Control Systems

Lect. 1 Introduction
Basil Hamed
 Introduction
1. What is a control system.
2. Why control systems are important.
3.What are the basic components of a control system.
4. Some examples of control-system applications.
5.Why feedback is incorporated into most control systems.
6. Types of control systems.

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What is a control system

A control system is considered to be any

system which exists for the purpose of
regulating or controlling the flow of
energy, information, money, or other
quantities in some desired fashion.

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What is a control system
• An interconnection of components forming a
system configuration that will provide a desired
system response
• The study of control provides us with a process for
analyzing and understanding the behavior of a
system given some input
• It also introduces methods for achieving the
desired system response

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Systems and Control
A System is a device or process that takes a
given input and produces some output:
 A DC motor takes as input a voltage and
produces as output rotary motion
 A chemical plant takes in raw chemicals and
produces a required chemical product

Input Output
System
Why control systems are important
In recent years, control systems have assumed an increasingly
important role in the development and advancement of modern
civilization and technology.

Practically every aspect of our day-to-day activities is affected by

some type of control system.

Control systems are found in abundance in all sectors of industry,

such as quality control of manufactured products, automatic
assembly lines, machine-tool control, space technology and
weapon systems, computer control, transportation systems, power
systems, robotics, Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems,
nanotechnology, and many others.
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Basic Components of a Control System

1. Objectives of control.
2. Control-system components.
3. Results or outputs.

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Examples of Control-System Applications

Potential applications of control of these systems may benefit the

following areas:
• Machine tools. Improve precision and increase productivity by
controlling chatter.
• Flexible robotics. Enable faster motion with greater accuracy.
•Photolithography. Enable the manufacture of smaller microelectronic
circuits by controlling vibration in the photolithography circuit-printing
process.
• Biomechanical and biomedical. Artificial muscles, drug delivery
systems, and other assistive technologies.
• Process control. For example, on/off shape control of solar reflectors
or aerodynamic surfaces.

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Examples of Control-System Applications

Steering Control of an Automobile:

As a simple example of the control system, consider the steering
control of an automobile. The direction of the two front wheels can
be regarded as the controlled variable, or the output, y; the direction
of the steering wheel is the actuating signal, or the input, u.

The control system, or process in this case, is composed of the

steering mechanism and the dynamics of the entire automobile.
However, if the objective is to control the speed of the automobile,
then the amount of pressure exerted on the accelerator is the
actuating signal, and the vehicle speed is the controlled variable.

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 Examples of Control Applications
Aerospace Applications:
Aircraft or missile guidance and control
Space vehicles and structures
Examples of Control-System Applications
Sun-Tracking Control of Solar Array:
To achieve the goal of developing economically
feasible non-fossil-fuel electrical power, development
of solar power conversion methods, including the
solar-cell conversion techniques

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Why feedback is incorporated into most control systems

Control Systems can be classified as :

open loop system (Nonfeedback System)
closed loop system (Feedback System).

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Open-Loop Control Systems
(Nonfeedback Systems)
The elements of an open-loop control system can
usually be divided into two parts: the controller and the
controlled process, as shown by the block diagram

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Open Loop Control Systems
A system in which the output has no effect on
the control action is known as an open loop
control system. For a given input the system
produces a certain output. If there are any
disturbances, the out put changes and there is no
adjustment of the input to bring back the output
to the original value.

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Open-Loop Control Systems

• The controlled ‘output’ is the

resulting toast
• System does not reject
changes in component
characteristics

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Closed-Loop Control Systems
(Feedback Control Systems)
What is missing in the open-loop control system for more
accurate and more adaptive control is a link or feedback
from the output to the input of the system.
To obtain more accurate control, the controlled signal y
should be fed back and compared with the reference
input.

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 Open-Closed Loop Control
Open-loop control is ‘blind’ to actual output
Closed-loop control takes account of actual
output and compares this to desired output
Desired
Output Input Output
Controller/ Process
+ Amplifier Dynamics
-

Measurement
TYPES OF FEEDBACK CONTROL SYSTEMS

Feedback control systems may be classified in a number

of ways, depending upon the purpose of the
classification. For instance, according to the method of
analysis and design, control systems are classified as:
Linear or Nonlinear
Time-varying or Time-invariant
Continuous-data or Discrete-data

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 Control
Many control systems can be characterised
by these components Disturbance

Plant
Control
Reference Error Signal Outpu
r(t) e(t) u(t) t
Control Actuator Process y(t)
+
-

Feedback

Sensor

Sensor Noise
 Actuation
A device for acting on the environment
Sensing
A device for measuring some aspect of the
environment
Examples : Washing Machine
System Requirements
 Understanding of load sizes
 Receptacle to hold clothes
 ‘Plumbing’
 Ease of use, Reliability
 Low Cost
Actuators
 AC or DC Motors
 Water inlet/drain
Sensors
 Water level
 Load speed/balance
Control
 Choice depends on design
Examples : The CD
Player
A CD player is an example
of control system
Requires
 Accurate positioning of the
laser read head
 Precise control of media
speed
 Conversion of digital data to
analogue signal
Examples : Hard Drive
A computer disk drive is
another example of a
rotary control system
Requires
 Accurate positioning of the
magnetic read head
 Precise control of media
speed
 Extraction of digital data
from magnetic media
Examples : Modern Automobiles
 Modern Automobiles are
controlled by a number of
computer components
 Requires
 Control of automobile sub
systems
 Brakes and acceleration
 Cruise control
 ABS
 Climate control
 GPS
 Reliability
 Low cost
 Ease of use
The Control Problem
Generally a controller is required to filter the error
signal in order that certain control criteria or
specifications, be satisfied. These criteria may involve,
but not be limited to:
1. Disturbance rejection
2. Steady state errors
3. Transient response characteristics
4. Sensitivity to parameter changes in the plant

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The Control Problem
Solving in control problem generally involves;
1. Choosing sensors to measure the plant output
2. Choosing actuators to drive the plant
3. Developing the plant, actuator, and sensors equations
4. Designing the controller
5. Evaluating the design analytically by simulation, and
finally by testing the physical system.
6. If the physical tests are unsatisfactory, iterating these
steps.

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The Control Problem

Mathematical
Problem Formulation model
system
Physical
System

Mathematical
Solution Translation
solution of
mathematical
problem

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Modeling Physical Systems - Overview

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 Modeling – Remarks

• Modeling is the most important and difficult task

in control system design.
• No mathematical model exactly represents a
physical system.
Math Model ¹ Physical System
Math Model » Physical System
• Do not confuse models with physical systems!
• In this course, we may use the term “system” or
“plant” to mean a mathematical model.

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