the first three steps of this process outside of the Simulink software environment before
you begin building your model.
1. Defining the System
The first step in modeling a dynamic system is to fully define the system. If you are modeling a large
system that can be broken into parts, you should model each subcomponent on its own. Then, after
building each component, you can integrate them into a complete model of the system.
The most effective way to build a model of this system is to consider each of these subsystems
independently.

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2. Identifying System Components

The second step in the modeling process is to identify the system components. Three types of
components define a system:
Parameters : System values that remain constant unless you change them
States :Variables in the system that change over time
Signals: Input and output values that change dynamically during a simulation
In Simulink, parameters and states are represented by blocks, while signals are represented by the lines
that connect blocks. For each subsystem that you identified, ask yourself the following questions:
How many input signals does the subsystem have?
How many output signals does the subsystem have?
How many states (variables) does the subsystem have?
What are the parameters (constants) in the subsystem?
Are there any intermediate (internal) signals in the subsystem?
Once you have answered these questions, you should have a comprehensive list of system components,
and you are ready to begin modeling the system.
3. Modeling the System with Equations
The third step in modeling a system is to formulate the mathematical equations that describe the
system. For each subsystem, use the list of system components that you identified to describe the
system mathematically.
Your model may include:
Algebraic equations
Logical equations
Differential equations, for continuous systems
Difference equations, for discrete systems
You use these equations to create the block diagram in Simulink.
4. Building the Simulink Block Diagram
After you have defined the mathematical equations that describe each subsystem, you can begin
building a block diagram of your model in Simulink.
Build the block diagram for each of your subcomponents separately. After you have modeled each
subcomponent, you can then integrate them into a complete model of the system.
5. Running the Simulation
After you build the Simulink block diagram, you can simulate the model and analyze the results.
Simulink allows you to interactively define system inputs, simulate the model, and observe changes in
behavior. This allows you to quickly evaluate your model.

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6. Validating the Simulation Results

Finally, you must validate that your model accurately represents the physical characteristics of the
dynamic system.

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