Automatic Control Systems

By: Dr. Mahmoud Ali

mamosa@zu.edu.eg
PhD. University of Liverpool, UK

1
 Course Outline
– System Modelling
• Transfer Function
• State space
• Block Diagrams
– System Analysis
• Time Domain Analysis
• Frequency Domain Analysis (Bode Plots)
– Root Locus
– System Design
• PID Control
• Compensation Techniques

2
 Text Books
Control Systems Engineering, (6th Edition) By: Norman S. Nise

Modern Control Engineering, (5th Edition) By: Katsuhiko Ogata

3
 Course Specs.
Lectures: 3 hours / week.
Tutorials: 1.5 hours / week.
Tutor: Eng. Hamdy Sultan.
Grading:
Semester work: 45 points.
• Mid term exam: 25 points. (Written)
• Tutor evaluation: 10 points.
• Two quizzes: 10 points.
• Mini project: 10 points (max) Bonus !!!!
Final exam: 80 points. (MCQ + Written)
Total: 125

4
 Prerequisites
– Differential Equations
– Laplace Transform
– Basic Physics
– Ordinary and Semi-logarithimic graph papers
– Linear Algebra
– Matrices

5
Week #1

6
 What is a Control System?
• A control System is a device, or set of devices to
manage, command, direct or regulate the
behaviour of other device(s) or system(s).

7
 Definitions

System – An interconnection of elements and devices for a desired purpose.

Control System – An interconnection of components forming a system

configuration that will provide a desired response.

Process – The device, plant, or system under control. The input and
output relationship represents the cause-and-effect relationship of the
process.

Input Process Output

8
Definitions

Controlled Variable– It is the quantity or condition that is measured

and Controlled. Normally controlled variable is the output of the control
system.

Manipulated Variable– It is the quantity of the condition that is varied

by the controller so as to affect the value of controlled variable.

Control – Control means measuring the value of controlled variable of

the system and applying the manipulated variable to the system to
correct or limit the deviation of the measured value from a desired
value.

9
 Definitions
Manipulated Variable

Input
or Output
Set point Controller Process Or
or Controlled Variable
reference

Disturbances– A disturbance is a signal that tends to adversely affect

the value of the system. It is an unwanted input of the system.

10
 Types of Control System
Open-Loop Control Systems
Open-Loop Control Systems utilize a controller or control actuator to
obtain the desired response.
• Output has no effect on the control action.
• In other words output is neither measured nor fed back.

Input Output
Controller Process

Open-loop control system (without feedback).

Examples:- Washing Machine, Toaster, Electric Fan, microwave oven,

e.t.c 11
 Types of Control System
Open-Loop Control Systems

• Since in open loop control systems reference input is not

compared with measured output, for each reference input there
is fixed operating condition. Therefore, the accuracy of the
system depends on calibration.

• The performance of open loop system is severely affected by the

presence of disturbances, or variation in operating/
environmental conditions.

12
 Types of Control System
Closed-Loop Control Systems

Closed-Loop Control Systems utilizes feedback to compare the actual

output to the desired output response.

Input Output
Comparator Controller Process

Measurement

Closed-loop feedback control system (with feedback).

Examples:- Refrigerator, Electric Iron, Air conditioner

13
 Types of Control System
Feedback Control System

• A system that maintains a prescribed relationship between the output

and some reference input by comparing them and using the difference
(i.e. error) as a means of control is called a feedback control system.

Input + error Output

Controller Process
-

Feedback

• Feedback can be positive or negative.

14
 Types of Control System
Continuous Data Vs Discrete Data System

• In continuous data control system all system variables are function of a

continuous time t.
x(t)

• A discrete time control system involves one or more variables that are
known only at discrete time intervals.
X[n]

n
15
Examples of Control Systems

A manual control system for regulating the level of the fluid in a tank by
adjusting the output valve. The operator views the level of fluid through a
port in the side of the tank.

16
Mathematical Modeling of
Systems

17
 What is Mathematical Model?
A set of mathematical equations (e.g., differential eqs.) that
describes the input-output behavior of a system.

What is a model used for?

• Simulation
• Prediction/Forecasting
• Control System Design

dy(t ) du(t ) d 2 y(t )

u(t) 3  y(t)
dt dt dt 2
Input Output
18
Mathematical Modeling of Mechanical Systems
• A translational spring is a mechanical
element that can be deformed by an
external force. The deformation is
directly proportional to the applied
force.

• If F is the applied force, then the

deformation is (x1 - x2). Translational Spring

• The equation of motion is given as

x1
F  k ( x1  x2 ) x2

• Where k is stiffness of spring expressed

in N/m
19
 Translational Damper

• Damper opposes the rate of change of

motion.
• C is damping coefficient (N/ms-1).
Vehicle Suspension

F  Cx F  C ( x1  x 2 ) 20
 Translational Mass
• Translational Mass is an inertia element.
• A mechanical system without mass does not exist.
• If a force F is applied to a mass, it gains acceleration
according to Newton’s law.

F  mx

x(t )

F (t )
m

21
 Example
• Consider the following system (friction is negligible)

k
x
F
m

• Applying Newton’s second law we can get the differential

equation of the system is:
F  ma
F  kx  mx
mx  kx  F

22
 Potentiometer
• The resistance between the wiper (slider) and "A" is
labeled R1, the resistance between the wiper and "B" is
labeled R2.
• The total resistance between "A" and "B" is constant,
R1+R2=Rtot.
• R1 and R2 vary linearly with θ between the two
extremes:


R1  Rtot
 max

23
Transfer Function and stability of LTI
systems

24
 Transfer Function
• Transfer Function G(s) is the ratio of Laplace transform of the
output to the Laplace transform of the input. Considering all
initial conditions to zero.

u(t) y(t)
Plant

Y (s)
G (s)  ,
U (s)
• Where U(s) and Y(s) are the Laplace transform of input and
output, respectively.
• Note that s is a complex variable given as
s    j
25
 Why Laplace transform?
• With Laplace transform, we can convert differential
equations into simple algebraic expressions.
dx(t ) L
 sX ( s )  x(0)
dt
d 2 x(t ) L
 s 2 X ( s )  sx(0)  x (0)
dt 2

• Where x(0) is the initial condition of the system.

26
 Calculation of the Transfer Function
• Consider the following ODE where u(t) is input of the
system and y(t) is the output.

ay (t )  cu (t )  by (t )
• Taking the Laplace transform on both sides
a[ sY ( s )  y (0)]  cU ( s )  bY ( s )

• Setting initial conditions to zero and rearranging, we find

the transfer function of the system
Y (s) c

U ( s ) as  b
27
 Modeling of Electrical Systems
• Example : The RC circuit shown below has vi(t) as the input
voltage and vo(t) as the output voltage. Find the transfer function
Vo(s)/Vi(s) of the network.

1
Vo ( s ) sC 1
vi( t) i(t) C vo(t)  
Vi ( s ) R  1 RCs  1
sC

• The system mathematical model is: (Your job!!!)

28
 Example: Operational Amplifiers
• Find out the transfer function of the following
circuit.

Vout Z2 R2
 
Vin Z1 R1  sR1 R2C
29
 D.C Drives
• Speed control can be achieved by varying the voltage applied to the
armature terminals of the DC motor.
• For every motor, there is a specific Torque/Speed curve and Power curve.
• Torque is inversely proportional to the speed of the output shaft.
• Motor characteristics are frequently
given as two points on this graph:
• The stall torque, represents the
point on the graph at which the
torque is maximum, but the shaft is
not rotating.
• The no load speed is the maximum
output speed of the motor.

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 Armature Controlled D.C Motor
Input: voltage u Ra La
B
Output: Angular velocity  ia
u eb T J


Elecrical Subsystem (loop method):

di
u  Ri  L  eb ,
dt eb: is the back emf voltage
Mechanical Subsystem

Tmotor  Jω  Bω
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 Armature Controlled D.C Motor
Power Transformation:
Torque-Current: Tmotor  K t i
Voltage-Speed: eb  K b ω
where Kt: torque constant, Kb: velocity constant
Combing previous equations gives:
 di
L  Ri  K b ω  u
 dt
   B-K t i  0
 Jω
Taking Laplace transform of the system’s differential equations with
zero initial conditions gives:
Ls  R I(s)  K b Ω(s)  U(s)

 Js  B Ω(s)-K t I(s)  0 32
 Armature Controlled D.C Motor: Reduced Order Model
Eliminating the armature current I yields the input-output transfer function

Ω(s) Kt

U(s) LJs 2   JR  BL s  BR  K t K b
Assuming small inductance, L 0
Ω(s) Kt Km
 
U(s) JRs  BR  K t K b Ts s  1
If output of the D.C motor is angular position θ then we know
d
 or ( s )  s ( s )
dt
Which yields following transfer function
(s) Km

U(s) s (Ts s  1) 33
 Automatic Cruise Control
• The purpose of the cruise control system is to maintain a constant vehicle
speed despite external disturbances, such as changes in wind or road grade.

• This is accomplished by measuring the vehicle speed, comparing it to the

desired speed, and automatically adjusting the throttle.

u  mv  bv

• The resistive forces, bv, due to rolling resistance and wind drag act in the
direction opposite to the vehicle's motion.
• The transfer function of the systems would be
V (s) 1

U ( s ) ms  b
34
Transfer function helps us to check

– The stability of the system

– Time domain and frequency domain characteristics of the

system

– Response of the system for any given input

35
 Poles & Zeros
Y ( s ) b2 s 2  b1s  b0

U ( s ) a2 s 2  a1s  a0

• When the order of denominator polynomial is greater than

the numerator polynomial, the transfer function is said to
be strictly proper. If they are equal, the transfer function is
said to be proper. Otherwise, it is improper.

• Roots of denominator polynomial of a transfer function are

called poles.

• And the roots of numerator polynomials of a transfer

function are called zeros.
36
 Stability of Control System
• System order is always equal to number of
poles of the transfer function.
• Poles is also defined as “it is the frequency at
which system becomes infinite”. Hence the
name pole where field is infinite.
• And zero is the frequency at which system
becomes 0.

37
 Example
• Consider the Transfer function calculated in previous
slides.
Y (s) c
G (s)  
U ( s ) as  b
• The denominator polynomial is (char equ.)

as  b  0

• The only pole of the system is

b
s
a
38
 Stability
• The system is said to be stable if for any bounded input
the output of the system is also bounded (BIBO).

• Thus the for any bounded input the output either remain
constant or decrease with time.

u(t) overshoot
y(t)
1

Plant 1
t
t
Unit Step Input
Output
39
 Stability
• If for any bounded input the output is not bounded the
system is said to be unstable.

u(t)
y(t)
1
e at
Plant
t
t
Unit Step Input
Output

40
 Stability of Control Systems
• The poles and zeros of the system are plotted in s-plane
to check the stability of the system.

• Poles of the system are represented by ‘x’ and zeros

of the system are represented by ‘o’.
j
• Recall
LHP RHP
s    j


s-plane

41
 Stability of Control Systems
• If all the poles of the system lie in left half plane the
system is said to be Asymptotically Stable.
• If any of the poles lie in right half plane the system is said
to be unstable.
• If pole(s) lie on imaginary axis the system is said to be
marginally stable. j

LHP RHP

s-plane
42
 Stability of Control Systems
• For example
10
G (s) 
s3
• Then the only pole of the system lie at

pole  3
j

LHP RHP

X 
-3

s-plane
43
 Examples
• Consider the following transfer functions.
 Determine whether the transfer function is proper or improper
 Calculate the Poles and zeros of the system
 Determine the order of the system
 Draw the pole-zero map
 Determine the Stability of the system

s3 G( s ) 
s
i) G( s )  ii)
s( s  2) ( s  1)( s  2)( s  3)

( s  3) 2 s 2 ( s  1)
iii) G( s )  iv) G( s ) 
s( s 2  10) s( s  10)
44
 BIBO vs Transfer Function
• For example
Y ( s) 1 Y ( s) 1
G1 ( s)   G2 ( s )  
U ( s) s  3 U (s) s  3
Pole-Zero Map Pole-Zero Map
4 4
unstable
3 stable 3

2 2

1 1
Imaginary Axis

Imaginary Axis
0 0

-1 -1

-2 -2

-3 -3

-4 -4
-4 -2 0 2 4 -4 -2 0 2 4
Real Axis Real Axis
45
 BIBO vs Transfer Function
• For example, consider the impulse response of
the following two systems:
Y ( s) 1 Y ( s) 1
G1 ( s)   G2 ( s )  
U ( s) s  3 U (s) s  3

1 1 1 1
Y ( s )  G1 ( s )U ( s )   Y ( s )  G2 ( s )U ( s )  
s3 s 3
y (t )  e 3t y (t )  e 3t
46
 BIBO vs Transfer Function
• For example
y (t )  e 3t
y (t )  e 3t
12
exp(-3t)*u(t) x 10 exp(3t)*u(t)
1 12

10
0.8

8
0.6
6
0.4
4

0.2
2

0 0
0 1 2 3 4 0 2 4 6 8 10 47
 BIBO vs Transfer Function
• Whenever one or more than one poles are in
RHP the solution of dynamic equations
contains increasing exponential terms.
• Such as e3t .
• That makes the response of the system
unbounded and hence the overall response of
the system is unstable.

48
Modeling of Liquid Level System

49
 Modelling Example
• The rate of change in liquid stored in the tank is equal to the flow in
minus flow out. dh(t )
C  qi  qo (I )
dt
• The resistance R is used to relate the output flow and the liquid level
h(t )
q0 (t ) 
R
• Substitute qo in equation (I)
dh(t ) h(t ) dh(t )
C  qi (t )   RC  h(t )  Rqi (t )
dt R dt
• Taking Laplace transform with zero initial conditions, the transfer
function is obtained as
H (s) R

Qi ( s ) ( RCs  1) 50
• Find the stability and the response to a unit step
input if 𝐶 = 4𝑚2 , 𝑅 = 0.5 𝑠𝑒𝑐/𝑚2 .
𝐻 𝑠 0.5
=
𝑄𝑖 𝑠 2𝑠 + 1
Char. Equation: 2s+1=0
1
System poles: 𝑝1 = − (−𝑣𝑒)
2
System is asymptotically stable.
Char. Equation: (System in s-domain when i/p=0)
𝑅𝐶𝑆𝐻 𝑠 + 𝐻 𝑠 = 0
𝐻 𝑠 𝑅𝐶𝑠 + 1 = 0
1 1
𝑝=− =−
𝑅𝐶 2
51
 System Response:
For a unit step input: 𝑄𝑖 𝑡 = 1 ∀ 𝑡 ≥ 0.
0.5
So, 𝑄𝑖 𝑠 = 1/𝑠 and 𝐻 𝑠 =
𝑠 2𝑠+1
−1
The system response h 𝑡 = ℒ 𝐻 𝑠
𝑡
−1 0.5 −
= ℒ = 0.5(1 − 𝑒 ) 2
𝑠 2𝑠+1
𝒕
−𝟏 𝟏 −
Table: 𝓛 ⇒𝟏−𝒆 𝑻
𝒔 𝟏+𝑻𝒔

52
Block Diagram Representation of
Control Systems

53
 Introduction
• A Block Diagram is a shorthand pictorial representation of
the cause-and-effect relationship of a system.

• The interior of the rectangle representing the block usually

contains a description of or the name of the element, gain,
or the symbol for the mathematical operation to be
performed on the input to yield the output.

• The arrows represent the direction of information or signal

flow.

1
X (s ) Y (s )
s
54
 Introduction
• The operations of addition and subtraction have a special
representation.

• The block becomes a small circle, called a summing point, with

the appropriate plus or minus sign associated with the arrows
entering the circle.

• The output is the algebraic sum of the inputs.

• Any number of inputs may enter a summing point.

• Some books put a cross in the circle.

55
 Introduction
• In order to have the same signal or variable be an input
to more than one block or summing point, a takeoff (or
pickoff) point is used.

• This permits the signal to proceed unaltered along

several different paths to several destinations.

56
 Example
• Consider the following equations in which x1, x2, x3, are
variables, and a1, a2 are general coefficients or mathematical
operators.
x3  a1 x1  a2 x2  5

57
 Canonical Form of A Feedback Control System
C (s)
1. Direct transfer function (Forward Transfer function)  G (s)
E (s)
2. Feedback transfer function H (s )
B( s )
3. Loop transfer function (Open loop transfer function)  G( s ) H ( s )
E( s )

4. Closed loop transfer function (control ratio) C( s ) G( s )


R( s ) 1  G( s )H ( s )
E( s ) 1
5. Error ratio 
R( s ) 1  G( s )H ( s )

6. Characteristic equation (the denominator of closed loop transfer function determines

the characteristic equation of the system.

1  G( s )H ( s )  0
58
Reduction techniques
1. Combining blocks in cascade

G1 G2 G1G2
2. Combining blocks in parallel

G1
G1  G2
G2
3. Eliminating a feedback loop
G
G
1  GH
H
59
 Mason’s Rule:
• A powerful method to reduce block diagrams was developed by
Samuel Mason.
• With this method, we can find the transfer function between inputs
and outputs by applying Mason’s gain formula.
• The transfer function, C(s)/R(s), of a system is
n
 Pi  i
C( s ) i 1
Where 
R( s ) 
n = number of forward paths.
Pi = the i th forward-path gain.
∆ = Determinant of the system
∆i = Determinant of the ith forward path

• ∆ is called the signal flow graph determinant or characteristic

function. Since ∆=0 is the system characteristic equation.
60
 Mason’s Rule:
n
 Pi  i
C( s ) i 1

R( s ) 
∆ = 1- (sum of all individual loop gains) + (sum of the products of the gains
of all possible two loops that do not touch each other) – (sum of the
products of the gains of all possible three loops that do not touch each
other) + … and so forth with sums of higher number of non-touching loop
gains

∆i = value of Δ for the part of the block diagram that does not touch the i-
th forward path (Δi = 1 if there are no non-touching loops to the i-th path.)

Two loops, paths, or loop and a path are said to be non-touching if they have
no nodes in common.
61
 Systematic approach

1. Calculate forward path gain Pi for each forward

path i.
2. Calculate all loop transfer functions
3. Consider non-touching loops 2 at a time
4. Consider non-touching loops 3 at a time
5. etc
6. Calculate Δ from steps 2,3,4 and 5
7. Calculate Δi as portion of Δ not touching forward
path i

62
From Block Diagram to Signal-Flow Graph Models
Example#5
H1

R(s) E(s) X1 － X3 C(s)

G1 G2 G3 G4
－ X2
－
H2

H3

  1  (G1G2G3G4 H 3  G2G3 H 2  G3G4 H 1 )

P1  G1G2G3G4 ; 1  1

C ( s) G1G2G3G4
G 
R( s ) 1  G1G2G3G4 H 3  G2G3 H 2  G3G4 H 1 63
 Example
• Reduce the following block diagram to canonical form.

H2

R _ C
+_ + G1 G2

H1

64
F1  G1G2
L1  G1 H1 , L2  G1G2 H 2
  1  L1  L2
 1  G1 H1  G1G2 H 2
1  1
1

C (s) F i i
F11 G1G2
 i 1
 
R( s)   1  G1 H1  G1G2 H 2

65
Example: Simplify the block diagram then obtain the close-
loop transfer function C(S)/R(S). (from Ogata: Page-47)

66
Example: Multiple Input System. Determine the output C due
to inputs R and U using the Superposition Method.

G1G2 G2
Y (s)  R( s)  U (s)
1  G1G 2 1  G1G 2

67