Control Systems Engineering

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

A control system is a means by which any quantity

Humans have created control systems as technical or process of interest in a machine, or in a process
innovations to enhance the quality and comfort of flow is maintained or altered to achieve a desired
their lives. Human engineered control systems are part response.
of automation, which is a feature of our modern life. They
are applied in several aspects of our daily life – in heating Understanding a system and knowing its properties is
and air conditioning to control our living environment and prerequisite to the creation of a controlled system.
in many of our household and even office appliances (i.e., Before attempting to control a system, it is
rice cooker, automatic washing machine, printer, etc.). essential to know how it generally behaves and
They significantly relieve us from the burden of operation responds to external stimuli . Such an understanding is
of complex systems and processes and enable us to possible with the help of a model. The process of
achieve control with desired precision. Control systems developing a model is known as modeling.
enable accurate positioning and control of machine tools
in metal cutting operations (like CNC) and automate
manufacturing processes. The system automatically
Terminologies:
guide and control space vehicles, aircraft, large sea going 1. Automation - Used to describe the automatic
vessels, and high-speed ground transportation systems. operation of a device or control of a process.
Modern automation of a plant involves components such
2. Control - means to regulate, direct, or command.
as sensors, instruments, computers and application of
techniques of data processing and control. The principles 3. System - is an interconnection of elements and
and techniques of automatic control may be applied in a devices towards a desired purpose.
wide variety of systems in order to enhance the quality of
It is an arrangement of physical components connected
their performance.
or related in such a manner as to form and/or act as a
unit.
Control systems are not human inventions ; they
have naturally evolved in the earth’s living system. The It is an arrangement, set, or collection of things
action of automatic control regulates the conditions connected or related in such a manner as to form an
necessary for life in almost all living things. They possess entirety or whole.
sensing and controlling systems and counter 4. Control System - a device or set of devices to
disturbances. An automatic human temperature control manage, command, direct or regulate the behavior of
system, for example, makes it possible to maintain the other devices or systems in order to produce a desired
temperature of the human body constant at the right response.
value despite varying ambient conditions. The human
body is a very sophisticated biochemical processing plant 5. Block Diagram – it is shorthand, pictorial
in which the consumed food is processed and glands representation of the cause-and-effect relationship
automatically release the required quantities of chemical between the input and output of a physical system.
substances as and when necessary in the process. The
stability of the human body and its ability to move as 6. Sampler - It is a device that converts a continuous-
desired is due to some very effective motion control time signal into a discrete-time signal.
systems. A bird in flight, a fish swimming in water or an
animal on the run- all are under the influence of some 7. Data hold - is one that converts the discrete-time
very efficient control systems that have evolved in them. output of a sampler into a particular kind of continuous-
time or analog signal.

8. Transducer - is a device that converts one energy

form into another.

“Make things as simple as possible but not simpler.” – Albert Einstein 1

Control Systems Engineering

even with a disturbance. For example, consider

9. Disturbance (or noise input) - is an undesired an antenna system that point in a commanded
stimulus or input signal affecting the value of the direction. If wind forces the antenna from its
controlled output. commanded position, or if noise enters
internally, the system must be able to detect the
10. Servomechanism - is a power-amplifying feedback disturbance and correct the antenna’s position.
control system in which the controlled variable is Obviously, the system’s input will not change to
mechanical position, or a time derivative of position such make the correction. Consequently, the system
as velocity or acceleration. itself must measure the amount that the
disturbance has repositioned the antenna and
then return the antenna to the position
11. Regulator or regulating system - is a feedback commanded by the input.
control system in which the reference input or command
is constant for long periods of time, often for the entire
time interval during which the system is operational. Such Types of Control System
an input is often called a setpoint. 1. Natural – examples: biological control systems
2. Man-made – examples: robots, fully automated
systems, or any system that is completely
Advantages of Control Systems independent from human intervention.
Control systems are built for four primary reasons: 3. Combination – examples: biologically operated
man-made devices.
1. Power Amplification
For example, a radar antenna, positioned
by the low-power rotation of a knob at the input,
requires a large amount of power for its output Classifications of Control System
rotation. A control system can produce the
needed power amplification, or power gain. A. Open-Loop - A system that utilizes a device
(controller or control actuator) to control the
2. Remote Control process without using feedback. Thus, the
Robots designed by control system output has no effect upon the signal to the
principles can compensate for human process. Sometimes called Feedforward Control
disabilities. Control systems are also useful in System
remote or dangerous location. For example, a
remote-controlled robot arm can be used to pick Advantages: Simplicity and Low Cost
up material in a radioactive environment.
Disadvantage: usually inaccurate
3. Convenience of input form
Satisfactory if:
Control systems can also be used to
provide convenience by changing the form of the  Disturbances are not too great
input. For example, in temperature control  Changes in the desired value are not
system, the input is a position on a thermostat. too severe
The output is heat. Thus, a convenient position  Performance specifications are not too
input yields a desired thermal output. stringent
4. Compensation for disturbances Actuating Process
Typically, we control such variable as device
temperature in thermal systems, position and
velocity in mechanical systems, and voltage, B. Closed-Loop - a system whose input value is
current, or frequency in electrical systems. The proportional to the difference of a measurement
system must be able to yield the correct output

“Make things as simple as possible but not simpler.” – Albert Einstein 2

Control Systems Engineering

of the actual output and desired output. Also received. The control law used by the element may be
called Feedback Control System just to supply a signal which switches on or off when
there is an error, as in a room thermostat, or perhaps
Advantages: a signal which is proportional to the size of the error.
 High accuracy – cause the With a proportional control law implementation, if
output to accurately follow the desired output; the error is small a small control signal is produced
corrective action occurs as soon as the and if the error is large a large control signal is
controlled variable deviates from the command produced. Other control laws include integral mode
 Quick Response – can give a and derivative mode.
closed-loop response speed much greater than 3. Correction element - Often called the final control
that of the components from which they are element, produces a change in the process which
constructed. aims to correct or change the controlled condition.
 Flexibility – is tolerant of The term actuator is used for the element of a
variation (due to wear, aging, environmental correction unit that provides the power to carry out the
effects, etc.) in hardware parameters of control action.
components in the forward path, but not those in
the feedback path (e.g. sensors) 4. Process - The process or plant is the system in
 Reduces the effect of distortion which there is a variable that is being controlled, e.g. it
– greatly reduce the effect of the controlled might be a room in a house with its temperature being
variable of all external disturbances in the controlled.
forward path 5. Measurement element - This produces a signal
An open-loop control system is converted to a closed- related to the variable condition of the process that is
loop control system by adding: being controlled. For example, it might be a
 Measurement of the controlled variable (Output) temperature sensor with suitable signal processing.
 Comparison of the measured and desired values 6. Feedback path - A feedback is a means whereby a
of the controlled variable. signal related to the actual condition being achieved is
fed back to modify the input signal to a process. The
feedback is said to be negative feedback when the
signal which is fed back subtracts from the input
value. Positive feedback occurs when the signal fed
back add-up to the input signal.

Example:

The figure shown below is a schematic diagram of a liquid-level

control system. Here the automatic controller maintains the
liquid level by comparing the actual level with a desired level
Basic Elements of a Closed-Loop System and correcting any error by adjusting the opening of the
pneumatic valve. Draw a closed-loop diagram of this control
1. Comparison element – It compares the required system and label each element of the control system.
value of the variable being controlled with the
measured value of what is being achieved and
produces an error signal. This element together with
control law element is collectively known as
controller unit.
2. Control law implementation element - It
determines what action to take when an error signal is

“Make things as simple as possible but not simpler.” – Albert Einstein 3

Control Systems Engineering

“Make things as simple as possible but not simpler.” – Albert Einstein 4

Control Systems Engineering

FEEDBACK (Close-Loop) SYSTEM REPRESENTATION

Selected History Leading to the Development of

Control System

EFFECT OF FEEDBACK ON OVERALL GAIN

– Feedback may increase the gain of system in

one frequency range but decrease it in another
– Gain is affected by feedback by a factor of
1  GH

EFFECT OF FEEDBACK ON STABILITY

STABILITY – is a notion that describes whether the system

will be able to follow the input command or to be useful in
general. Figure a – Water Clock
 A system is unstable if its output is out
of control. Water Clock invented by Ktesibios (see Figure
a). It is operated by water trickle into a measuring
 Feedback can improve stability or be
container at a constant rate. The level of water in
harmful to stability.
the measuring container could be used to tell
time. For water to trickle at a constant rate, the
EFFECTS OF FEEDBACK ON SENSITIVITY
supply tank had to be kept at a constant level.
This was accomplished using a float valve similar
 All physical elements have properties
to the water level control in today’s flush toilets.
that change with environment and age. Good control
system should be very insensitive to parameter
variations but sensitive to the input commands. Dennis Papin invented the safety valve for
regulating steam pressure. If the upward pressure
from the boiler exceeded the weight, steam was
EFFECTS OF FEEDBACK ON EXTERNAL released, and the pressure decreased. If it did not
1681
DISTURBANCE OR NOISE exceed the weight, the valve did not open, and
the pressure inside the boiler increased. Thus the
weight on the valve top set the internal pressure
 All physical systems are subject to
of the boiler.
some type of extraneous signal or noise during
operation.
Windmill speed control was invented by Edmund
Lee. Increasing winds pitched the blades farther
1745
Characteristics of Feedback back, so that less area was available. As wind
decreased, more blade area was available.
1. Increased accuracy compared with open-loop system
2. Increased tendency toward oscillation or instability
3. Reduced sensitivity (of the ratio of output to input) to James Watt’s steam engine and governor
variations in system parameters and other characteristics developed. The Watt steam engine is often used
4. Reduced effects of nonlinearities to mark the beginning of the Industrial Revolution
5. Reduced effects of external disturbances or noise 1769 in Great Britain. During the Industrial Revolution,
great strides were made in the development of
mechanization, a technology preceding
automation (see figure b).

“Make things as simple as possible but not simpler.” – Albert Einstein 5

Control Systems Engineering

First ever autonomous rover vehicle, known as

1997 Sojourner, explores the Martian surface. This is
the birth of “independent machines”.

Modern Applications of Control

1. Flight Control Systems
 Modern commercial and military aircraft are “fly
by wire”
 Auto-landing Systems, unmanned aerial
vehicles (UAVs) are already in place
2. Robotics
 High accuracy positioning for flexible
Figure b – Flyball Governor
manufacturing
 Remote environments: space, sea, noninvasive
J. C. Maxwell developed a theoretical framework
surgery, etc.
for Watt’s governors by means of a differential
3. Chemical Process
equation analysis relating to performance of the
overall system, thereby explaining in  Regulation of flow rates, temperatures,
1868 mathematical terms the reasons for oscillations concentrations, etc.
within the system. It was gradually found that 4. Communications and Networks
Maxwell’s governor equations were more widely  Amplifiers and repeaters
applicable and could be used to describe  Congestion control of the Internet
phenomena in other systems.  Power management for wireless
Harry Nyquist, a physicist who had studied noise communications
extensively, turned his attention to the problem of 5. Automotive
stability in repeater amplifiers. He successfully  Engine control, transmission control, cruise
1927 tackled the problem by making use of standard control, climate control, etc.
function theory, thereby stressing the importance
of the phase, as well as the gain, characteristics Emerging Application Areas
of the amplifier.
Numerical control (precision technology) 1. Material Processing
developed at Massachusetts Institute of  Rapid thermal processing
1952  Control of vapor deposition for special purpose
Technology for control of machine-tool axes was
developed. materials
George Devol develops “programmed article 2. Noise and Vibration Control
1954 transfer,” considered to be the first industrial robot  Active mounts and speaker systems for noise
design. and vibration reduction
Digital control became widespread due to  Variety of applications: cars, planes
computers, which were particularly relevant in the 3. Intelligent Vehicle Highway Systems
1960 process control industries in which many  Platooning of cars for high speed, high density
variables must be measured and controlled, with travel on freeways
a computer completing the feedback loop. 4. Smart Engine
First Unimate robot was installed for tending die-  Compression systems: stall, surge, fluttering
1961
casting machines. control for increased operability
The need for high-speed control devices has  Combustion system: operation for leaner air/fuel
been a contributing factor and has made great ratios for low emissions
use of hardware techniques, such as parallel
1980 processors, whereas at the same time ideas from
the field of artificial intelligence have been
employed in an attempt to cope with increased
complexity needs of automated systems.
Export-oriented manufacturing companies
1990 emphasize automation to increase their
production and lower manufacturing cost.

“Make things as simple as possible but not simpler.” – Albert Einstein 6

Control Systems Engineering

PROBLEM-SOLVING

1. Many closed-loop and open-loop control

systems may be found in homes. List several
examples and describe them.
2. Give two examples of feedback control systems
in which a human acts as a controller.
3. Draw a closed-loop (block) diagram for the
automatic temperature-regulated oven.
4. Draw a closed-loop (block) diagram for the
automatic toaster.
5. An engineering organizational system is
composed of major groups, such as
management, research and development,
preliminary design, experiments, product design
and drafting, fabrication and assembling, and
testing. These groups are interconnected to
make up the whole operation. The system may
be analyzed by reducing it to the most
elementary set of components necessary that
can provide the analytical detail required and by
representing the dynamic characteristics of each
component by a set of simple equations. (The
dynamic performance of such system may be
determined from the relation between
progressive accomplishment and time). Draw a
functional block diagram showing an
engineering organizational system.

“Make things as simple as possible but not simpler.” – Albert Einstein 7