© 2013 – University of the West of England

02/12/2013

UWE Bristol

Industrial Control
UFMF6W-20-2

Control Systems Engineering

UFMEUY-20-3

Lecture 1: Introduction to Control

Teaching
•  Course structure:
–  1 hour lecture + 2 hour tutorial per week
–  Two modules, co-taught (assessments are different)
–  14 weeks control (Ben Drew & Neil Larsen)
–  6 weeks sensors and actuators (Sabir Ghauri)
•  Tutorials:
–  1st Semester: Classroom examples/problems
–  Tutorial Sheets on Blackboard (and solutions)
–  2nd Semester: Laboratory (Simulink, DC motor control
+ sensors and actuators)
•  Lecture videos

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Assessment
•  1 coursework – laboratory report (40%)
–  Group report
•  Exam after Easter Break (60%)
•  Reading list:
–  The Art of Control Engineering, Ken Dutton, Steve
Thompson, Bill Barraclough
–  Control Engineering, W. Bolton
–  Control Systems Engineering, N.S. Nise
–  Aircraft Control and Simulation, B.L. Stevens & F.L.
Lewis

Aims and Objectives

•  Control
–  System modelling
–  Transfer functions
–  System performance
–  System frequency response
–  System identification
–  Controller design
•  Sensors and Actuators

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© 2013 – University of the West of England
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Today’s Lecture
•  Introduction to Control
•  Examples
•  Control Basics
•  Open- and Closed-loop control
•  Control System Design Steps
•  Example Models

Introduction to Control
•  What is a control system?
•  Common example in the human body:
temperature control

External temperature Body temperature

Sun, Illness, etc. Body%

Sweat/shiver

Ac(on%

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© 2013 – University of the West of England
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Introduction to Control
•  Applications in:
–  Physiology
–  Economics
–  Many fields of engineering:
•  Hydraulics
•  Electronics
•  Mechanics
•  Etc.

Simple Examples
•  Car speed
Desired speed Actual speed
Thro-le% Engine% Vehicle%

•  Room fan System or Plant

Desired Electrical Actual cooling

Switch% power Wall%fan%
cooling

Controller

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Examples
•  Control systems are required in complex
machines, devices
–  Aircraft control systems
–  Anti-lock braking systems
–  Manufacturing processes

Examples
•  Inverted Pendulum
–  Demo
•  Videos
–  http://tinyurl.com/uwetriple
–  http://tinyurl.com/uweballrobot
–  http://tinyurl.com/uwebigdog
–  http://tinyurl.com/uwekestrel

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Control Basics
•  What is common for all these systems?
•  A physical quantity has to be maintained at
a fixed value (or series of values)
•  What information is necessary?
–  What the system needs to do
–  How well is the system is doing
–  What control action keeps maintains the
action

Open and Closed Loop Control

•  Open Loop
–  Turntable example
Battery Speed

Turntable

Speed DC%Amplifier% DC motor

setting

Control%Device% Actuator% Process%

Desired speed Actual speed
Amplifier% DC%motor% Turntable%
(voltage)

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© 2013 – University of the West of England
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Open and Closed Loop Control

•  Closed Loop
Battery Speed

Turntable

Speed +
DC%Amplifier% DC motor
setting –
Tachometer

Desired speed Control%Device% Actuator% Process%

(voltage) + Error Actual speed
Amplifier% DC%motor% Turntable%
–

Sensor%
Measured speed
Tachometer%
(voltage)

Open and Closed Loop Control

•  Cruise control example
–  Closed loop

Desired + Error Actual

speed Thro-le% Engine% Vehicle%
– speed

Feedback
Speed%sensor%

–  Output compared to the input

–  Error is used to drive the system

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© 2013 – University of the West of England
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Open and Closed Loop Control

•  Oven example
–  Closed loop
Electrical
Desired + Error power Actual
Switch% Hea(ng%element%
temperature – temperature

Temperature%
sensor%
Feedback

–  Output compared to the input

–  Error is used to drive the system

Open and Closed Loop Control

•  Components in a Closed Loop System
demand + error output
Controller% Plant%
–

Sensor%
feedback
–  Normally depicted in a block diagram
–  Plant provides the system output
–  Controller takes the control input and provides a control output
–  Sensor takes the output and feeds it to the subtractor (or comparator)
that compares the demand (the setpoint value) with the output of the
sensor to produce an error
–  All connected by arrows, which represent signals

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Control System Design

•  Understand the general schemes that can
be used to control a system.
•  Understand the system you’re trying to
control. You need to predict how a system
behaves – mathematical techniques that
involve differential equation solution

Control System Design Steps

1.  System analysis – establish requirements (talk
to users)
2.  Formal specification of required system
performance
3.  System modelling – system must be accurately
modelled before controller design can
commence. Usually a differential equation
(some quantity that changes w.r.t. time)
4.  Control algorithm development – the controller
is developed using the model and standard
control theory to meet the specifications.

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System Modelling
•  Dynamic behaviour of the system
•  Linear or non-linear fashion
•  System dynamics – how its output
changes in response to a particular input

Example
•  Furnace
F θ
Furnace%
Fuel flow Temp (deg C)
rate (kg/s)

•  The temperature of the furnace does not change

instantaneously for changes in fuel rate
•  Differential equation describes the influence of
time on the input response
•  Differential equations are derived from first
principles

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Example models
•  Liquid level tank
•  RC circuit
•  Car suspension

Example 1: Liquid Level

•  Flow in – Flow out = rate of accumulation
of liquid in the tank

C/S area = A
Qin
assume Qout= kh
(k is a constant)
h

Qout

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© 2013 – University of the West of England
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Example 1: Liquid Level

•  Flow in – Flow out = rate of accumulation
of liquid in the tank
dh
Qin − Qout = A
dt
C/S area = A dh
Qin Qin − kh = A
assume Qout= kh dt
(k is a constant) dh
Qin = A + kh
h dt

Qout First order differential equation

Example 2: RC circuit
•  Differential equation that related Vout to Vin
R

Vin C Vout

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© 2013 – University of the West of England
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Example 2: RC circuit
•  Differential equation that related Vout to Vin
R
dv
Capacitor current : i = C
Vin C Vout dt

dVout
Vin − Vout = iR = C R
dt
dVout
Vin = Vout + CR
dt

Example 3: Car Suspension

•  Mass/spring/damper system

Fin

m xout

k D

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© 2013 – University of the West of England
02/12/2013

Example 3: Car Suspension

•  Mass/spring/damper system
d 2x
Inertia : F = ma = M
dt 2
Fin dx
Damping : F = Dv = D
dt
Spring : F = kx
m xout
Applying Newton' s Second Law :
d 2 xout dx
k D m = − kx − D + Fin
dt 2 dt
d 2 xout dx
m 2
+ D + kx = Fin
dt dt

Today’s lecture
•  Control is an intrinsic part of humans and a vital
part of many engineering systems
•  In order to control a system, we need to know
the system/plant itself and control methods
•  Description of a system to be controlled –
system model is a starting point of the control
system design
•  Tutorial sheet 1: On blackboard. Determining
differential equations for systems

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