Contents

1.

Aim .................................................................................................................................................. 2

2.

Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 2

3.

2.1

Open-loop System ............................................................................................................... 2

2.2

Closed-loop System ............................................................................................................. 3

Procedure Questions ...................................................................................................................... 4

3.1

Open-loop System ............................................................................................................... 4

3.2

Closed-loop System ............................................................................................................. 8

4.

Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 11

5.

References .................................................................................................................................... 11

Page 1 of 11

1. Aim
The aim of this experiment was to study the characteristics of both an open and closed loop system.
An additional and main objective here was understanding the effect of a feedback system
implemented therefore transforming the system to an open loop system.

2. Introduction
2.1 Open-loop System
An open loop system is one where there is no feedback i.e. output bearing no effect to the input. An
obvious analysis here would suggest that an open loop system will be unable to reflect change in
conditions and adjust for errors, it is much cheaper as it does not require sensors.

Figure 1: Open-Loop System

The circuit that was analysed in this experiment consisted of the following main components:
o
o
o
o

Potentiometer P Knob providing variable resistance

Power amplifier A Electronic device increasing the power of a signal
a dc motor M Any of a class of electrical machines that converts direct current electrical
power into mechanical power
Tachometer G Instrument used to measure rotational speed.

The motor is geared down to drive an output shaft at low speed. The armature voltage Va is
dependent on the input voltage, and is driven by a change in it. V1 is the control signal, which is also
called the input signal. Since it is an open loop system, the output signal here, V2, will not have any
influence on V1.
System gain is defined as the ratio between the control signal and the output signal i.e. V2/V1, and
the amplifier gain being a value which we are able to set. If the gain of the amplifier is set at 5, Va
would be 5 times as large as V1, hence the system gain will depend on the gain of the amplifier. For
this instance, being an open loop system, it is called the open-loop gain G of the system due to the
fact that no feedback is provided.
Under ideal conditions, the speed (output by tachometer V2) is dependent on V1. In the real world
this is not possible, and disturbances occur which alters the speed even when V1 remains fixed.
Consequently the gain of the system changes unexpectedly due to many of the disturbances being
unpredictable. There are many possible disturbances, such as:
o
o

Variation with the mechanical load. The load may change as a result of both direct and
indirect effects which will cause a disturbance
The line voltage will not remain constant in the real world and will fluctuate over time. This
will cause the armature voltage Va to fluctuate, resulting in a change in speed and
consequently the output V2

Page 2 of 11

o
o
o

The shunt field resistance increases as the motor heats up. This will reduce the field current
If, causing the speed of the motor to rise, leading to errors.
The ambient temperature is subject to change. A fall in temperature will result in the motor
cooling down and consequently the speed decreasing.
The components in the power amplifier gradually get older and become covered with dust
particles; this causes the properties of the amplifier to change which also affects the
amplifier gain.

Hence as can be seen above, there are many disturbances which can change the system gain. These
apply to closed loop systems too, although feedback ensures there is no major disturbance in the
gain as will be discussed below.

2.2 Closed-loop System

A closed loop system is simply an open-loop system with a feedback. It compares the output with
the reference input, and uses the difference as a mean of control. This provides an advantage as the
system is able to adjust to errors and changing conditions due to the feedback signal originating
from the output. A typical closed loop system is shown below.

Figure 3: Closed-loop system

In an attempt to eliminate the lag between the output and input, and eliminate the disturbances
which can affect a control system; we can connect the output voltage V2 so that it is in series with
the input voltage V1. The effect of adding these in series can be explained by considering the below
equations
= 1 + 2 , where Vc is the control signal.

Combining this with the system gain = 2, we get an equation linking the output and the control
1

signal
2 =

1
1+

It is evident here that a large system gain would result in = 2 because as G increases, 1/G tends
towards 0. So provided G is large, the output voltage will now almost equal the control signal, hence
the magnitude of V1 now depends upon the output V2. This is implemented in our system but using
two conductors a, b (feedback loop) as they feed the output back into the input, the feedback being
negative as we can see with this relationship: 1 = 2
A positive feedback is not employed as it will result in an unstable control system, and is not used (is
done so by interchanging the leads a, b). In many systems both the input and output are grounded,
here the negative feedback is still provided but instead uses an error detector, shown below.

Page 3 of 11

Figure 4: Grounded input and output

Usually Vc, V1 and V2 are measured with respect to ground, hence the system above is simplified to
Figure 5 without the grounds.

Figure 5: Simplified system

For a negative feedback to be effective, the gain must be large as described above, hence a voltage
amplifier is added ahead of the control system for this purpose, which would help us achieve = 2.
The gain from the amplifier must have a constant gain, K to avoid disturbances.
An error signal is also defined here, with the difference between the output we want (Vc) and the
output we obtain (V2) being the error. The error is given as = 2. The input to the original
control system is V1, and the input signal to the amplifier K becomes V1/K. Since we want K to be
large, V1/K is very small.

Figure 6: Error signal

The closed loop gain is given by

= 2 , which is the same as the open loop gain G. We are able to combine this equation with
1

2 =

1+

to obtain:
= (1 + )

Hence it can be seen that the closed loop gain is only slightly less than 1, when the open loop gain G
is large. The system implemented is shown below.

3. Procedure Questions
3.1 Open-loop System
The open loop system implemented is shown below. Power amplifier is connected to a 15V power
supply. The potentiometer setting was varied to obtain different values of V1, corresponding values
of V2 were then recorded.

Page 4 of 11

Figure 7: Open-loop system implemented

Question 1
B)

The amplifying input is 1.01V and the Output is 1.08V.

Gain = V2/V1 = 1.08/1.01 = 1.07 V

C)
V1
8.05
6.04
4.01
1.99
0.03
-2.00
-4.00
-6.04
-8.05

V2
3.75
2.70
1.65
0.65
0.00
-0.50
-1.60
-2.65
-3.70

Gain
0.47
0.45
0.41
0.33
0.00
0.25
0.40
0.44
0.46

D)

V2 vs V1 at Gain 1
5.00
4.00
3.00
2.00
1.00

V1
-10.00

-8.00

-6.00

-4.00

0.00
-2.00
0.00
-1.00

2.00

-2.00
-3.00
-4.00
-5.00 V2
Figure 8: V2 vs V1 at gain 1

Page 5 of 11

4.00

6.00

8.00

10.00

This graph seems to indicate that there is a linear relationship between V1 and V2, except for when
V2 is close to 0V. At this point, there seems to be a flat plateau, which can be called a dead patch
where V2 is close to 0V and the motor doesnt work.
Question 2
The critical voltage was measured by setting V1 to 0V so that he motor is stopped. Then the voltage
is slowly increased until the motor starts to turn. This is the critical positive voltage. The same
procedure was then repeated except the voltage was decreased in order to measure the critical
negative voltage.
Critical Voltage Range
Positive
1.05
Negative
-0.95
Question 3
A)
Amplifier input
Output
Gain(out/in)

1.00 V
5.02 V
5.02 V

B)
V1

V2

Gain

8.08
6.02
4.00
3.06
1.98
1.02
0.52
0.03
-0.49
1.02
-2.05
-3.00
-4.00
-6.00
-8.00

6.13
6.35
6.33
6.30
4.70
2.05
0.85
0.00
-0.80
-2.05
-4.45
-5.85
-5.85
-5.85
-5.85

0.76
1.05
1.58
2.06
2.37
2.01
1.63
0.00
1.63
-2.01
2.17
1.95
1.46
0.98
0.73

Page 6 of 11

C)

V2 vs V1 at Gain 5
8.00
6.00
4.00
2.00

V1
-10.00

-8.00

-6.00

-4.00

0.00
-2.00
0.00
-2.00

2.00

4.00

6.00

8.00

10.00

-4.00
-6.00
-8.00

V2

Figure 9: V2 vs V1 at gain 5

This graph shows that the system saturates at a voltage of 6 V. This is made obvious from the fact
that the graph flat lines at 6 V.
D)
The systems gain increases as it approaches V1 approaches 0V. This is due to the fact that the gain is
calculated by V2/V1. At the saturation voltage, V2 remains constant, and V1 is allowed to change. As
V1 approaches 0V, the gain will tend towards infinity. Another way to look at it is that as V1
approaches 0V from the negative side the gain increases but as V1 grows larger on the positive side
the gain decreases.
Question 4
The procedure done in question 2 was repeated for question 4, except that the amplifier gain is set
at 5.
Critical Voltage
Forward
0.22
Backward
-0.19
The dead band has decreased with an increase of the gain. This makes sense because when the gain
is 5, the input to the amplifier (V1) is 1V and then Va is 5V, giving the motor more power. The
amplifier is basically enhancing the voltage V1, so that at lower voltages of V1 there is still enough
power for the motor to turn. Therefore with a gain of 5 it is expected that there would be a smaller
dead band, which is what the results show.
B)
The dead-band range was -0.19 V < V1 < 0.22 V. Compared to the dead-band range when the
amplifier gain was 1, it is clear that the range decreases as the gain increases.

Page 7 of 11

Question 5
Belt tensioner lowered so that it rests on its own weight on the belt.
V1
V2
G3 (V2/V1)

1.01
2.20
2.18

Question 6
Friction lever set to position 10 so as to put a bigger load on the motor
V1

1.00

V2
Gain

-0.01
-0.01

3.2 Closed-loop System

Figure 10: Closed-system loop implemented

Question 1
B)
There is a minor difference between V1 and Vc of 0.01V. The gain was measured to be 5.07.
C)
V1
V2 upper
V2 lower

1.01
2.04
1.85

D)
The number of turns counted in a minute was 55 turns.

Page 8 of 11

E)
V1
V2 upper
V2 lower

1.01
1.6
1.45

F)
The number of turns counted in one minute was 44 turns
G)
=

55 44
100 =
100 = 25%

44

Question 2
Connected a wire (feedback loop) from the generator output V2 to the error detector (as shown
above in figure 10). This provides the required negative feedback. Here the friction level is in zero
position.
C)
V1
Vc
V2 up
V2 low

1.08
3.15
2.14
2.08
D)

The number of turns in a minute was 60 turns.

E)
V1
Vc
V2 up
V2 low

1.18
3.15
2.03
1.98
F)

The number of turns was measured to be 57.5 turns in one minute.

G)
=

60 57.5
100 =
100 = 4.35%

57.5

Page 9 of 11

Question 4
Repeating above procedures but with an open-loop gain of 20
A)
V1

0.23

Vc
V2
gain

0.23
5.02
21.83
B)

In this case V1=Vc=0.23V

C)
The number of turns in one minute was measured to be 52 turns.
D)
Friction lever moved to positon 10
V1
Vc
V2 upper
V2 lower

0.23
0.23
1.50
1.38

E)
The number of turns in one minute with the friction lever in the 10 position was measured to be 44
turns.
F)
=

52 44
100 =
100 = 18%

44

G)
The percentage speed regulation is slightly lower for this system than the system with a lower gain
in question 1.G. It is lower by 7%. This means that the system is able to respond better to
disturbances.
Question 5
Feedback loop with friction lever in zero position.
C)
V1

0.23

Page 10 of 11

Vc
V2 upper
V2 lower

2.11
1.9
1.88

V2 fluctuates much less than in step 4d with the feedback loop connected.
D)
The number of turns counted in one minute was 54 turns.
E)
V1
Vc
V2 upper
V2 lower

0.26
2.11
1.87
1.85

F)
The number of turns counted in one minute was 53 turns with the friction lever in position 10.
G)
=

54 53
100 =
100 = 1.89%

53

H)
The closed loop speed regulation is a gain of 20 is approximately twice as good as the speed
regulation with the gain of 5. The speed regulation with a gain of 20 is 1.89% and the speed
regulation with a gain of 5 is 4.35%. This is as expected because the speed regulation with a gain of
20 is more sensitive to change and requires smaller changes of V1 in order to account for any
negative feedback.

4. Conclusion
This experiment has been successful because both closed loop and open loop systems have been
successfully studied. The gathered results have shown how an open systems gain is able to be
changed and the affect it has, and the results have also shown the dead band of the open loop
control system. The results from the first part of this experiment have also shown how the amplifier
can reach a saturation voltage and how that affects the system gain. The results from the second
part of the experiment are related to closed control systems. The results show that the gain in the
closed loop system is much more constant than for an open loop system and that increasing the
open loop gain makes the closed loop gain even more constant.

5. References
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, LAB1: Study of Open and Closed-loop Systems 2015, UWA,
Nedlands, Perth, Australia
Franklin, GF, Powell, JD & Naeini, AE 1994, Feedback Control of Dynamic Systems, Adison-Wesley Publishing
Company, MA.

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