Learning Outcomes:

After completing learning, the student will be able to:

• Define a control system and describe some applications
• Describe historical developments leading to modern day control theory
• Describe the basic features and configurations of control systems
• Describe control systems analysis and design objectives
• Describe a control system's design process
• Describe the benefit from studying control systems

Case Study Learning Outcomes:

You will be introduced to a running case study—an antenna azimuth position control
system—that will serve to illustrate the principles in each subsequent chapter. In this
learning, the system is used to demonstrate qualitatively how a control system works
as well as to define performance criteria that are the basis for control systems
analysis and design.

Introduction
Control systems are an integral part of modern society. Numerous applications are all around us:
The rockets fire, and the space shuttle lifts off to earth orbit; in splashing cooling water, a metallic part
is automatically machined; a self-guided vehicle delivering material to workstations in an aerospace
assembly plant glides along the floor seeking its destination. These are just a few examples of the
automatically controlled systems that we can create.
We are not the only creators of automatically controlled systems; these systems also exist in
nature. Within our own bodies are numerous control systems, such as the pancreas, which regulates our
blood sugar. In time of "fight or flight," our adrenaline increases along with our heart rate, causing more
oxygen to be delivered to our cells. Our eyes follow a moving object to keep it in view; our hands grasp
the object and place it precisely at a predetermined location.
Even the nonphysical world appears to be automatically regulated. Models have been suggested
showing automatic control of student performance. The input to the model is the student's available
study time, and the output is the grade. The model can be used to predict the time required for the grade
to rise if a sudden increase in study time is available. Using this model, you can determine whether
increased study is worth the effort during the last week of the term.

Control System Definition

A control system consists of subsystems and processes (or plants) assembled for the purpose of
obtaining a desired output with desired performance, given a specified input. Figure 1.1 shows a control
system in its simplest form, where the input represents a desired output. For example, consider an
elevator. When the fourth-floor button is pressed on the first floor, the elevator rises to the fourth floor
with a speed and floor-leveling accuracy designed for passenger comfort. The push of the fourth-floor
button is an input that represents our desired output, shown as a step function in Figure 1.2. The
performance of the elevator can be seen from the elevator response curve in the figure.
Two major measures of performance are apparent: (1) the transient response and (2) the steady-
state error. In our example, passenger comfort and passenger patience are dependent upon the transient
response. If this response is too fast, passenger comfort is sacrificed; if too slow, passenger patience is
sacrificed. The steady-state error is another important performance specification since passenger safety
and convenience would be sacrificed if the elevator did not properly level.

Figure 1.1 Simplified description of a control system

 Figure 1.2 Elevator respons

Figure 1.3. Conventionale and modern lift

Advantages of Control Systems

With control systems we can move large equipment with precision that would otherwise be
impossible. We can point huge antennas toward the farthest reaches of the universe to pick up faint
radio signals; controlling these antennas by hand would be impossible. Because of control systems,
elevators carry us quickly to our destination, automatically stopping at the right floor (Figure 1.3). We
alone could not provide the power required for the load and the speed; motors provide the power, and
control systems regulate the position and speed.
Four primary reasons to build control systems are:
1. Power amplification
2. Remote control
3. Convenience of input form
4. Compensation for disturbances
For example, a radar antenna, positioned by the low-power rotation of a knob at the input,
requires a large amount of power for its output rotation. A control system can produce the needed power
amplification, or power gain-Robots designed by control system principles can compensate for human
disabilities. Control systems are also useful in remote or dangerous locations. For example, a remote-
controlled robot arm can be used to pick up material in a radioactive environment. Figure 1.4 shows a
robot arm designed to work in contaminated environments. Control systems can also be used to provide
convenience by changing the form of the input. For example, in a temperature control system, the input
is a position on a thermostat. The output is heat. Thus, a convenient position input yields a desired
thermal output.
 Another advantage of a control system is the ability to compensate for disturbances. Typically,
we control such variables as temperature in thermal systems, position and velocity in mechanical
systems, and voltage, current, or frequency in electrical systems. The system must be able to yield the
correct output even with a disturbance. For example, consider an antenna system that points in a
commanded direction. If wind forces the antenna from its commanded position, or if noise enters
internally, the system must be able to detect the disturbance and correct the antenna's position.
Obviously, the system's input will not change to make the correction. Consequently, the system itself
must measure the amount that the disturbance has repositioned the antenna and then return the antenna
to the position commanded by the input.

A History of Control Systems:

1. Liquid-Level Control
2. Steam Pressure and Temperature Controls
3. Speed Control
4. Stability, Stabilization, and Steering
5. Twentieth-Century Developments
6. Contemporary Applications
System Configurations
Open-Loop Systems
A generic open-loop system is shown in Figure 1.6(a). It starts with a subsystem called an input
transducer, which converts the form of the input to that used by the controller. The controller drives a
process or a plant. The input is sometimes called the reference, while the output can be called the
controlled variable. Other signals, such as disturbances, are shown added to the controller and process
outputs via summing junctions, which yield the algebraic sum of their input signals using associated
signs. For example, the plant can be a furnace or air conditioning system, where the output variable is
temperature. The controller in a heating system consists of fuel valves and the electrical system that
operates the valves.
The distinguishing characteristic of an open-loop system is that it cannot compensate for any
disturbances that add to the controller's driving signal (Disturbance 1 in Figure 1.6(a)). For example, if
the controller is an electronic amplifier and Disturbance 1 is noise, then any additive amplifier noise at
the first summing junction will also drive the process, corrupting the output with the effect of the noise.
The output of an open-loop system is corrupted not only by signals that add to the controller's commands
but also by disturbances at the output (Disturbance 2 in Figure 1.6(a)). The system cannot correct for
these disturbances, either.
Open-loop systems, then, do not correct for disturbances and are simply commanded by the input.
For example, toasters are open-loop systems, as anyone with burnt toast can attest. The controlled
variable (output) of a toaster is the color of the toast. The device is designed with the assumption that
the toast will be darker the longer it is subjected to heat. The toaster does not measure the color of the
toast; it does not correct for the fact that the toast is rye, white, or sourdough, nor does it correct for the
fact that toast comes in different thicknesses.

Closed-Loop (Feedback Control) Systems

The disadvantages of open-loop systems, namely sensitivity to disturbances and inability
to correct for these disturbances, may be overcome in closed-loop systems. The generic
architecture of a closed-loop system is shown in Figure 1.6(6). The input transducer converts
the form of the input to the form used by the controller. An output transducer, or sensor,
measures the output response and converts it into the form used by the controller. For example,
if the controller uses electrical signals to operate the valves of a temperature control system,
the input position and the output temperature are converted to electrical signals. The input
position can be converted to a voltage by a potentiometer, a variable resistor, and the output
temperature can be converted to a voltage by a thermistor, a device whose electrical resistance
changes with temperature.
The first summing junction algebraically adds the signal from the input to the signal from
the output, which arrives via the feedback path, the return path from the output to the summing
junction. In Figure 1.6(6), the output signal is subtracted from the input signal. The result is
generally called the actuating signal. However, in systems where both the input and output
transducers have unity gain (that is, the transducer amplifies its input by 1), the actuating
signal's value is equal to the actual difference between the input and the output. Under this
condition, the actuating signal is called the error.
The closed-loop system compensates for disturbances by measuring the output response,
feeding that measurement back through a feedback path, and comparing that response to the
input at the summing junction. If there is any difference between the two responses, the system
drives the plant, via the actuating signal, to make a correction. If there is no difference, the
system does not drive the plant, since the plant's response is already the desired response.
Closed-loop systems, then, have the obvious advantage of greater accuracy than open-
loop systems. They are less sensitive to noise, disturbances, and changes in the environment.
Transient response and steady-state error can be controlled more conveniently and with greater
flexibility in closed-loop systems, often by a simple adjustment of gain (amplification) in the
loop and sometimes by redesigning the controller. We refer to the redesign as compensating
the system and to the resulting hardware as a compensator. On the other hand, closed-loop
systems are more complex and expensive than open-loop systems. A standard, open-loop
toaster serves as an example: It is simple and inexpensive. A closed-loop toaster oven is more
complex and more expensive since it has to measure both color (through light reflectivity) and
humidity inside the toaster oven. Thus, the control systems engineer must consider the trade-
off between the simplicity and low cost of an open-loop system and the accuracy and higher
cost of a closed-loop system.
In summary, systems that perform the previously described measurement and correction
are called closed-loop, or feedback control, systems. Systems that do not have this property of
measurement and correction are called open-loop systems.

Computer-Controlled Systems
In many modern systems, the controller (or compensator) is a digital computer. The
advantage of using a computer is that many loops can be controlled or compensated by the
same computer through time sharing. Furthermore, any adjustments of the compensator
parameters required to yield a desired response can be made by changes in software rather than
hardware. The computer can also perform supervisory functions, such as scheduling many
required applications. For example, the space shuttle main engine (SSME) controller, which
contains two digital computers, alone controls numerous engine functions. It monitors engine
sensors that provide pressures, temperatures, flow rates, turbopump speed, valve positions, and
engine servo valve actuator positions. The controller further provides closed-loop control of
thrust and propellant mixture ratio, sensor excitation, valve actuators, spark igniters, as well as
other functions (Rockwell International, 1984).

Analysis and Design Objectives

In Section 1.1 we briefly alluded to some control system performance specifications,
such as transient response and steady-state error. We now expand upon the topic of
performance and place it in perspective as we define our analysis and design objectives.
Analysis is the process by which a system's performance is determined. For example, we
evaluate its transient response and steady-state error to determine if they meet the desired
specifications. Design is the process by which a system's performance is created or changed.
For example, if a system's transient response and steady-state error are analyzed and found not
to meet the specifications, then we change parameters or add additional components to meet
the specifications. A control system is dynamic: It responds to an input by undergoing a
transient response before reaching a steady-state response that generally resembles the input.
We have already identified these two responses and cited a position control system (an
elevator) as an example. In this section, we discuss three major objectives of systems analysis
and design: producing the desired transient response, reducing steady-state error, and achieving
stability. We also address some other design concerns, such as cost and the sensitivity of system
performance to changes in parameters.

Transient Response
Transient response is important. In the case of an elevator, a slow transient response
makes passengers impatient, whereas an excessively rapid response makes them
uncomfortable. If the elevator oscillates about the arrival floor for more than a second, a
disconcerting feeling can result. Transient response is also important for structural reasons:
Too fast a transient response could cause permanent physical damage. In a computer, transient
response contributes to the time required to read from or write to the computer's disk storage
(see Figure 1.7). Since reading and writing cannot take place until the head stops, the speed of
the read/write head's movement from one track on the disk to another influences the overall
speed of the computer.

FIGURE 1.7 Computer hard disk drive, showing disks and or design
components to yield a desired transient read/write head.

Steady-State Response
Another analysis and design goal focuses on the steady-state response. As we have seen, this
response resembles the input and is usually what remains after the transients have decayed to zero. For
example, this response may be an elevator stopped near the fourth floor or the head of a disk drive
finally stopped at the correct track. We are concerned about the accuracy of the steady-state response.
An elevator must be level enough with the floor for the passengers to exit, and a read/write head not
positioned over the commanded track results in computer errors. An antenna tracking a satellite must
keep the satellite well within its beamwidth in order not to lose track. In this text we define steady-state
errors quantitatively, analyze a system's steady-state error, and then design corrective action to reduce
the steady-state error—our second analysis and design objective.

Stability
Discussion of transient response and steady-state error is moot if the system does not have
stability. In order to explain stability, we start from the fact that the total response of a system is the
sum of the natural response and the forced response. When you studied linear differential equations,
you probably referred to these responses as the homogeneous and the particularsolutions, respectively.
Natural response describes the way the system dissipates or acquires energy. The form or nature of this
response is dependent only on the system, not the input. On the other hand, the form or nature of the
forced response is dependent on the input. Thus, for a linear system, we can write
Total response = Natural response + Forced response (1.1)

For a control system to be useful, the natural response must (1) eventually approach zero, thus
leaving only the forced response, or (2) oscillate. In some systems, however, the natural response grows
without bound rather than diminish to zero or oscillate. Eventually, the natural response is so much
greater than the forced response that the system is no longer controlled. This condition, called
instability, could lead to self-destruction of the physical device if limit stops are not part of the design.
For example, the elevator would crash through the floor or exit through the ceiling; an aircraft would
go into an uncontrollable roll; or an antenna commanded to point to a target would rotate, line up with
the target, but then begin to oscillate about the target with growing oscillations and increasing velocity
until the motor or amplifiers reached their output limits or until the antenna was damaged structurally.
A time plot of an unstable system would show a transient response that grows without bound and
without any evidence of a steady-state response. Control systems must be designed to be stable. That
is, their natural response must decay to zero as time approaches infinity, or oscillate. In many systems
the transient response you see on a time response plot can be directly related to the natural response.
Thus, if the natural response decays to zero as time approaches infinity, the transient response will also
die out, leaving only the forced response. If the system is stable, the proper transient response and
steady-state error characteristics can be designed.

Case Study
Explane the figure about the antena parabolic control system. Write down your work and
send to besmart.

FIGURE 1.9 Antenna azimuth position control system:

a. system concept; b. detailed layout; c. schematic; {figure continues

FIGURE 1.9 d. functional block diagram