Jacob Andrews and Elizabeth Ott

CPDC Homework 1
09/03/13
1. Taking a shower can be viewed as a feedback control system. The person showering acts as a
sensor for the measured variable of water temperature. The actuator is the shower valve, and
the person showering also acts as a controller.
Another household that can be viewed as a feedback control system is an oven. The sensor is an
internal thermometer that reads the temperature inside the oven. The actuator is the valve that
controls the gas flow to the oven. The controller is the circuit that decides if the actuator needs
to allow for more gas flow or less to change the temperature in the oven.
2. A typical microwave oven does not set a cooking temperature, and also does not determine if
the food is cooked. In this case, the person eating and cooking the food acts as a sensor and
controller.
3.
a. Feedback and feedforward control do both require a measured variable, without which
there is no way to have a controlled system.
b. Feedback control depends on measuring the controlled variable and changing the
manipulated variable.
c. Feedforward control can allow for a control variable to stay at its set point as long as it
measures and accounts for all disturbance variables.
d. Theoretically, feedforward control can provide perfect control. However, in an
imperfect process model, not all disturbance variables are accounted for.
e. A feedback control does not take action in response to a disturbance. Instead it acts due
to changes in the controlled variable. Since it doesnt account for a disturbance, it will
always be taking action.