/ We want you to imagine that you have a job - actually several jobs.

These jobs will involve designing control systems. Imagine that you have been hired by a company that produces specialty metals. They are setting up a new production line for a new kind of magnetic material that they are producing for shielding rooms from magnetic fields produced by high currents. The production of this metal involves heating it to very specific temperatures and holding those temperatures for specified periods of time. Actually, the rates of temperature increase and decrease between the set points are also critical. If the temperatures vary too much from what is required the metal produced will have to be scrapped. Are you ready for this job? It's not tough conceptually, but can you guarantee the company that they can go forward with confidence that the temperature control systems will work to produce the required temperature vs time profile? Imagine that are part of an aircraft control system design team. Your company has just bid on the control of a new supersonic aircraft. Your team will need to design the autopilot systems for the aircraft. In other words, you need to design systems that will keep the aircraft at the same altitude and on the same heading when the pilot is not actuating the controls. Can you design a system and guarantee that the system will work? Remember also that you need to design this system so that it works when the fuel tanks are full and when they are nearing empty at the end of a flight, and that the system has to work in all kinds of conditions including heavy cross winds.

Here's another situation.

What Is A Control System?

In most systems there will be an input and an output. This block diagram represents that. (Control system designers and engineers use block diagrams to represent systems. Get used to them.) Signals flow from the input, through the system and produce an output.

The input will usually be an ideal form of the output. In other words the input is really what we want the output to be. It's the desired output. The output of the system has to be measured. In the figure below, we show the system we are trying to control - the "plant" - and a sensor that measures what the controlled system is doing. The input to the plant is usually called the control effort, and the output of the sensor is usually called the measured output, as shown below in the figure.

For example, if we want the output to be 100oC, then that's the input. If we want to control the output, we first need to measure the output. Within the whole system is the system we want to control - the plant - along with a sensor that measures what the output actually is. In our block diagram representation, we show the output signal being fed to the sensor which produces another signal that is dependent upon the output. A sensor might be an LM35, which produces a voltage proportional to temperature - if the output signal is a temperature. We need the sensor in the system to measure what the system is doing.

The sensor measures the output of the system we are controlling. It often converts the output into a variable we can use. If the output is a temperature, we might want to have a voltage we can use to control a heater, for example. The LM35 temperature sensor, for example, produce .01 volts for every 1.0oC change. Usually, the output, as measured by the sensor is subtracted from the input (which is the desired output) as shown below. That forms an error signal that the controller can use to control the plant.

To control the system we need to use the information provided by the sensor.

The device which performs the subtraction to compute the error, E, is a comparator.

Finally, the last part of this system is the controller.

The controller acts on the error signal and uses that information to produce the signal that actually affects the system we are trying to control. The controller has to provide enough power to drive the system. You don't want to try to control a large motor with a 741 operational amplifier. You just can't do that, so the controller has to be able to compute the control signal, and it has to be able to drive the system you are trying to control. Thus, the controller has two things that it has to achieve.

The controller has to compute what the control errort should be. The controller has to apply the computed control effort.

Consider how this controller works.

If the gain in the forward path, from the error to the output, is large, then a small error can produce a much larger ouput. There is a certain logic to that strategy. You want a small error, but you need a control effort large enough to control the system. That seems to imply that the gain of the controller should be large.

It looks like a good strategy would be for the controller to be a high gain power amplifier (for many control situations) because then a small error

could produce the output we want, or something very close to what we want because the error would be small. Now, let's start to refine our model.

Let's assume that the system we are trying to control is a linear system. To account for the linear dynamics, we'll show the transfer function of the system. That transfer function will be G(s).

Once we realize that we can describe the system we are controlling, the plant, we realize that we can describe all of the components in the sytem with a transfer function description.

The sensor most likely has an output - typically a voltage - that is proportional to the physical variable it measures. That means that the transfer function is just a constant - a gain. We'll denote that by Ks.

The last item in our system is the controller. Controllers come in many varieties. The simplest - but certainly not the only one used - is a proportional controller. That's what we will consider here, but remember there are also integral controllers, and controllers that blend integral, proportional and derivative control and lots of others.

In a proportional controller, the control action is proportional to the error, and we can represent the controller as a gain, Kp.

That completes a verbal and algebraic description of the system, but there is also a diagrammatic representation for the system. The block diagram shown below captures all of the information about the system as we have developed it above. Note, in this system, we are assuming that all of the signals are Laplace transform versions of the time signals we have been discussing, and the descriptions of the blocks in the block diagram are really transfer functions.

With this block diagram, let's review what we hope happens in this system. 1. There is an input, u(t), to the system, which we assume starts from rest. In the block diagram, that is represented by U(s).

2. The output of the system, Y(s), is measured with a sensor that has a

transfer function Ks. That transfer function could have a time constant, etc., but for now we will examine it as though it is a constant.

3. There is an error, E(s), developed, particularly because the controlled system, G(s), cannot respond immediately and the feedback signal that is subtracted from the input to form the error is zero.
4. The error that is developed acts through the proportional controller, Kp, to

start to move the output of the system to where we want it to be.

5. As the system continues to operate, the output of the system (described by G(s)) rises, reducing the error so that the control effort from the proportional controller gets smaller. 6. Even though the error gets smaller, if the gain of the proportional controller is large it will still provide enough output to drive the system close to where we want it to be. This kind of system is referred to as a closed loop system, since there is a feedback signal that "closes the loop" in the system. That's a little jargon you need to learn and remember. But we're not done yet. We need to take our description and use it to determine how this system behaves. That's the next section. There we will look at a simple system and apply our analytical abilities in order to get a better idea of how it all works. But first, we are going to look at a few simulations of systems using the kind of system described above. Example/Experiment E1 By clicking here, you can get to a simulator for the system below. When you click, you will get instructions for operating the simulator, as well as a link to the simulator which eventually opens in a separate window. You can return to this window, and keep the simulator window open.

In the simulator, we assume that G(s) is a first order system.

G(s) = Gdc/(s + 1)

In the simulator, the following items can be set.

Gdc - The DC gain for G(s) The time constant for G(s)

K - The proportional gain in the controller The Desired output, u, which corresponds to U(s) in the diagram above. The system preloads with a gain of 5 for the controller, with a gain of 2 in the system being controlled. Run the simulator with the preloaded gains and parameter values and note how quickly the system responds, and how accurately it responds. Accuracy is determined by examining the steady state error (SSE). The SSE is the difference between the desired output (preloaded as 2.0) and the actual output (which will be displayed as the system runs). Now, double the gain - from 5 to 10 - by entering a new value in the gain text box, and run the simulation again (You will have to clear the previous plot to do that.) and observe the final value again. Compare the results and determine if the claims above about getting a small error with a large gain are true. Does the system perform more accurately with the higher gain?
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Now you should have seen that the system performs better with a higher gain. It is more accurate, and - if you didn't notice - it is also faster for the higher gain. It's tempting to conclude that you always want higher gain because you will get better performance. We will check that on a second order system later. First, we need to point out another thing that happens in a closed loop system. Let's get back to our original system and examine another detail in the system's performance. What we will look at is how the error changes in time. There are some things we can learn from that. Example/Experiment E2 In this system we will examine how the error changes in time. First, we have the same block diagram for the system.

In the simulator, we assume that G(s) is a first order system.

G(s) = Gdc/(s + 1) Gdc - The DC gain for G(s) - The time constant for G(s)

In the simulator, the following items can be set.

K - The proportional gain in the controller The Desired output, u, which corresponds to U(s) in the diagram above. Now, the simulator below also shows how the error changes as the system operates.

Run the simulator. (Note that the green plot is the plot of the error in this simulation.) You should notice the following. As the system runs, the error is initially very large.

 When the error is large the control effort in the system is large. That means that there is a larger input that is driving the system that is being controlled, probably causing it to respond quickly. As the system runs, the error gets smaller - although it never gets to zero. As the error gets smaller, the control effort becomes smaller. When you get close to the desired output, you don't need to "push" the system toward the desired output, and you only need a control effort large enough to keep the system at a constant value.

Run the system again (Reset the system first.) with a larger gain, Kp. At larger gains a smaller error produces the same control effort, and it takes a smaller error to produce enough control effort to keep the system at the desired output level. The net result is a smaller steady state error.

Example/Experiment E3 In this simulator, the system is the one shown in the block diagram below. It's the same configuration that we had before.

In the simulator, we assume that G(s) is a second order system.

G(s) = Gdc/(s2 + 2

2 n

In the simulator, the following items can be set.

Gdc - The DC gain for G(s)

n

The damping ratio for G(s) The undamped natural frequency for G(s)

K - The proportional gain in the controller The Desired output, u. To operate the simulator, You can start by just using the values that are pre-loaded into the simulator.

Click the Start button. A plot will be generated.

If you want to change anything, enter the new data, then click the Reset button which appears when the plot is complete. That clears the plot and brings back the start button.

The output is indicated as the simulation runs.

Now, double the gain - from 5 to 10 - by entering a new value in the gain text box, and run the simulation again (You will have to clear the previous plot to do that.) and observe the final value again. Compare the results and determine if the claims above about getting a small error with a large gain are true. Does the system perform more accurately with the higher gain?
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Does the system perform better with the higher gain?

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The second system points out an interesting conundrum. The system gets better one way, but it deteriorates in another way. Go back and try to increase

the gain still further and notice what happens. You can do that in the simulator below, which has been modified to show the error as well as the output. Example/Experiment E4 In this simulator, the system is the one shown in the block diagram below. It is the same configuration that we had before.

In the simulator, we assume that G(s) is a second order system.

G(s) = Gdc/(s2 + 2

2 n

In the simulator, the following items can be set.

Gdc - The DC gain for G(s)

n

The damping ratio for G(s) The undamped natural frequency for G(s)

K - The proportional gain in the controller The Desired output, u.

In this simulator you can adjust the proportional gain. Run the simulator with the gain as shown. You should note that there is a time when the error becomes almost exactly zero, yet the system continues to run and settles out at a non-zero error. Run the simulator with a proportional gain (Kp) of 10. (The simulator should pre-load with a proportional gain of 5.0.) Now, notice that the error actually becomes negative.

There is another interesting point to observe here. The system that is preloaded is a system with a damping ratio of 2, which means that the system has two real poles. Real poles can't produce oscillations. Oscillations can only come from complex poles. With a little experimentation you should be able to see that the system does not exhibit oscillations - so it has real poles - at low gain values, and that you only get oscillations at larger gain values. Try it now. You should also observe that the error behaves in some interesting ways. With a proportional gain of 10.0, the system can exhibit a transient negative error, which implies that the control effort - which is proportional to the error - becomes negative. If this is a temperature control system, that would mean turning the heater off and running an air-conditioning unit to take heat out of the controlled space. If you are trying to control the level of liquid in a tank, the negative control effort means you are trying to remove liquid from the tank - running a pump backwards. In both of these cases the linear model we have assumed might not really be a good representation for the system that you actually build. At this point things are starting to get interesting. You should realize that predicting how a system behaves is not going to be simple, and that we will need to be able to develop tools that can help us predict behavior, especially in more complex systems. We haven't used the most complex systems. Even a simple model of an airplane might have twenty or more poles. But, the tools that we will develop have been used successfully to design systems that large and much larger. We need to consider what we have to do and we will start by looking at the block diagram representation of our system. We are working toward an explanation of what is happening, particularly what happens in the simulated systems for starters.

Getting the Closed Loop Transfer Function

The block diagram we have developed shows how the signals within the system interact. Actually, we can think of the block diagram as a way of representing algebraic relationships that exist within the system. Each item in the block

diagram represents some algebraic relationship that exists in the system. We can use those relationships to get a relationship between the input and output signals. Let's look at a simple system. In this system, the sensor has a transfer function of 1.

The output of the system is related to the error signal. y(t) = Output Y(s) = G(s)*W(s) That is the algebraic relationship that exists between the input to the system we are controlling - denoted by W(s) in the diagram - and the output of the system, Y(s). The essence of that relationship is the transfer function, G(s), which might describe some very complicated dynamics in that system. There is another block, the controller, which is assumed here to be just a gain, K. The relationship that block sets up is: W(s) = K*E(s) Continuing along this avenue, we can substitute for the error. The error signal, E, is the difference between the input and the sensor signal. u(t) = Input E(s) = U(s) - Y(s) Finally, we can note that this equation lets us compute the relationship between input and output. E(s) = U(s) - Y(s) and, we can get a relationship between E(s) and the system output, Y(s) by combining the first two relationships we have. W(s) = K*E(s) Y(s) = G(s)*W(s) = G(s)*K*E(s) so, we have: E(s) = Y(s)/[K*G(s)] = U(s) - Y(s) solve for the output to obtain

Y(s) = U(s) * K * G(s)/[1 + K*G(s)] The ratio of output to input for the closed loop system is referred to as the Closed Loop Transfer Function (CLTF). There are very few things in control systems that you should memorize, but you should remember the form for the closed loop transfer function. This is what you have to remember. Closed Loop Transfer Function = KG(s)/[1 + KG(s)]

A First Order System Example

Now, let's examine a particular case where G(s) is a first order system. In that case we would have: G(s) = Gdc/(st + 1) Then, the closed loop transfer function - Y(s)/U(s), given above - can be computed in detail: GCL(s) = KGdc/(s + 1 + KGdc) = Gdc,CL/[s CL + 1] This expression is put into a standard form at the right. That expression has two parameters, the closed loop DC Gain, Gdc,CL, and the closed loop time constant, CL. Those parameters are given by: Gdc,CL= KGdc/(1 + KGdc)

CL

= /(1 + KGdc)

This is a particularly interesting result. The closed loop system does not have the same parameters as the original system. Both the time constant and the DC gain have changed as a result of having the feedback loop in the system. Question Q1. In the proportional control system described above, you want to be sure that the output matches the input as well as possible. Ideally, the closed loop DC gain would be 1.0. If Gdc = 1, and you determine that the system is not accurate enough. Would you need to increase K or would you need to decrease K?
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Something interesting happens here, but before we look at that, let's introduce a little terminology.

The Open Loop DC Gain for this system is the product of the DC gain of the controller - K - and the DC gain of the system being controlled - Gdc.

Now, we can note the following for the closed loop system. As the Open Loop DC gain changes, the Closed Loop DC gain also changes but it approaches 1.0 as the gain gets large. As the Open Loop DC gain changes, the Closed Loop Time Constant also changes. It just gets smaller and smaller as the gain gets large. What this means is that the steady state output gets closer and closer to the value of the input when the input is a contstant. It also means is that the steady state is reached faster in the closed loop system.

There are some interesting implications of these changes.

Here is the first order simulator again. Here you can check the predictions we have just made. Follow the instructions below. Example/Experiment/Problem E5 In this simulator, the system is the one shown in the block diagram below. To simplify things we have used a sensor with a gain of 1, and shown the feedback path as a gain of one.

In the simulator, we assume that G(s) is a first order system.

G(s) = Gdc/(s + 1) Gdc - The DC gain for G(s) The time constant for G(s)

In the simulator, the following items can be set.

K - The proportional gain in the controller The Desired output, u, which corresponds to U(s) in the diagram above. To operate the simulator, Set the time constant to 20 seconds. Set the DC gain of the plant - the controlled system - to 1. Set the controller gain to 1.

 Predict the closed loop time constant, so that you are sure of what you expect. Use the graded response form below to check your answer. P1
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Enter your answer in the box below, then click the button to submit your answer. You will get a grade on a 0 (completely wrong) to 100 (perfectly accurate answer) scale.
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Your grade is: Predict the closed loop DC gain, so that you are sure of what the final value should be. P2
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Enter your answer in the box below, then click the button to submit your answer.
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Your grade is:

Click the Start button in the simulator below, get the plot, and determine the closed loop time constant and the closed loop DC gain experimentally. Compare your measured results to the experimental results.

Problems P3 In this system, you need a closed loop time constant of .5 seconds or less. Determine the gain, K, that produces a time constant of 0.5 seconds. (And, if you want, you can use the simulator above - at least to check your answer.)

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Enter your answer in the box below, then click the button to submit your answer. You will get a grade on a 0 (completely wrong) to 100 (perfectly accurate answer) scale.

Your grade is:

What If?

So far, you've seen that feedback can have some really good effects when the system being controlled is a first order linear system. What if the system is different? There are lots of other situations you could encounter. The system might be second order or even a higher order system. The system could be nonlinear. The system might be computer controlled. The system we have been looking at has been a system with an analog controller.

In all of these cases, something different is going to happen - but's that's a subject for another discussion. More complex systems are just that - more complex. That complexity means that that design techniques can not be limited to first or second order systems. Models of aircraft might involve twentieth order differential equations or higher twenty or more poles if you are looking at things using transfer functions. Satellites are orders of magnitude more difficult in that sense. The techniques you are going to learn are going to permit you to design those complex systems and to predict their performance. They will be based on what you know about simpler systems, but they will extend you in the process. To get on with it, you can look at a basic type of control system, the proportional control system. Click here to get to the introductory lessons on proportional control. You need to learn a number of things to work in control system. You need to learn about system dynamics - how systems behave in time and how to model them. You need to learn how to use models of systems - transfer functions, block diagrams, etc.

There's a long list of what you need, but we're going to stop here.

Problems

Intro Problem 1 - Controlling an Airplane - What is involved? Intro Problem 2 - Motor Control Intro Problem 3 - What's in your home heating system? Prob Intro1P04 - Predicting the response of a simple control system. Prob Intro1P05 - Meeting specifications in a simple control system. Prob Intro1P06 - Getting the transfer function of a system.

Prob Intro1P07 - Predicting the response of a control system.

Links To Related Lessons Other Introductory Lessons General Introduction

Introduction To Proportional Control Introduction To Integral Control Introduction To Block Diagram Representations Proportional Control Implementing Proportional Control

More Advanced Material On Proportional Control

Send us your comments on these lessons.

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