Rain

2008/2009
SESSION
PREPARED BY:
S.A. ADIO
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT
OBAFEMI AWOLOWO UNIVERSITY

MEE 312 MODULE 1

INTRODUCTION
 CONTROL SYSTEM ENGINEERING - MEE 312

INTRODUCTION CONTROL SYSTEM ENGINEERING

Automatic control systems have played important roles in the development of
engineering and science. Control systems are seen everywhere, it influences each facets
of modern life. Examples of applications of control system engineering can be found in
air, domestic environment and industrial setups, e.g. Automatic washing machine,
microwave ovens, electric kettles, power plants, missile-guidance systems, robotic
system, aircraft control etc.
CONTROL ENGINEERING:
Is concerned with the analysis, design and implementation of goal-oriented system.
By goal-oriented systems, we mean, systems that attempt to either
1. Regulate; to maintain systems variables at constant desired values, e.g. room
temperature, cruise control in automobile, etc. or
2. Servo; to make system variables follow continually changing desired values e.g robot
motion, missile guidance, data transfer rate, etc.

CONTROL SYSTEM TERMINOLOGY

1. Control System : Is an interconnection of components forming a system configuration
and perform certain objectives (i.e provide a desired system response).
2. Plants: A plant may be a piece of equipment, perhaps just a set of machine parts
functioning together, the purpose of which is to perform a particular operation.
3. Process: A process is the component or group of components to be controlled. Therefore,
a plant being controlled to attain a desired output is a process.
4. Controller: A controller may be used to produce a desired behaviour of the plant
(Fig.1.0). The controller generates the input signal to the plant to produce desired outputs.

Control
Reference Signals Input U Plant or Output Signals
Controller
T Process
R = (r1,r2...rk) Y = (y1,y2....yn)T

Disturbance
Signal

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The part of the system from the output of the controller to the input of the plant
may or may not be accessible.
5. Disturbances: A disturbance is a signal that tend to adversely affect the value of the
output of a system. If a disturbance is generated within the system, it is termed internal
while an external disturbance is generated outside the system and it is an input.

Open –Loop Systems

Those sytems in which the output has no effect on the control input are called open-loop
control systems.
Disturbance
input

Control + - Controlled Variable

input Plant
Or
Summing Output
point

Fig 2.0 Open – loop System

Figure 2.0 represents an open-loop control system and is used for very simple
applications. The disadvantages of an open loop system is its sensitivity to changes in
disturbance input (i.e the controlled output is sensitive to changes in disturbance input). A
room that is being maintained at 30oC with the aid of gas fire, will remain at the value
unless there is a disturbance. (leaving the door open; Changing the temperature outside
the room).
In otherwords, in an open-loop control system the output is neither measure nor fed back
for comparison with the reference input, e.g. washing machine, traffic control light,
vegetable blender etc. Therefore, to every reference input there corresponds a fixed
operating condition/ouput; as a result, the accuracy of the system depends on calibration.
Open loop system is therefore, efficiently practicable only if there are no disturbances.

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Note: That any control system that operates on a time basis is an open-loop control
system.

Closed-Loop Systems
A system that maintains a prescribed relationship between the output and the reference
input by comparing them and using the difference as a means of control is called a
feedback control system. In practice, the term feedback control and closed-loop control are
used interchangeably. For a room temperature control system, the first requirement is to
detect or sense changes in room temperature. The second requirement is to control or
vary the energy output of the gas fire, if the sensed room temperature is different from the
desired room temperature.
in ng
p o mi
m

t
Su

Figure 3.0. shows the generalised schematic block-diagram for a closed-loop, or feed
back control system. The controller and the plant lie along the feed fowards path, and the
sensor in the feedback path. The measured value of the plant output is compared at the
summing point with the desired value. The difference, or error is fed into the controller
which generates a control signal to drive the plant until its output equals the desired
value. This arrangement is somtimes called error-actuated system.
Some of the advantages that feedback control have are:

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- Increased accuracy
- Reduced sensitivity to changes in components
- Reduced effects of disturbances
- Increased speed of response and bandwidth.

The major disadvantage of a closed-loop system/control is the stability of the system.

A closed-loop control system may tend to over correct errors and this can cause
oscillation of constant or changing amplitude.
Examples of closed-loop systems
a.

Controller

Input Shaft
Voltage Error Throttle
Voltage
Voltage Throttle angle
Engine Speed
Difference Carbiretor &
Prop to amplifier Actuator Car
Desired
speed
Cruise Control

Voltage proportional to Shaft Speed Measurement

Tachometer

Figure 4.0. A Closed – loop Engine Control System

b.
Plant

Control
Signal Actual
Error
Desired Water
Signal
Switch Pump Tank
Water Level
Level

Level
Float Measurement

Fig 5.0 Automatic Liquid Level Control System

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Figure 6 Schematic diagram of a room temperaure control system

A detailed block diagram of the room temperature control system Fig.6 is shown in
Fig. 7. The physical values of the signals around the control loop are shown in
brackets. Steady conditions will exist when the actual and desired temperatures are
the same and the heat input exactly balances the heat loss through the walls of the
building.

Figure 7 Block diagrame of room temperature control

The above system can operate in two modes;

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i. Proportional control : Here the linear movement of the valve stem is proportional to the
error. This provides a continouse modulation of the heat input to the room producing very
precise temperature control. This is used for applications where temperature control, of
say better than 1oC, is reqiured (i.e. hospital operating theatres, industrial standards
rooms, etc.) where accuracy is more important than cost.
ii. On-off control: Also called thermostatic or bang-bang control, the gas valve is either
fully open or fully closed, i.e. the heater is either on or off. This form of control produces
an oscillation of about 2 or 3oC of the actual temperature about the desired temperature,
but is cheap to implement and is used for low-cost applications (i.e. domestic heating
systems).

SUMMARY
In order to design and implement a control system essential generic elements are
required:
 Knowledge of the desired value: It is necessary to know what it is you are trying to contol, to
what accuracy, and over what range of values. This must be expresse in the form of a
performance specification. In the physical system this information must be converted
into a form suitable for the controller to understand (analogue or digital signal).
 Knowlege of the output or actual value. This must be measured by a feedback sensor, again in
a form suitable for the controller to understand. In addition the sensor must have the
necessary resolution and dynamic response so that the measured value has the
accuracy required from the performance specification.
 Knowledge of the controlling device: The controller must be able to accept measurements of
desired and actual values and compute a control signal in a suitable form to drive an
actuating element. Controllers can be a range of devices, including mechanical levers,
pneumatic elements, analogue or digital circuits or microcomputers.
 Kwoledge of the actuating device: This unit amplifies the control signal and provides the
effort to move the output of the plant towards its desired value. In the case of the
room temperature control system the actuator is the gas solenoid valve and burner, the

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effort being heat input (W). For the ship autopilot system the actuator is the steering
gear and rudder, the effort being turning moment (Nm).
 Knowledge of the plant:: Most control strategies
strategies require some knowledge of the static and
dynamic characteristics of the plant. These can be obtained from measurements or
from the application of fundamental physical laws, or a combination of both.

Trial
A servomechanism for steering a toy car (using wires) is shown in Fig. E1. The command
voltage U1 is regulated by a joystick potentiometer. Another identical potentiometer (angle
sensor) placed on the shaft of the motor produces voltage W angle proportional to the shaft
rotation angle. The feedback
ck makes the error small so that the sensor voltage approximates the
input voltage, and therefore the motor shaft angle tracks the joystick commanded angle. Draw
the block diagram of the control system.

Figure E1: Joystick control of a toy car

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