MEC 522 : Introduction to Control systems

INTRODUCTION TO CONTROL SYSTEMS

Introduction Engineering is concerned with understanding and controlling the materials and forces of nature for the benefit of humankind. Control system engineers are concerned with understanding and controlling segments of their environment, often called systems to provide useful economic products for society. The twin goals of understanding and control are complementary because effective system control requires that the systems be understood and modeled. Furthermore, control engineering must often consider the control of poorly understood systems such as chemical process systems. The present challenge to control engineers is the modeling and control of modern, complex, interrelated systems such as traffic control systems, chemical processes, and robotic systems. Simultaneously, the fortunate engineer has the opportunity to control many very useful and interesting industrial automation systems. Perhaps the most characteristic quality of control engineering is the opportunity to control machine and industrial and economic processes for the benefit of society. Control of dynamic systems is a very common concept with many characteristics. A system that involves a person controlling a machine, as in driving an automobile, is called manual control. A system that involves machines only, as when room temperature set by a thermostat, is called automatic control. Systems designed to hold an output steady against disturbances are called regulators, while systems designed to track a reference signal are called tracking or servo systems. Automatic control is the study of the means whereby physical variables can be maintained at a desired magnitude or changed in some desired manner automatically. Systems which affect the control of physical variables are automatic control system and they range in complexity from the spring loaded pressure cooker valve to the automatic or self-adaptive system. The characteristics of the system to be controlled are subject to change, thus necessitating a change in characteristic of the elements which affect the control. Automatic control has played a vital role in the advancement of engineering and science. Automatic control has become an important and integral part of modern manufacturing and industrial processes. For example, automatic control is essential in such operations as controlling pressure, temperature, humidity, viscosity and flow in the process industries, tooling, handling and assembling mechanical parts in the manufacturing industries, among many others. Historical review The first significant work in automatic control was James Watts centrifugal governor for the speed control of a steam engine in the eighteenth century. Other significant works in the early stages of development of control theory were due to Minorsky, Hazen and Nyquist, among many others.

MEC 522 : Introduction to Control systems

In 1922 Minorsky worked on automatic controllers for steering ships and showed how stability could be determined from differential equations describing the system. In 1932 Nyquist developed a relatively simple procedure for determining the stability of closedloop system on the basis of open-loop response to steady state sinusoidal inputs. In 1934 Hazen, who introduced the term servomechanism for position control systems, discussed design of relay servomechanisms capable of closely following a changing input. During the decade of the 1940s frequency-response methods made it possible for engineers to design linear feedback control systems that satisfied performance requirements. From the end of the 1940s to early 1950s, the root locus method in the control system design was fully developed. The frequency-response and the root-locus methods, which are the core of classical control theory, lead to systems that are stable and satisfy a set of more or less arbitrary performance requirements. Such systems are, in general, not optimal in any meaningful sense. Since the late 1950s, the emphasis in the control design problems has been shifted from the design of one of many systems that work to the design of one optimal system in some meaningful sense. A brief chronological of the historical background of automatic control is as follows: 1769 James Watt's steam engine and governor developed. The Watt steam engine often used to mark the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain During the Industrial Revolution, great strides were made in the development mechanization, a technology preceding automation. 1800 Eli Whitney's concept of interchangeable parts manufacturing demonstrated the production of muskets. Whitney's development is often considered as the beginning of mass production. 1868 J. C. Maxwell formulates a mathematical model for a governor control of a steam engine. 1913 Henry Ford's mechanized assembly machine introduced for automobile production. 1927 H. W. Bode analyzes feedback amplifiers. 1932 H. Nyquist develops a method for analyzing the stability of systems. 1952 Numerical control (NC) developed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology fo7 control of machine-tool axes. 1954 George Devol develops "programmed article transfer," considered to be the first industrial robot design.

MEC 522 : Introduction to Control systems

1960 First Unimate robot introduced, based on Devol's designs. Unimate installed in 1961 for tending die-casting machines. 1970 State-variable models and optimal control developed. 1980 Robust control system design widely studied. 1990 Export-oriented manufacturing companies emphasize automation. 1994 Feedback control widely used in automobiles. Reliable, robust systems demanded in manufacturing. 1997 First ever autonomous rover vehicle, known as Sojourner, explores the Martian surface. As modern plants with many inputs and outputs become more and more complex, the description of a modern control system requires a larger number of equations. Classical control theory, which deals with only single-input-single-output systems, becomes entirely powerless for multiple-input-multiple output systems. Since 1960, modern control theory has been developed to cope with the increased complexity of modern plants and the stringent requirements on accuracy, weight and cost in military, space and industrial applications. Because of the readily available electronic analog, digital and hybrid computers for use in complex computations, the use of computers in the design of control systems and the use of on-line in the operation of control systems are now common practice. The most recent developments in modern control theory may be said to be in the direction of the optimal control of both deterministic and stochastic systems as well as the adaptive and learning control of complex systems. Applications of modern control theory to such non-engineering fields as biology, economics, medical, and sociology are now under way, and interesting and significant results can be expected in the near future.

Control System Applications Some of the applications of the control system are as follows: 1. Domestics: - domestic appliances such as washing machine, refrigerator, electric kettle, microwave oven, fans, air conditioning unit, electric iron etc. 2. Industrial application: - processing, manufacturing, chemical industries etc. 3. Transportation: -airplanes, ships, commuter train, heavy moving vehicle etc. 4. Medical: - monitoring equipment etc.

MEC 522 : Introduction to Control systems

5. Military: - launching system, guiding system, planes, radar, etc. 6. Others: - robotics, aerospace, etc.

MEC 522 : Introduction to Control systems

Definitions Controlled Variable and Manipulated Variable: - The controlled variable is the quantity or condition that is measured and controlled. The manipulated variable is the quantity or condition that is varied by the controller so as to affect the value of the controlled variable. Normally, the controlled variable is the output of the system. Control means measuring the value of the controlled variable of the system and applying the manipulated variable to the system to correct or limit deviation of the measured value from a desired value. Plants: A plant is a piece of equipment, perhaps just a set of machine parts functioning together, the purpose of which is to perform a particular operation. Any physical object to be controlled (such as heating furnace, a chemical reactor etc) is called a plant Processes: A process can be defined as a natural, progressively continuing operation or development marked by a series of gradual changes that succeed one another in a relatively fixed way and lead toward a particular result or end: or an artificial or voluntary, progressively continuing operation that consists of a series of controlled actions or movements systematically directed toward a particular result or end. Any operation to be controlled is called a process. Systems: A system is a combination of components that act together and perform a certain objective. A system is not limited to physical ones. The concept of the system can be applied to abstract, dynamic phenomena such as those encountered in economics. Disturbances: A disturbance is a signal which tends to adversely affect the value of the output of the system. If a disturbance is generated within the system, it is called internal; while an external disturbance us generated outside the system, and is an input. Feedback control: Feedback control is an operation which, in the presence of disturbances, tends to reduce the difference between the output of a system and the reference input (or an arbitrary varied, desired state) and which does so on the basis of the difference. Here, only unpredictable disturbances (i.e. those unknown beforehand) are designated for as such, since with predictable or known disturbances, it is always possible to include compensation within the system so that measurements are unnecessary.

MEC 522 : Introduction to Control systems

Disturbance Input

Manipulated Input

PROCESS/ SYSTEM

Reponse Input

Disturbance Input

Command Input

CONTROLLER

Manipulated variable

PROCESS/ SYSTEM

Controlled Output

Figure 1: Input-output configuration of a control system

Disturbance Input

CONTROLLER

Manipulated Variable

PROCESS/ SYSTEM

Controlled Output

Feedback Signal

MEASUREMENT

Figure 2: Input output configuration of a closed loop control system

MEC 522 : Introduction to Control systems

Examples of Control Systems Speed control system

Figure 1: Watts speed governor The basic principle of a Watts speed governor for an engine is depicted. The amount of fuel admitted to the engine is adjusted according to the difference between the desired and actual engine speed. In this speed control system, the plant (controlled system) is the engine and the controlled variable is the speed of the engine. The difference between the desired speed and the actual speed is the error signal. The control signal (the amount of fuel) to be applied to the plant (engine) is the actuating signal. The external input to disturb the controlled variable is the disturbance. An unexpected change in the load is a disturbance. Liquid level control system Figure 1.1 shows a schematic diagram of a liquid level control system. Here the automatic controller maintains the liquid level by comparing the actual level with the desired level and correcting any error by adjusting the opening of the pneumatic valve.

MEC 522 : Introduction to Control systems

Figure 2: Toilet tank control system

Figure 3: Hydraulic power steering mechanism

MEC 522 : Introduction to Control systems

CLASSIFICATION OF CONTROL SYSTEMS Control systems are classified into two general categories: open-loop and closed loop systems. The distinction is determined by the control action, whereby the quantity responsible for activating the system to produce the output. Closed-loop control systems: A system that maintains a prescribed relationship between the output and the reference input is called a closed-loop system (or feedback control system). In a closed-loop control system the actuating error signal, which is the difference between the input signal and the feedback signal (which may be the output signal or a function of the output signal and its derivatives), is fed to the controller so as to reduce the error and bring the output of the system to a desired value. The term closed-loop always implies the use of feedback control action in order to reduce error. A close-loop control system is one in which the output signal has a direct effect upon the control action. That is, closed loop control systems are feedback control systems. In a close-loop control system the output is measured and used to alter the control inputs applied to the plant under control.

Input Controller Plant or Process

Output

Measuring Device

Figure 1. Closed-loop control system Figure 1 shows the input-output relationship of the closed-loop control systems. Such a figure is called a block diagram. The main reason for closed-loop control is the need for systems to perform well in the presence of uncertainties. It can reduce the sensitivity of the system to plant parameter variations and help reject or mitigate external disturbances. Among other attributes of closed-loop system is the ability to alter the overall dynamics to provide adequate stability and good tracking characteristics. Open-loop control systems

MEC 522 : Introduction to Control systems

Open-loop control systems are control systems in which the output has no effect upon the control action. In other words, in an open-loop control system, the output is neither measured nor fed back for comparison with the input.

Input Controller Plant or Process

Output

Figure 2. Open-loop control system Figure 2 shows the input-output relationship of such a system. A practical example is a washing machine. Soaking, washing, and rinsing in the washing machine are operated on a time basis. The machine does not measure the output signal, namely, the cleanliness of the clothes. In any open-loop control system the output is not compared with the reference input. Hence, for each reference input, there corresponds a fixed operating condition. Thus, the accuracy of the system depends on the calibration. In the present of disturbances an open-loop control system will not perform the desired task. Open-loop control can be used in practice only if the relationship between the input and output is known and if there are neither internal nor external disturbances. Clearly such systems are not feedback control systems. Note that any control system on time basis is open-loop. For example, traffic control by means of signals operated on a time basis is another instance of openloop control. The advantages of an open-loop control system are as follows: 1. 2. 3. 4. Simple construction and ease of maintenance. Less expensive than corresponding closed-loop system. There is no stability problem. Convenient when output is hard to measure or economically not feasible.

The disadvantages of open-loop systems are as follows: 1. Disturbances and changes in calibration cause errors, and the output may be different from what is desired. 2. To maintain the required quality in the output, recalibration is necessary from time to time.

10