Linear Systems and Control

MCEN3006 / MCEN6019

Jonathan Paxman
j.paxman@curtin.edu.au
Room 204.413
Acknowledgement of Country
I wish to acknowledge the traditional custodians of
the land from which this unit is coordinated, the
Whadjuk people. I wish to acknowledge and
respect their continuing culture and their long
history of continuous learning in this place. I also
acknowledge the First Nations people of all of the
places where this unit is delivered, and where our
students study.
What is a control system?

AMZ racing Zurich: https://youtu.be/FbKLE7uar9Y

Block Diagram for a Motor Car Cruise Control
People
 Jonathan Paxman – Perth lecturer, unit coordinator
 Room 204.413
 Tomasz Woloszynski – Perth lecturer, lab demonstrator, unit
coordinator
 Wong King Jye – Malaysia coordinator and lecturer
 Darshana P Wadduwage – Sri Lanka coordinator and lecturer

 Acknowledgement: Some of the materials in this unit were prepared

by Dr Kristoffer McKee and by Dr Rodney Entwistle
Perth Teaching pattern

 Lecture: 2 hours, weekly

 Computer Lab: 1 hour per week, commencing in
week 1
 Workshop (MCEN3006): 1 hours weekly
commence week 1
 Tutorial (MCEN6019): 1 hours weekly commence
week 1

 Consult your local timetable for details, and

ensure you have registered for workshops and
computer labs.
Workshop and Tutorial
 The workshop and tutorial are intended to reinforce and
practice the techniques and approaches taught in the
lecture.
 They will involve a teacher guided discussion, reviewing
key concepts and examining worked examples.

 Students should read and consider the discussion

questions prior to the workshop/tutorial, and attempt
a selection of the problems prior to the tutorial.
 Week 1 will include a review of linear systems concepts,
Laplace Transforms and complex numbers covered in
prerequisite units.
Resources
 Required text book:
 Franklin, G. F., Powell, J. D., Emami-Naeini, A., Feedback Control
of Dynamic Systems, 7th edition, Pearson. (or 8th edition)
 Other text:
 Cannon, R H., 1967. Dynamics of Physical Systems. McGraw-Hill.
 Blackboard (http://lms.curtin.edu.au/):
 Lecture slides, workshop problems, lab materials, additional
reading materials and examples, past exams, link to MATLAB
online resources.
 Essential information will be communicated via Blackboard. You
must check it regularly.
 Review Mathematics units, Engineering Mechanics, Machine
Dynamics or other prerequisite material covering linear systems,
differential equations, complex numbers, Laplace Transforms.
Discussion Forum
 We will use Campuswire as a discussion forum for this
unit
 Please signup for the class using this link:
 https://campuswire.com/p/G5E83358D
 The forum can be accessed via the link:
 https://campuswire.com/c/G5E83358D/feed
 (both links can be found in the Blackboard menu)
 Please ask any general or technical questions in the
Discussion Forum instead of sending emails: the
answers will be of value to other students
 I strongly encourage students to answer each other’s
questions in the Forum when you can
Unit Learning Outcomes

 On successful completion of this unit you will be

able to:
1. Explain the principles of linear dynamic systems,
with emphasis on feedback control systems.
2. Correlate theoretical and practical aspects involved
in the design of simple control systems.
3. Design and analyse simple control systems.
By the end of this unit you should be able to:
 Interpret and develop block diagrams, equations of motion and transfer
functions for simple continuous and discrete time systems
 Mathematically model simple physical systems including thermal, fluid,
electromechanical and mechanical.
 Be able to relate the time response of a system to its transfer function and
pole locations
 Understand the term stability, and be able to relate the stability of a system to
its pole locations
 Understand the term frequency response, and be able to relate the frequency
response of a system to its transfer function
 Be able to sketch and interpret Bode diagrams for simple systems
 Be able to develop linear approximations for simple nonlinear systems
 Understand the purpose and structure of feedback systems
 Relate the terms gain margin and phase margin to Bode plots of open loop
systems, and to the stability of closed loop systems
 Apply the Routh criterion to determine the stability of simple feedback
systems
 Draw Root Locus diagrams for simple systems, and use these to predict the
stability of simple systems
 Design simple controllers to achieve stability and performance requirements,
including Proportional plus Integral plus Derivative controllers (PID)
Assessments

 Exam: 50%
 Assignment – 30%
 PartA, Part B
 Due beginning of week 12

 Quizzes - 20% in total

 Teaching weeks 3, 5, 7, 9, 11
 Short quizzes most likely delivered via Blackboard
 Best 4 out of 5 quiz marks will count
Academic integrity and use of AI
Please note that all assessment submissions
(including quizzes) must be your own individual
work.

The output from generative AI is not permitted to

be used for any assessment.

You are encouraged to explore the use of AI tools

as a study aid, but please be aware that the
accuracy of the output cannot be guaranteed and
you should check any outputs before relying on
them.
Signals and Systems
 Signals and systems arise in virtually every branch of
science and engineering.
 A signal is a function of an independent variable, usually
time. Signals are used to represent information about a
physical or computed quantity which is changing with
time.
 Examples of signals: speed, velocity (ms-1), acceleration (ms-2),
angular velocity (rad.s-1), voltage (V), current (A), pressure (Pa),
force (N).
 Signals can be a function of a continuous variable (continuous
time), or a function of a discrete variable (discrete time)

t k
Signals and systems

 Systems are processes (or operators) which

transform one signal into another. We will
usually describe systems as transforming an
input signal (or many inputs) into an output
signal (or many outputs).
 We will discuss many important properties of
systems, including linearity, time invariance,
causality and stability.
 Block diagrams
 Pictorial
representation of the
interconnections
between subsystems
 Arrows represent
signals
 Blocks represent
systems which
transform input
signals (with arrows
directed into the
block) into output
signals (with arrows
pointing out of the
block)

Don’t mix up block diagrams with flowcharts or system diagrams!

Open loop vs closed loop
Open loop dynamics:

Closed loop dynamics:

 Open loop vs closed loop control
Open loop: Plant

Reference Output
Controller Actuators Process

Closed loop (or feedback): Plant

Reference

Actuators Output
Controller Process

feedback loop
Sensors/
Transducers
Sensors
 Devices which measure
some aspect of the state
of the system
 Many sensor modalities
Actuators

 Devices which
perform an “action”
on the system
Controller
 The “brain”
 Can incorporate electronics, computer systems,
algorithms and software
 Implement a mathematical relationship
 Sometimes ‘computation’ is not required – the relationship
can be implemented via mechanical or passive electrical
linkages
Cable from
accelerator
Cable to
throttle body

Cruise Control
throttle actuator
2005 Toyota
Camry
Actuator
motor
Block Diagram for a Motor Car Cruise Control
 Feedback Example: Ktesibios’ Float Valve regulator
 Water-clock
 Alexandria 250BC
Signals and blocks

 Signals have units, are functions of time, and are

represented by the connections in a block
diagram.
 In the float regulator, net inflow q(t) is measured
in m3/s. Water level x(t) is measured in m.
 Systems have equations, and are represented
by the blocks:
 e.g. the Float chamber is described by
t
1
) x0 + ∫ q (τ )dτ
x(t=
A0
chamber area
Feedback example: Watt’s flyball governor
Feedback example: Watt’s flyball governor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OG1AiaNTT6s
 Inverted pendulum

https://youtu.be/MWJHcI7UcuE https://youtu.be/tXE4yBXjCpQ
m

x
http://www.aerospaceweb.org
 Common Components of
Feedback Control Systems
1. A set point or desired value (can be fixed or variable)
2. A comparator (can be part of the controller)
3. A device to initiate correction (controller)
4. An actuator or final control element
5. A measurement transducer or sensor
6. Signal communication paths
Aircraft Automatic Pilot
Altitude Control
Properties of systems

 In this unit, we are mainly concerned with

systems or models which are linear and time-
invariant, or which can be approximated by
linear time-invariant (or LTI) systems.

 Real-world systems are almost all non-linear

and time-varying, however many can be
reasonably approximated by LTI equations
(especially close to an equilibrium), and can be
controlled using linear controllers.
Linearity

 A system is described as linear if it obeys the

principles of additivity and homogeneity
 Additive:
adding inputs → adding outputs
 Homogeneous: scaling inputs → scaling outputs

u y
F

F (a.u1 + b.u2 )= a.F (u1 ) + b.F (u2 )

Time-invariance

 A system is described as time-invariant if a

delayed input results in the same output delayed
by the same time:
u y
F

u (t ) → y (t ) ⇒ u (t − τ ) → y (t − τ )
Causality

 We further assume that all of our systems are

causal. This means the output from a particular
input occurs after the input.
 This is true for any real-time dynamic system.
 It is not necessarily true of an offline process, for
example in signal processing.
Representing the dynamics of a system
 There are a number of different ways that the
dynamics of LTI systems can be represented.
These include:
 Linear differential equations
 Impulse response
 Step response
 Transfer function
 Frequency response (including Bode and Nyquist)
 State space

 We will deal with all of these methods in this unit.

Representing the dynamics of a system
The unit impulse function

 The unit impulse function, or Dirac delta function, is a

function that is zero everywhere except t=0, and has an
integral of 1.
∞

∫ δ (t )dt = 1
−∞
0 t
 It is formally defined as the limiting case of a family of
functions
δ (t ) = lim δ a (t )
a →0

 where, for example  1 −a a

 : <t <
δ a (t ) =  a 2 2
0 : otherwise
Impulse Response
 The impulse response of a system describes the output
when a unit impulse function is applied to the input, and
all initial conditions are zero:
δ (t ) h(t )
h(t )

 If the impulse response of a system is known, then the

output can be obtained by convolving the input with the
impulse response:
∞

u (t ) y (t ) = u (t ) ∗ h(t ) = ∫ u(τ )h(t − τ )dτ

h(t ) −∞


 Convolution property
For an LTI system with impulse response h(t), consider a general input u(t):

Input Output
δ (t ) → h(t )
δ (t − τ ) → h(t − τ )
u (τ )δ (t − τ )∆τ → u (τ )h(t − τ )∆τ
∑ u (τ )δ (t − τ )∆τ
i
i i i → ∑ u (τ i )h(t − τ i )∆τ i
i
∞ ∞

∫ u (τ )δ (t − τ )dτ → ∫ u (τ )h(t − τ )dτ

−∞ −∞

u (t ) → u (t ) ∗ h(t )
Convolution for causal signals:

 There is an important property to note when

both the input and the impulse response are
causal:
(t ) h=
u= (t ) 0 for t < 0
∞ t

∫ u (τ )h(t − τ )d=
−∞
τ ∫ u (τ )h(t − τ )dτ
0
Unit step function
 The unit step function is sometimes known as the
Heaviside step function. Notation is sometimes 1(𝑡𝑡),
sometimes 𝐻𝐻(𝑡𝑡), and sometimes 𝑢𝑢(𝑡𝑡). Be careful not to
confuse the unit step function with a general input 𝑢𝑢(𝑡𝑡).
We will use 1(𝑡𝑡) to avoid this ambiguity.

 The unit step function can be defined as the integral of

the unit impulse function.

𝑡𝑡
0, 𝑡𝑡 < 0
1 𝑡𝑡 = � 𝛿𝛿 𝜏𝜏 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 1 𝑡𝑡 = �
−∞
1, 𝑡𝑡 ≥ 0
Step response

 An LTI system can also be uniquely defined by

its step response: the output observed when a
unit step function is applied to the input.

 Since the unit step function is the integral of the

unit impulse function, and integration is a linear
operator, the step response is the integral of the
impulse response.
The Laplace Transform (revision)
 The Laplace Transform is a particular integral
transform which maps a function of a real
variable (usually time 𝑡𝑡 > 0) to a function of a
complex variable (usually 𝑠𝑠 = 𝜎𝜎 + 𝑗𝑗𝑗𝑗)
𝑓𝑓(𝑡𝑡) → 𝐹𝐹(𝑠𝑠)

∞
𝐹𝐹 𝑠𝑠 = ℒ 𝑓𝑓 𝑡𝑡 = � 𝑒𝑒 −𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 𝑓𝑓 𝑡𝑡 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
0
 We will usually use tables to find Laplace
Transforms
Key properties of Laplace Transforms
Time domain Laplace domain
Linearity 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎(𝑡𝑡) + 𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏(𝑡𝑡) 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎(𝑠𝑠) + 𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏(𝑠𝑠)
Derivative ̇
𝑓𝑓(𝑡𝑡) 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠(𝑠𝑠) − 𝑓𝑓(0− )
Second derivative (etc) ̈
𝑓𝑓(𝑡𝑡) ̇ −)
𝑠𝑠 2 𝐹𝐹 𝑠𝑠 − 𝑠𝑠𝑓𝑓 0− − 𝑓𝑓(0
Time delay 𝑓𝑓(𝑡𝑡 − 𝑎𝑎)1(𝑡𝑡 − 𝑎𝑎) 𝑒𝑒 −𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝐹𝐹(𝑠𝑠)
Frequency shift 𝑒𝑒 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑓𝑓(𝑡𝑡) 𝐹𝐹(𝑠𝑠 − 𝑎𝑎)
𝑡𝑡
Convolution 𝑓𝑓 ∗ 𝑔𝑔(𝑡𝑡) = � 𝑓𝑓 𝜏𝜏 𝑔𝑔 𝑡𝑡 − 𝜏𝜏 𝑑𝑑𝜏𝜏 𝐹𝐹(𝑠𝑠)𝐺𝐺(𝑠𝑠)
0

Initial value theorem:

𝑓𝑓 0+ = lim 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠(𝑠𝑠)
𝑠𝑠→∞

Final value theorem:

𝑓𝑓 ∞ = lim 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠(𝑠𝑠)
𝑠𝑠→0
(if the poles of 𝐹𝐹(𝑠𝑠) are all in the left half-plane)
Impulse responses and Transfer functions

 A transfer function is defined to be the Laplace transform

of the impulse response
 From the convolution property of the Laplace transform,
an output can be determined by multiplying the input by
the transfer function
Transfer functions
 If an LTI system has input 𝑢𝑢(𝑡𝑡) and output 𝑦𝑦(𝑡𝑡),
we can always write:
y ( s ) G ( s )u ( s ) + other terms independent of u ( s )
=

 The other terms can be due to nonzero initial

conditions, or other inputs such as disturbances
or noise.
 Note that although the transfer function is
defined in terms of the impulse response, it can
usually be derived directly from the differential
equations.
Dynamic modelling practice example:
mass-spring-damper (review)

 We can consider this to be a system with an input force,

𝐹𝐹(𝑡𝑡), and an output position, 𝑧𝑧(𝑡𝑡)

F(𝑡𝑡) 𝑧𝑧(𝑡𝑡)
mass-spring-
damper system

 Develop equations of motion by drawing a Free Body

Diagram and applying Newton’s equations of motion
Dynamic modelling practice example:
mass-spring-damper (review)

� 𝐹𝐹𝑧𝑧 = 𝑚𝑚𝑧𝑧̈

𝐹𝐹 𝑡𝑡 − 𝑞𝑞 𝑧𝑧̇ − 𝑘𝑘𝑘𝑘 = 𝑚𝑚𝑧𝑧̈

𝑞𝑞 𝑘𝑘 𝐹𝐹(𝑡𝑡)
𝑧𝑧̈ + 𝑧𝑧̇ + 𝑧𝑧 =
𝑚𝑚 𝑚𝑚 𝑚𝑚
Dynamic modelling practice example:
mass-spring-damper (review)

 Apply Laplace Transforms to obtain an equation relating

�
𝑍𝑍(𝑠𝑠) to 𝐹𝐹(𝑠𝑠), and hence obtain a Transfer Function
𝑞𝑞 𝑘𝑘 𝐹𝐹(𝑡𝑡)
𝑧𝑧̈ + 𝑧𝑧̇ + 𝑧𝑧 =
𝑚𝑚 𝑚𝑚 𝑚𝑚
𝑞𝑞 𝑘𝑘 �
𝐹𝐹(𝑠𝑠)
𝑠𝑠 2 𝑍𝑍 𝑠𝑠 − 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 0− − ̇ −)
𝑧𝑧(0 + −
𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 𝑠𝑠 − 𝑧𝑧(0 ) + 𝑍𝑍 𝑠𝑠 =
𝑚𝑚 𝑚𝑚 𝑚𝑚
𝑞𝑞 𝑘𝑘 �
𝐹𝐹(𝑠𝑠)
𝑠𝑠 2 + 𝑠𝑠 + 𝑍𝑍 𝑠𝑠 = �
+ terms independent of 𝐹𝐹(𝑠𝑠)
𝑚𝑚 𝑚𝑚 𝑚𝑚
1
𝑍𝑍 𝑠𝑠 = 𝑚𝑚 �
𝐹𝐹(𝑠𝑠) �
+ terms independent of 𝐹𝐹(𝑠𝑠)
𝑞𝑞 𝑘𝑘
𝑠𝑠 2 + 𝑚𝑚 𝑠𝑠 + 𝑚𝑚

Transfer Function
Ongoing study:
 Review topics:
 Ordinary differential equations
 Modelling of basic mechanical systems
 Laplace transforms

 Review lecture notes

 Attempt tutorial problems
 Review computer labs
Questions?