Lec01: Objectives

At the end of the lecture, I should be able to:

• Understand the purpose of control engineering
• Describe the basic of control system.
• Differentiate between open loop and closed loop control
system.
• Discuss the elements of control system.
FAQs

 What is Control?
 What is Control System?
 What is the purpose of a Control System?
Control Terminology

Control is a process of
causing a system
variable to conform or to
follow the desired value
or path, known as the
reference value.
Eg:
• Traffic controller
• Temperature controller
• Blood pressure
Control Terminology

A control system is an interconnection of

components forming a system configuration that
will provide a desired system response.

Input, u Output y
'System'
or 'Plant'
Purpose of Control System

 Power amplification
 Remote control
 Convenience of inputs form
 Compensation of disturbance
Type of Control System

Open-loop control

F 1 a
m

ad F 1 a
m̂
m

Model - Physical mass -

Est. mass plant
Open-loop Control

ad F a
m̂ 1
m

Control system

Feedforward control system takes the desired output,

combines it with knowledge about system (in this example.
an estimate of mass) to generate control effort (here a
force)
Open-loop Control

ad a
m̂
m
mˆ
• If  1 then a  ad
m
•Accuracy depends on how good m̂ is
•Doesn’t account for unmodelled effects such as
other forces act, e.g. friction, Windage losses,
etc.
Closed-loop Control

Desired Actual output

Error
output + Plant
-
Sensor

Actuation effort

Idea: use difference

between actual output
(error) and desired
output ‘drive’ the plant.
Closed-loop Control

Actuator: generates K Newtons

Error signal for every m/s2 error in acceleration
F

ad + e 1 a
K
_ m

Force applied to mass Sensed

acceleration
Closed-loop Control

m 1
a  ad
1 m / K m

Larger K, the better the approximation

of first term to m.
Element of Control System

Summing
Junction d
Input Output
Controller Actuator System
Error
Signal

Feedback
Sensor