What Makes Some Control

Problems Hard?
Appendix
• Control Strategy
• Control Physics
• Control Architecture
• Control Tuning
• Conclusion
 Control Strategy
• Begins with an assessment of the need to control & and justify the technology
based on parameters
• Alternatives should be explored to get the most cost-effective system as well as
feasible
• Non-feasible systems offer re-designing as a solution
• Passive Control Approach
• Requires Distinct Components
• Foundation – Physical Basis for sensing and actuation
 Control Physics
• Physical phenomenon that dictates the ability to influence the dynamics of a plant.
• Devices responsible for control inputs rely on Control Physics. E.g.: Electric Motors
• Effectiveness of Control Strategy depends upon Control Physics
• Constraints in variables are ingrained here
• Conservation of energy imposes a constraint on all physical devices
• Exotic Control Physics – less common – piezoelectric substances
• High Leverage Physics – Capitalizes on existing conditions to achieve with minimal
effort & cost – In some cases, it’s crucial – E.g. Triode Vacuum Tubes, Aircraft
Control Systems
Control Architecture
• Refers to the spatial arrangement of sensors and
actuators
• w  Disturbances
u  Actuator Input
z  Performance
y  Feedback input.
• Feedforward – special case of general architecture
– Effective in command - following & tracking
problems where shaping filters are used to modify
or deadbeat the plant input
 Open-Loop Control Architecture
• Requires actuators but not sensors
• Necessary to use a feedback or closed-loop control architecture
when system possesses a high level of uncertainty in terms of its
disturbances
• Feedback - more sophisticated than open-loop control – due to
the requirement of sensors & actuators in closed-loop operation
 Control Architecture & Achievable Performance
 The placement of sensors and actuators significantly
influences the efficiency of a home heating system.
 Alternative architectures with outdoor sensors and
smart actuators offer the potential for enhanced
control, improving both comfort and energy
efficiency.
 Alternative heating system architecture with external
disturbance measurement improves performance but
may need a complex control algorithm due to the
modeling requirements of Gzw and Gzu.
 Choice of control architecture affects control physics,
modeling needs, control algorithm complexity, and
achievable performance of the heating system.
 In the ideal control architecture for
passive systems,
the signal pairs (y,w) and (z,u) are
colocated (as indicated by the diagonal
lines), and the pairs(z,y) and (u,w) are
separated.
• Colocating z and u means positioning the control input at the performance signal
z, while collocating y and w means placing the measurement sensor y at the
disturbance signal.
• If colocating sensors and actuators aren’t possible, they should be placed in a way
that minimizes phase and avoids right-half-plane zeros.
• Perfect state reconstruction is achievable for full-state feedback control and
unconditional stabilization.
• However, if Gyu is the minimum phase and has a relative degree of not greater
than two, unconditional stabilization of the closed-loop system is possible.
 Control Tuning
• Involves selecting the right algorithm and tuning parameters for desired
performance and robustness
• Phase variation and saturation can impact
• Complicates empirical modeling and stabilization.
• Reduces the ability to perform model-based synthesis
• Difficult-to-model nonlinearities, such as saturation, can hinder.
• Noise in sensors and disturbances can impact achievable performance
• Noise-free measurements are equivalent to a full-state feedback control
architecture, but practically, noise is a major impediment.
 The Inverted Pendulum
• Plant is especially difficult to control when u is
forcing the cart, y is the cart position, disturbance w is
pendulum torque, and the performance z is pendulum
angle.
• The linearized transfer functions from w to z, from w
to y, from u to z, and from u to y are given by

• Due to the presence of the right-half-plane pole

and zero in Gyu , only small stability margins are
achievable under linear time-invariant control.
• This shows that the placement of sensors and
actuators has implications for model accuracy
requirements.
• The additional presence of nonlinearities and
authority limitations further exacerbates the
difficulty of control tuning.
 Conclusion
• Control problems involve several phases: control strategy, control physics,
control architecture, & control tuning.
• Control Strategy - crucial to evaluate the need for control based on
performance, cost, and risk considerations.
• Control Physics - high-leverage control physics should be exploited to
enhance control effectiveness.
• Control Architecture - Requires designing a robust
sensor/actuator/disturbance/performance architecture while considering
hardware requirements.
• Control tuning - For instability, nonlinearity, control-loop coupling,
uncertainty, and their interactions.
 References
What makes some control problems hard?
- By Dennis S. Bernstein
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~dsbaero/others/28-
WhatMakesControlHard.pdf
Thank You
Sakshi Tiwari (21BEC012)
Kalyani Patel (21BEC017)
Chahat Khatri (21BEC018)
Mahatta Purohit (21BEC023)