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1. INTRODUCTION
Mechatronics make use of Mechanical, Electrical and Computer technologies, each with various sub
divisions. Engineers find it very useful to describe mathematically how the individual elements and the
overall integrated system behave in order to predict how they will perform.
You are required to have an understanding of the basic way models of systems are derived. The following
contains descriptions for Mechanical, Thermal, Hydraulic and electrical systems of varying complexity. You
need to judge or be advised by your tutor which disciplines and which examples to study. Remember that in
order to obtain higher grades in your assessments you should study the more advanced examples.
Note: The following work covers elements of mechatronic systems and not complete mechatronic systems.
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2. BASIC ELEMENTS
Some elements have an input and output of the same basic form such as a voltage transformer or a
pair of gears.
Other elements change the form such as converting a voltage into a frequency or a force in to
movement or an analogue voltage into a digital number (and vice-versa). A thermocouple for
example, converts temperature into a voltage.
There are various mathematical symbols for representing the input and output and it is useful to show
which is which with a suffix “o” for the output and “i” for the input.
A general symbol is usually θo and θi (these are also used specifically for temperature and angle so
be careful). Other common ones are V for voltage and x for movement and so on.
If the relationship between the input and output can be represented by a mathematical equation then
we have our model. The equation is loosely called the transfer function (but there is a lot more to
this than you might think). We give it symbols such as G
If you study the model in more detail you might find that other things affect it such as time lag and
distortion. This is due to things like capacitance, inductance, springiness, inertia, thermal capacity
and so on.
Transfer functions for such elements can be quite complicated and requires knowledge of advanced
mathematics such as Calculus and various transformations such as Laplace.
A complex system uses many smaller elements linked together and all this helps us to produce an
overall model. A simple example of this is an instrumentation system and here is an example.
Note – you might already have studied this and should know that for the overall system G = G1 G2 G3
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3. SIMILARITY OF ELEMENTS
Engineers have found that many mechanical and electrical elements have the same model and that the maths
used is the same. There are clear analogies between electrical and mechanical (including thermal and fluid)
systems. These use the properties of Capacitance, Resistance and Inductance. Laws used in common are
conservation laws. You do not need to study all these in detail and the appropriate law will be explained as
required.
CAPACITANCE usually uses the symbol C and is found in electrical, thermal and fluid systems. A
mechanical spring is a form of capacitance where k is the spring stiffness and 1/k is analogous to C.
RESISTANCE usually uses the symbol R and is found in electrical and thermal systems.
Mechanical/hydraulic resistance is better known as the damping coefficient and has various symbols.
INDUCTANCE usually uses the symbol L for electrical systems. In mechanical systems the
analogous property is MASS or INERTIA and in fluid systems the analogous property is
INERTANCE
Here is a table showing the main analogue components and their mathematical models. It is useful to note
that capacitance is a zero order differential equation, resistance is a first order differential equation and
Inductance/inertia/inertance is a second order differential equation.
x = C F = (1/k) F
Q=CV
Q = C T
M = C x p
RESISTANCE → Damper Resistor Thermal Conduction Fluid friction Laws
do not conform to
this law so the
equations are more
V=RI complex.
Force = kd x velocity
V = R dQ/dt
F = kd dx/dt
T = R
Torque = kd x Ang.vel
T = R dQ/dt
INDUCTANCE → Mass or Inertia Inductor No equivalence Fluid inertance
Note that Q is the symbol for electric charge and quantity of heat. This is analogous to displacement in
mechanical systems, these being distance (usually x) or angle (usually ).
V is the symbol for electric voltage (potential difference or e.m.f) and is equivalent to temperature T or θ for
thermal systems, Force F or Torque T for mechanical systems and pressure p for fluid systems.
v or u is the symbol for velocity in mechanical systems and this is equivalent to electric current (I or i) and
heat flow rate .
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4 TRANSFER FUNCTIONS
The mathematical models of most systems are in the form of differential equations so you must be proficient
at differential calculus. To make these easier to use, we rewrite the differential expressions as follows.
dθ d 2θ 2 dnθ n
becomes s θ 2
becomes s θ n becomes s θ but n=2 is the highest you will deal with here.
dt dt dt
This is called a Laplace transform. Laplace will not be covered in detail in this module but be aware that
advanced system modelling requires you to study this.
The purpose of this transform is to allow differential equations to be converted into a normal
algebraic equation in which the quantity s is just a normal algebraic quantity.
In this tutorial we should simply regard it as a convenient way to change differential equations into algebraic
equations. Note that this usually applies to quantities that are a function of time which is why the
expressions are written as differential coefficients with respect to time.
The mathematical model is written in the form of the ratio of Output/Input, if the models are turned into a
function of ‘s’ it is correctly called a transfer function and this is usually denoted as G(s).
Output
G(s) The output and input are changed from functions of time to a function of s.
Input
Note
Equations with the highest term s2 is called a second order equation
Equations with the highest term s1 or simply s is called a first order equation
Equations with the highest term so is a zero order equation. Since so = 1 this is basically any
equation that appears to contain no terms with s.
Now let’s examine the derivations of some mathematical models starting with mechanical systems. You
might choose to concentrate on the field of engineering you are most familiar with and be selective about
which of the following systems you study.
The general procedure for deriving models for mechanical systems is as follows.
Adopt a suitable co-ordinate system with an appropriate sign convention. For linear motion, up is
positive and left to right is positive. For rotation anticlockwise is positive and clockwise is negative.
These may be changed when convenient so long as they are defined and used consistently.
Identify any disturbing forces acting on the system (inputs to the system).
Identify displacements and/or velocities (outputs from the system).
Draw a free body diagram for each mass showing all the forces and moments acting on it.
Apply Newton's 2nd Law to each free body diagram (F = Mass x Acceleration).
Rearrange the equations into a suitable form for solution by a convenient method.
Note that unless otherwise specified, ignore gravitational effects.
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5.2 BASIC MECHANICAL MODELS
5.2.1 SPRINGS
It is found that most springs deflect a distance x in direct proportion to the force causing it such that
F/x = constant = k
The force may cause the spring to get longer or shorter.
k is the spring stiffness (also called spring rate and spring constant) There are angular versions of this
covered later.
The next diagram shows the mechanical symbols the model as a block diagram. Note (t) indicates that the
quantity is a function of time and time is something to be considered in more advanced work.
A damper uses fluid friction to provide resistance to motion and is often used to damp down vibrations. It
also occurs naturally in many mechanisms. It may be idealised as a loosely fitting piston moving in a
viscous fluid or a piston forcing gas through a small hole as shown below.
It is found for such devices that the Force required to move the piston is directly proportional to the velocity
such that: F = constant x velocity
Velocity is the first derivative of distance with respect to time so v = dx/dt F = c dx/dt
c is a commonly used symbol for the constant and is called the damping coefficient but in systems we often
use the symbol kd It has units of N s/m. It is analogous to electrical resistance.
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5.2.3 MASS
The input force is opposed by the spring force and the inertia force (which always opposes changes in the
motion as stated in Newton’s third law of motion).
Spring force = k x
Inertia force = M d2x/dt2
D'Alembert's Principle is that all the forces and moments on the body must add up to zero. In this case it
means the applied force – spring force – inertia force = 0 (all being a function of time t).
Hence: F(t) - kx(t) - M d2x/dt2(t) = 0
or F(t) = M d2x/dt2(t) + kx (t)
F F1/M
x(s)
Ms k
2
s k/M
2
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5.2.5 SPRING AND DAMPER
This is the standard first order equation which you will need to study further.
The input is the force F and the output is the movement x, both being functions of time.
Spring force Fs = kx
Damping force Fd = kd dx/dt
Inertia force Fi = Md2x/dt2
The three forces oppose motion so if the total force on the system is zero then F = Fi + Fd + Fs
d2x dx x 1/k
F(t) M k kx F(s) Ms2 x k d sx kx G(s) (s) 2
dt 2 d dt F s (M/k) s(k d /k) 1
If we examine the units of (M/k)1/2 we find it is seconds and this is the second order time constant also
with the symbol T.
x 1/k
The transfer function may be written as G(s) (s) 2 2
F T s 2 δ Ts 1
is the damping ratio defined as = kd/Cc and Cc is the critical damping ratio defined as (4Mk)½.
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kd 2k d M/k 2k d M kd
The term 2T is hence 2 T and so the forgoing is correct.
Cc 4Mk 2 M k k k
This is the standard 2nd order transfer function which will be analysed in detail later.
ii. Derive the equation for the force required when the piston is accelerating.
iv. Use the equation to evaluate the force needed to make the mass accelerate at 4 m/s 2 at the
moment when the velocity is 0.5 m/s.
SOLUTION
ii. The applied force = Inertia force + Damping Force + Spring Force
F = M a + kd v + k x = 3 a + 20 v + 800 x
iii. For a constant force and a static position there will be neither velocity nor acceleration
F 12
800 x 0.015 m or 15mm
x 800
The deflection x would need to be evaluated from other methods x = v2/2a = 0.031 m
F = 46.8 N
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SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE No.1
ii. If a constant force of 22 N is applied, what will be the static position of the mass?
(18 mm)
iii. Calculate the force needed to make the mass move with a constant acceleration of 12 m/s 2 at the
point where the velocity is 1.2 m/s.
(396 N)
This is the equivalent of a mass and spring. A metal rod clamped at one end and twisted at the other end
produces a torque opposing the twisting directly proportional to the angle of twist. The ratio T/ is the
torsion stiffness of the torsion spring and is denoted with a k.
T is torque ( N m)
is the angle of twist (radian)
k is the torsional stiffness ( N m/rad )
dθ θ 1
T(t) k d T(s) k d s θ G(s) (s)
dt T k ds
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5.3.3 MOMENT OF INERTIA
Rotating masses oppose changes to the motion and Newton's 2nd law for rotating masses is:
T = I d2/dt2
I is the moment of inertia in kg m2. T is the torque.
d 2θ θ 1
T(t) I 2
T(s) I s 2θ G(s) (s) 2 .
dt T Is
Note many text books also use J for moment of inertia.
This work is important in the study of motors, gear boxes, pulley drives and so on.
Derive the transfer function for a mass on a torsion bar fitted with a damper and show it is another
example of the second order transfer function. T is torque and J is moment of inertia.
θ 1/k 1/k
G(s) (s) 2 2
T (J/k)s (Jk d /k)s 1
2
T s 2 δ Ts 1
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5.3.4 GEARED SYSTEMS
When a mass is rotated through a gear system, the affect of the inertia is dramatically altered. Consider a
motor coupled to a load through a speed changing device such as a gear box. There is damping (viscous
friction) on the bearings.
m is the motor rotation and o the output rotation. The gear ratio is Gr = o/m
Since this is a fixed number and is not a function of time, the speed and acceleration are also in the same
ratio.
dm/dt = m do/dt = o Gr = o/m is the angular velocity
d2m/dt2= m d2o/dt2 = o Gr = o/m is the angular acceleration.
The power transmitted by a shaft is given by Power = T. If there is no power lost, the output and input
power must be equal so it follows that
m Tm = o To hence
Tm = o To /m = GrTo
(In reality friction significantly affects the torque)
Consider the inertia torque due the inertia on the output shaft Io.
To = Ioo = Io m x Gr Tm = To x Gr = Io m x Gr2
Now consider that there is an inertia and damping torque on the motor shaft and on the output shaft. The
total torque produced on the motor shaft is
Tm = Imm + kdm m + Gr To
To = Ioo + kdo o
Tm = Imm + kdm m + Gr { Ioo + kdo o}
Tm = Imm + kdm m + Gr2 Io m + Gr2 kdo m
Tm = m (Im +Gr2 Io) + m (kdm +Gr2 kdo)
(Im +Gr2 Io) is the effective moment of inertia Ie
(kdm +Gr2 kdo) is the effective damping coefficient kde.
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Changing this into a function of s we have Tm(s) = s2(Ie) + s (kde) = s{sIe + kde}
The output is the motor angle and the input is the motor torque so the geared system may be presented as a
transfer function thus. (s)/Tm (s) = (1/Ie)/s{s + Kde/Ie}
A DC Servo motor has a moment of inertia of 0.5 kg m 2. It is coupled to an aerial rotator through a gear
reduction ratio of 10. The driven mass has a moment of inertia of 1.2 kg m 2. The damping on the motor
is 0.1 N m s/rad and on the rotator bearings it is 0.05 N m s/rad.
Write down the transfer function /Tm in the simplest form. Calculate the torque required from the
motor to
SOLUTION
ii. When accelerating at 0.005 rad/s2 the motor acceleration is 10 times larger at 0.05 rad/s2.
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SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE No.3
A DC Servo motor has a moment of inertia of 12 kg m 2. It is coupled to an aerial rotator through a gear
reduction ratio of 4. The driven mass has a moment of inertia of 15 kg m 2. The damping on the motor is
0.2 N m s/rad and on the rotator bearings it is 0.4 N m s/rad.
ii. Accelerate the rotator at 0.02 rad/s2 at the start when = 0 (20.16 Nm)
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6. THERMAL SYSTEM MODELS
Consider a mass M kg at temperature 1. The mass is placed in a hot environment at temperature 2 and heat
Q is transferred into the mass causing its temperature to rise. The system could be for example, a resistance
thermometer, and we want to know how long it takes for the sensor to warm up to the same temperature as
the liquid.
The laws of heat transfer tell us that the temperature rise is directly proportional to the heat added so:
Q = Mc 1 and for a small change dQ = Mc d1 = C d1
dθ1 θ1 θ 2 dθ1 θ1 θ 2
Equating for we have C
dt R dt RC
dθ1 θ1 θ2
RC is a time constant T
dt RC RC
dθ1 θ1 θ2
dt T T
This is another example of standard first order equations and when compared to the equation for the
spring - damper system we see the thermal capacitance C is equivalent to 1/k and resistance R is equivalent
to kd.
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7. HYDRAULIC SYSTEM MODELS
The basic theory for hydraulic and pneumatic components may be found in the tutorials on fluid power.
Pressure and torque. The formula that relates system pressure p to the output torque T is T = kq p
T
G(s) k q This is a further definition of the constant kq.
p
A hydraulic motor has a nominal displacement of 8 cm 3/radian. Calculate the torque produced at a
pressure of 90 bar.
SOLUTION
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7.2 HYDRAULIC CYLINDER
The flow rate and movement are related by the law Q = A dx/dt. Expressed as a transfer function with x
x 1
being the output and Q the input we have: G(s)
Q As
Force and pressure are related by the law F = pA. The transfer function with p as the input and F as the
F
output is: G(s) A
p
The input to the system is the movement of the valve xi. This allows a flow of oil into the cylinder of Q m 3/s
which makes the cylinder move a distance xo.
Making a big assumption that for a constant supply pressure the flow rate is directly proportional to the
valve position we may say:
Q = kv xi
(Note this is a gross simplification of the real case where the relationship is more complex.)
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kv is the valve constant and examining its units we find they are m 2/s
The velocity of the actuator is v = dx o/dt and this is related to the flow and the piston area by the law of
dx
continuity such that Q k vxi A o
dt
Changing to a function of s this becomes kv xi = Asxo
x 1
Expressed as a transfer function we have G(s) o (s)
xi (A/k v )s
The units of A/kv are seconds and we deduce this is yet another time constant T.
x 1
G(s) o (s)
xi Ts
Note that this is not quite the standard first order equation 1/{Ts+1} and the difference is that the output
will keep changing for a given input, unlike the previous examples where a limit is imposed on the output.
If the actuator is a motor instead of a cylinder the equation is similar but the output is angle instead of linear
motion.
A hydraulic cylinder has bore of 90 mm and is controlled with a valve with a constant k v = 0.2 m2/s
Calculate the time constant T. Given that x i and xo are zero when t = 0, calculate the velocity of the
piston and the output position after 0.1 seconds when the input is changed suddenly to 5 mm.
SOLUTION
xo 1
G(s) (s)
xi Ts
Tsxo x i
dx o dx o x 0.005 m
T xi velocity i 0.156 m/s
dt dt T 0.032 s
Velocity = distance /time distance = x o = v t = 0.156 x 0.1 = 0.0156 or 15.6 mm assuming the
velocity is constant.
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SELF ASSESSMENT EXERCISE No.4
1. A hydraulic motor has a nominal displacement of 5 cm 3/radian. Calculate the torque produced at a
pressure of 120 bar.
(60 N m)
2. A hydraulic cylinder has bore of 50 mm and is controlled with a valve with a constant k v = 0.05 m2/s
Calculate the time constant T. Given that x i and xo are zero when t = 0, calculate the velocity of the
piston and the output position after 0.2 seconds when the input is changed suddenly to 4 mm.
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7.4 ADVANCED HYDRAULIC MODEL
Consider the same system but this time let the actuator move a mass M kg and have to overcome a damping
force. Further suppose that the valve now meters the pressure and not the flow rate such that the pressure
applied to the cylinder is p = kvxi. Consider the free body diagram of the actuator.
The applied force is due to pressure Fd and this is determined by the pressure acting on the area A such that:
Fp = pA.
The applied force is opposed by the inertia force Fi and the damping force Fd.
x 1
Rearranging it into a transfer function. G(s) o (s)
xi (M/Akv )s (k d /Ak v )s
2
Note the similarity with the standard 2nd order equation 1/{T2s2 + 2Ts + 1}. The difference is again due to
there being no limitation on the output. If the actuator is a motor instead of a cylinder, the transfer function
is similar but the output is angle and angular quantities are used instead of linear quantities.
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WORKED EXAMPLE No.5
A hydraulic cylinder has bore of 90 mm and moves a mass of 80 kg. It is controlled with a valve with a
constant kv = 20000 Pa/m. The damping coefficient is 180 Ns/m.
Calculate the time constant T, Cc and .
Given that xi and xo are zero when t = 0, calculate the initial acceleration of the mass when the input is
changed suddenly to 5 mm.
Calculate the acceleration when the velocity reaches 2 mm/s.
Calculate the velocity when the acceleration is zero.
SOLUTION
The system initially accelerates and will eventually settle down to a constant velocity with no
acceleration. Put a = 0.
0.005 = 0 + (2 x 0.892 x 0.793) x velocity
velocity = 0.00353 m/s or 3.53 mm/s.
A hydraulic cylinder has bore of 50 mm and moves a mass of 10 kg. It is controlled with a valve with a
constant kv = 80 Pa/m. The damping coefficient is 2 Ns/m.
Calculate the time constant T, Cc and . (7.98 s, 2.5.7 Ns/m and 0.798)
Given that xi and xo are zero when t = 0, calculate the initial acceleration of the mass when the input is
changed suddenly to 10 mm. (0.157 mm/s2)
Calculate the acceleration when the velocity reaches 0.1 mm/s. (0.137 mm/s2)
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8. ELECTRIC SYSTEM ELEMENTS MODELS
8.1 RESISTANCE
8.2 CAPACITANCE
8.3 INDUCTANCE
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8.4 POTENTIOMETER
Vi = I (R + 1/Cs)
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8.6 L - C - R in SERIES
The input voltage is the sum of all three voltages and is found by
adding them up.
Vi = I R + I sL + I/sC
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WORKED EXAMPLE No.6
t
It can be shown that the voltage varies with time by the formula Vo Vi ΔV e T
SOLUTION
1. Calculate the time constant for an RC circuit with a resistance of 220 and capacitance of 470 nF.
(103 s)
2. Calculate the second order time constant and the damping ratio for a R-L-C circuit with L = 5 H,
C= 60 F and R=6.8 .
(17.3 s and 11.8 )
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9 ELECTRIC MOTORS
Electric motors form part of many mechatronic systems and there are various models for the many types of
motors that exist. Students studying electrical engineering should be familiar with this. The following is a
brief summary of the models.
The main theory is not covered here. It can be shown that for a d.c. servo motor with field control that:
T = if
T is the torque produced, if is the current in the field coil and kf is a constant.
If the motor drives an inertial load and has damping the dynamic equation becomes
d 2θ dθ
T I 2
kd
dt dt
T Is θ k d sθ θ(Is2 k d s) k f i f
2
θ k
G(s) (s) 2 f
if Is sk d
This models the relationship between the shaft angle and the
control current.
T Is 2θ k d sθ
Equating we get
k 2sθ
T θ(Is2 k d s) Va ksθ
k k
Va
Ra Ra Ra
k 2s k
θ Is 2 k d s
Va
R a R a
θ (k/R a )
With rearrangement we find G(s) (s) 2
Va Is sk d k 2s/R a
This models the relationship between the angle of the shaft and the control voltage.
The next section is optional for study, students applying the work to mechatronic systems will find that the
study of closed loop control circuits is very important but this is a large and complex area to study.
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10. CLOSED LOOP SYSTEMS TRANSFER FUNCTION WITH UNITARY FEED BACK.
A simple system with an input and output as shown is called an open loop system as the output has no affect
on the input.
The next diagram shows the simplest way of converting an open loop system into a closed loop system using
feed back and error detection. The input is i and output o and the overall objective is to make the output
match the input. An example is getting the temperature of a refrigerator to match the setting of the
thermostat.
We require the output to change and match the value of the input (set value). The input to the open loop
block is the error e. The error is obtained by comparing the output value with the input value with the
signal summing device. This produces the result e = i - o and because o is subtracted, this idea is
called NEGATIVE FEED BACK. The block diagram shows that the signal passes around a closed loop
hence the name CLOSED LOOP SYSTEM.
When the hydraulic valve and actuator is turned into a closed loop system, the two transfer functions
become:
1 1
G cl for the first order version and G cl 2 2 for the second order version.
Ts 1 T s 2 δ Ts 1
These models are mathematically identical to the transfer function of the mass-spring- damper and the L-C-
R circuits.
Note that for any system with an open loop transfer function G(s) the closed loop transfer function with unit
1
feedback is G cl
1/G(s) 1
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WORKED EXAMPLE No.7
An open loop system has a transfer function G(s) = 2/(s2 + 2s + 1). Derive the closed loop function
when unit feedback is used.
SOLUTION
1 1 2 2
G cl 2 2 2
1/G(s) 1 s 2s 1 s 2s 1 2 s 2s 3
1
2
1. An open loop system has a transfer function G(s) = 5/(4s2 + 2s + 2). Derive the closed loop function
when unit feedback is used.
Gcl = 5/(4s2 + 2s + 7)
2. An open loop system has a transfer function G(s) = 10/(s3 +5s). Derive the closed loop function when
unit feedback is used.
Gcl = 10/(s3 + 5s + 10)
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