ECE-408 Definition b: A system is an arrangement of physical
components connected or related in such a manner as to
feedback and control systems
History of Control Systems
 Liquid Level Control
 The Greeks began engineering feedback systems
around 300 B.C.
 A water clock invented by Ktesibios operated by
having water trickle into a measuring container
at a constant rate. The level of water in the
measuring container could be used to tell time.
For water to trickle at a constant rate, the supply
tank had to be kept at a constant level. This was
accomplished using a float valve similar to the
water-level control in today’s flush toilets.
 GREECE (BC): Float regulator mechanism
 HOLLAND (16th century): Temperature
controller
 Water Level Regulator
 18th Century: James Watt’s centrifugal governor
for the speed control of steam engine.
 20th Century: Considered as the golden age of
control engineering.
 1920’s: Nicholas Minorsky worked on automatic
controllers for steering ships.
 1930’s-40’s: H.W.Bode and H.Nyquist developed
the analysis of feedback amplifiers, frequency
response methods made it possible to design linear
closed loop control systems.
 1948: Walter R. Evans developed a graphical
technique to plot the roots of a characteristic
equation of a feedback system whose parameters
changed over a particular range of values which is
called Root Locus.
 1960’s: State-space methods, optimal control,
adaptive control.
 1980’s: Learning controls are begun to
investigated and developed.
 Present and ongoing research for the application
of modern control theory.
WHAT IS A CONTROL SYSTEMS?
Definition 1a: A system is an arrangement, set, or
collection of things connected or related in such a manner
as to form an entirety or whole.
form and/or act as an entire unit.
The word control is usually taken to mean regulate,
direct, or command.
CONTROL SYSTEMS
A control system consists of subsystems and processes (or
plants) assembled for the purpose of obtaining a desired
output with desired performance, given a specified input.
!! Imagine “control” around you!
 Room Temperature Control
 Car/Bicycle driving
 Voice volume control
 “Control” (move) the position of the pointer
 Cruise control or speed control
 Process Control
 Etc.
»WHY DO WE NEED CONTROL SYSTEMS?
 Convenient (room temp control, laundry
machine)
 Dangerous (hot/cold places, space, bomb
removal)
 Impossible for human (nanometer scale
precision positioning, work inside the small
space that human cannot enter)
 It exists in nature. (human body
temperature control)
 Lower cost, high efficiency, etc.
CONTROL SYSTEMS
▶ The input or reference is the stimulus, excitation, or
command applied to a control system, typically from an
external energy source, usually in order to produce a
specified response from the control system.
▶ Output or controlled variable: The output of a plant or
process that the system is controlling for the purpose of
desired transient response, stability, and steady-state error
characteristics.
▶Plant or process: The subsystem whose output is being
controlled by the system.
▶Summing Junction: A block diagram symbol that shows
the algebraic summation of two or more signals.
▶Disturbance: An unwanted signal that corrupts the input
or output of a plant or process.
▶Error: The difference between the input and output of a
system.
▶Feedback: A path through which a signal flows back to a
previous signal in the forward path in order to be added or
subtracted.
Types of CONTROL SYSTEMS
▣ OPEN LOOP CONTROL SYSTEMS
An open-loop control system is one in which the control action
is independent of the output.
▣ Examples
1. Oven toaster
 A toaster toast bread by using a timer.
 Objective: Make bread golden browned and
crisp.
 A toast does not measure the color of bread
during the toasting process.
 A toaster would be more expensive with
sensors to measure the color and actuators to
adjust the timer based on the measured color.
2. Washing machine
 A laundry machine washes clothes, by setting
a program.
 A laundry machine does not measure how
clean the clothes become.
 Control without measuring devices (sensors)
are called open-loop control.
▣ closed-LOOP CONTROL SYSTEMS
A closed-loop control system is one in which the control
action is dependent of the output.
▣ Examples
1. Automatic electric iron
 An automatic electric iron consists of a
thermostat that acts as a controller of the
system, a resistive heating element is present
that generates heat.
ANALYSIS AND DESIGN OBJECTIVES
o ANALYSIS is the process by which a system’s
performance is determined. For example, we evaluate
its transient response and steady-state error to
determine if they meet the desired specifications.
o DESIGN is the process by which a system’s
performance is created or changed. For example, if a
system’s transient response and steady-state error are
analyzed and found not to meet the specifications, then
we change parameters or add additional components to
meet the specifications.
DESIGN OF A CONTROL SYSTEM
Step 1: Determine a physical system and specifications
from requirements.
▷Transform the requirements into a physical system.
Using the requirements, design specifications, such as
desired transient response and steady-state accuracy, are
determined.
Step 2: Draw a functional block diagram.
▷ The designer now translates a qualitative
description of the system into a functional block diagram
that describes the component parts of the system (i.e.,
function and/or hardware) and shows their
interconnection.
Step 3: Represent the physical system as a schematic.
Step 4: Use the schematic to obtain a mathematical model,
such as block diagram.
▷ Once the schematic is drawn, the designer uses
physical laws such as Kirchoff’s Law for electrical
networks and Newton’s Law for mechanical systems,
along with simplifying assumptions, to model the system
mathematically. These laws are :
Kirchoff’s voltage Law : The sum of voltages
around a closed path equals zero.
Kirchoff’s current Law: The sum of electric
currents flowing from a node equals zero.
 Newton's Laws: The sum of forces on a body equals Test waveform used in control system
zero; the sum of moments on a body equals zero.
▷The transfer function is another way of
mathematically modeling a system. The model is derived
from the linear, time-invariant differential equation using
what we call the Laplace Transform.
▷ Still another model is the state-representation. One
advantage of state-space methods is that they can also be
used for systems that cannot be described by linear
differential equations. Further, state-space methods are
used to model systems for simulation on the digital
computer.
Step 5: Reduce the block diagram.
▷ Subsystem models are interconnected to form
block diagrams or larger systems, where each block has a
mathematical description.

Step 6: Analyze and design the system to meet specified

requirements and specifications that include stability,
transient response, and steady-state performance.
▷ The next phase of the process, following block diagram
reduction, is analysis and design.
▷ In this phase, the engineer analyzes the system to see if
the response specifications and performance
requirements can be met by simple adjustments of
system parameters. If specifications cannot be met, the
designer then designs additional hardware in order to
effect a desired performance.
Example:
A temperature control system operates by sensing the
difference between the thermostat setting and the actual
temperature and then opening a fuel valve an amount
proportional to this difference. Draw a functional closed-loop
block diagram. Identifying the input and output transducers,
the controller, and the plant. Further, identify the input and
output signals of all subsystems.

▷ Test input signals are used, both analytically and

during testing, to verify the design. It is neither
necessarily practical nor illuminating to choose
complicated input signals to analyze a system’s
performance.
CONTROL SYSTEMS ANALYSIS AND DESIGN
▷ Thus, the engineer usually selects standard test inputs.
Control systems analysis and design focuses on three primary
These inputs are impulses, steps, ramps, parabolas, and
objectives:
sinusoids.
1. Producing the desired transient response.
▷ An impulse is infinite at t = 0 and zero elsewhere. The
2. Reducing steady-state errors
area under the unit impulse is 1. An approximation of
3. Achieving stability
this type of waveform is used to place initial energy into a
system so that the response due to that initial energy is
TRANSIENT RESPONSE
only the transient response of a system. From this
response the designer can derive a mathematical model
of the system. o Transient response is important.
o In the case of an elevator, a slow transient
▷ A step input represents a constant command, such as response makes passengers impatient, whereas
position, velocity, or acceleration. Typically, the step an excessively rapid response makes them
input command is of the same form as the output. For uncomfortable. If the elevator oscillates about
example, if the system’s output is position, as it is for the the arrival floor for more than a second, a
antenna azimuth position control system, the step input disconcerting feeling can result.
represents a desired position, and the output represents
the actual position.
▷ The ramp input represents a linearly increasing
command. For example, if the system’s output is position, the
input ramp represents a linearly increasing position, such as
that found when tracking a satellite moving across the sky at
constant speed.
▷ Parabolic inputs, which are also used to evaluate a
system’s steady-state error.
STEADY-STATE RESPONSE
▷ Sinusoidal inputs can also be used to test a physical
system to arrive at a mathematical model.
 o Another analysis and design goal focuses on For a control system to be useful, the natural
the steady-state response. As we have seen, response must (1) eventually approach zero, thus
this response resembles the input and is leaving only the forced response, or (2) oscillate.
usually what remains after the transients
have decayed to zero. For example, this
response may be an elevator stopped near the
fourth floor or the head of a disk drive finally
stopped at the correct track. We are
concerned about the accuracy of the steady-
state response.
o An elevator must be level enough with the
floor for the passengers to exit.

TRANSIENT & STEADY STATE RESPONSE

 Two major measures of performance are apparent:
(1) the transient response and (2) the steady-state
error. In our example, passenger comfort and
passenger patience are dependent upon the
transient response. If this response is too fast,
passenger comfort is sacrificed; if too slow,
passenger patience is sacrificed. The steady-state
error is another important performance
specification since passenger safety and
convenience would be sacrifice if the elevator did
not level properly.

STABILITY
That characteristic of a system defined by a
natural response that decays to zero as time
approaches infinity.
Control systems must be designed to be stable.
That is, their natural response must decay to zero
as time approaches infinity, or oscillate.

Natural response describes the way the system

dissipates or acquires energy. The form or nature
of this response is dependent only on the system,
not the input. On the other hand, the form or
nature of the forced response is dependent on the
input.
Total response = Natural response + Forced
response