Subject: Process Control / 4th year

First Semester-Week 2
Block Diagram

The general structure used to depict a control system falls in the domain of block
diagrams sometimes referred to as BDs. For instance, the following Fig. 1 is a
block-diagram representation of a closed-loop system, subject to noise and output
disturbance.

Figure 1: Example of block diagram representation of a control system.

In studying complicated block diagrams in SISO systems,18 the following

equivalence rules help us simplify the problem:

Rule 1: Series feedback elements can be interchanged:

1|Page
 Subject: Process Control / 4th year
First Semester-Week 2

Rule 2: Series feedback elements can be combined into one:

Rule 3: Series blocks can be interchanged:

Rule 4: Series blocks can be combined into one:

Rule 5: Parallel blocks can be combined into one:

Rule 6: Feeding a block in through a feedback element or

2|Page
 Subject: Process Control / 4th year
First Semester-Week 2

Rule 7: Taking a block out through a feedback element:

Rule 8: Feeding a block in through a node:

Rule 9: Taking a block out through a node:

Rule 10: Feeding a feedback element in through a node:

3|Page
 Subject: Process Control / 4th year
First Semester-Week 2

Rule 11: Taking a feedback element out through a node:

Example: Obtain the input-output transfer function of the following system in

Figure.

In the first step, the block G1 is fed through the feedback element

In the second step, the inner series feedback elements are interchanged

4|Page
 Subject: Process Control / 4th year
First Semester-Week 2

In the third step, the two inner feedback loops are simplified

Then the series blocks are simplified to their multiplication. This step is skipped
and combined with the final step, which is simplifying the feedback loop

5|Page
 Subject: Process Control / 4th year
First Semester-Week 2
Problem: Using the BD algebra, obtain the
input-output transfer function of the following system in Figure below.

In the first step, the block G1 is fed through the feedback element:

In the second step, the inner series feedback elements are interchanged

In the third step, the inner feedback loop is simplified:

6|Page
 Subject: Process Control / 4th year
First Semester-Week 2

Homework: Using the BD algebra, obtain the input-output transfer function of the
following system in Figure below.

7|Page
 Subject: Process Control / 4th year
First Semester-Week 2

Example: Determine the transfer function C(s)/R(s) of the system shown in Figure
below by block diagram reduction method.

Step 1: Shifting the summing point S2 before the block G1 and shifting the take off
point T2 after the block G4.

8|Page
 Subject: Process Control / 4th year
First Semester-Week 2

Step 2: Exchange the summing points and take off points using associative law and
combining the series blocks we get

Step 3: Eliminating inner feedback loops I, II

Step 4: Combine the blocks in series

9|Page
 Subject: Process Control / 4th year
First Semester-Week 2

Step 5: Eliminate the feedback loop III

10 | P a g e
 Subject: Process Control / 4th year
First Semester-Week 2

Homework: Using the BD algebra, obtain the input-output transfer function of the
Figure below

Homework: Using the BD algebra, obtain the input-output transfer function of the
Figure below:

11 | P a g e
 Subject: Process Control / 4th year
First Semester-Week 2

Homework: Using the BD algebra, obtain the input-output transfer function of the
Figure below:

Homework: Using the BD algebra, obtain the input-output transfer function of the
Figure below:

12 | P a g e
 Subject: Process Control / 4th year
First Semester-Week 2

……………………………………………………………………………………………………

13 | P a g e
 Subject: Process Control / 4th year
First Semester-Week 2

Example: Determine the transfer function Y(s)/R(s) of the system shown in Figure
below by block diagram reduction method.

Solution:

14 | P a g e
 Subject: Process Control / 4th year
First Semester-Week 2

Example: Determine the transfer function Ff(s)/R(s) and FR(s)/R(s) of the system
shown in Figure below by block diagram reduction method.

15 | P a g e
 Subject: Process Control / 4th year
First Semester-Week 2

16 | P a g e