Design of Control Systems

Case Studies
Motor Speed
Motor Position

Design Cycle
Modeling; Identification; Design, and Implementation
Plus Analysis and Simulation
Techniques Used
Modeling; PID; Root Locus; Frequency Response;
State Space

1
 Control of Transient Response
• One of the most important characteristics of control systems is their
transient response.

• The transient response is the response of a system as a function of

time. Since the purpose of control systems is to provide a desired
response, the transient response of control systems often must be
adjusted until it is satisfactory.

• If an open loop system does not provide a satisfactory response,

then the process G(s), must be replaced with a suitable process. It
is also possible to alter the response of an open-loop system by
inserting a suitable cascade controller preceding the process.

• However, the closed-loop system can often be adjusted to yield the

desired response by adjusting the feedback loop parameters.

2
 Control Modes
There are many ways by which a control unit can react to an error
and supply an output for correcting elements.

• The two-step mode: The controller is just a switch which is activated by

the error signal and supplies just an on-off correcting signal. Example of
such mode is the bimetallic thermostat.

• The proportional mode (P): This produces a control action that is

proportional to the error. The correcting signal thus becomes bigger the
bigger the error. Therefore, the error is reduced the amount of correction is
reduced and the correcting process slows down. A summing operational
amplifier with an inverter can be used as a proportional controller.

• The derivative mode: This produces a control action that is proportional to

the rate at which the error is changing. When there is a sudden change in
the error signal the controller gives a large correcting signal. When there is
a gradual change only a small correcting signal is produced. An operational
amplifier connected as a differentiator circuit followed by another
operational amplifier connected as an inverter make an electronic
derivative controller circuit.

3
• The integral mode (I): This produces a control action that is
proportional to the integral of the error with time. Therefore, a
constant error signal will produce an increasing correcting signal.
The correction continues to increase as long as the error persists.

• Combination of modes: Proportional plus derivative modes (PD),

proportional plus integral modes (PI), proportional plus integral plus
derivative modes (PID). The term three-term controller is used for
PID control.

• The controller may achieve these modes by means of pneumatic

circuits, analog electronics involving operational amplifiers or by the
programming of a microprocessor or computer.

4
 DC Motors
• Electric motors are frequently used as the final control element in
positional or speed-control systems. Motors may be classified into
two main categories: DC motors and AC motors. Most motors used
in modern control systems are DC motors.

• There are five types of DC motors:

– Separately-excited DC motors: It has a separate control of the
armature and field currents.
– Shunt DC motors: The armature and field coils are in parallel. It
provides lower starting torque.
– Series DC motors: The armature and field coils are in series. It has
the highest starting torque.
– Compound DC motors: It has two field windings, one in series with
the armature and one in parallel.
– Permanent magnet DC motors: This gives a constant value of flux
density. The starting torque is proportional to the applied voltage and
the torque decreases with increasing speed.

5
 Case 1: DC Motor Speed Modeling
The DC motor has been the workhorse in industry for many reasons including
good torque speed characteristics. It is a common actuator in control systems.
It directly provides rotary motion and, coupled with wheels or drums and
cables, can provide transitional motion. The electric circuit of the armature and
the free body diagram of the rotor are shown in the following Figure.
We develop here the transfer function of a separately excited armature
controlled DC motor.

IF L RA IA J motor & load

Mechanical
energy
RF (T, ω)

VF kθ& VA
Motor
Generator
LF

Field circuit Armature circuit

T
ω
6
 Armature-Controlled and Field-Controlled DC Motors

Va ia T ω
Armature Armature
Load
+ circuit coil
-

emf
induction
K Vb
Armature - controlled DC motor
(Ls + R )(Js + b ) + K 2

T ω
Vf Field if Armature
Load
circuit
1 coil
Ls + R
1 1
K
Ls + R Js + b

Field - controlled DC motor : See three subsystems in series 7

 Compensation
• The output from a system might be unstable or the response is too slow or
there is much overshoot.
• Systems may have their responses to inputs altered by including
compensators.
• A compensator is a block which is incorporated in the system so that it alters
the overall transfer function of the system in such a way to obtain the required
characteristics.
K
G ( s) s ( s + 1) K
T (s) = = =
1 + G ( s) H ( s) 1 + K s ( s + 1) + K
s ( s + 1)
The denominator is therefore s 2 + s + K . This will have the roots
−1 ± 1 − 4K
s= . To be critically damped we must have 1-4 K = 0
2
1
and therefore the compensator must have the proportional gain of K =
4
8
 Physical Parameters
T = K i; e = K θ&
t e
di
Jθ + bθ = Ki; L + Ri = V − Kθ&
&& &
dt
• Electrical resistance R = 1 Ω
• Electrical inductance L = 0.5 H
• Input voltage V
• Electromotive force constant K = 0.01 nm/A
• Moment of inertia of the rotor J = 0.01 kg.m2/s2
• Damping ratio of the mechanical system b = 0.1 Nms
• Position of the shaft θ
• The rotor and shaft are assumed to be rigid
• The motor torque T is related to the armature current i by a constant Kt
• The back (induced) emf, e, is related to the rotational velocity

9
 Speed Control
• Speed Control by Varying Circuit Resistance: The operating
speed can only be adjusted downwards by varying the external
resistance, Rext which is connected in the armature circuit.
Va − Ra I a Va (Ra + Rext )
ωm = = − rad/s
k aφ k aφ ka φ
2 2

• Speed Control by Varying Excitation Flux:

ωm1 φ2
=
ωm 2 φ1
• Speed Control by Varying Applied Voltage: Wide range of control 25:1;
fast acceleration of high inertia loads.

• Electronic Control: High-speed, reliable, and inexpensive semiconductor

devices have produced a dramatic change in the control of DC motors.

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Resistance, Excitation Flux, and Applied Voltage
TL
Te
Va ia ωr
1/(Las+Ra) Laf 1/(Js+b)
+
-

Laf

Vf if
1/(Lfs+Rf)

11
 Circuitry Dynamics
dia Ra Laf 1
= − ia − i f ωr + Va
dt La La La
di f Rf 1
=− if + Vf
dt Lf Lf
dωr Laf Bm TL
= ia i f − ωr −
dt J J J
Va − Ra ia Va Ra
ωr = = − T [steady − state]
Laf i f Laf i f ( L i
af f )
2 e

The above three equations which were found using Kirchhoff' s

voltage equation and Newton' s second law of
motion, as well as the Lagrange equations of motion.
12
 Armature Torque and Speed Control of a DC Motor using a Thyristor Converter

Limits

Desired current Actual armature current

Desired speed Gate Trigger Actual speed
Actual …
G1 G6 L Id

G1 G2 G3 Ra

La If
3-phase Ed
line D4 D1

G4 G5 G6 vS
Eo

D2 D3

Single-phase source

13
 Example: A 750 hp, 250 V, 1200 r/min DC motor is connected to a 208 V, 3-
phase, 60 Hz line using a 3-phase bridge converter as shown. The full-load
armature current is 2500 A and the armature resistance is 2500 A and the
armature resistance is 4 mΩ.
Gate
Triggering
processor
2500 A If
α=27o 4 mΩ
3-phase E
208 V Ed = 250 V Eo
60 Hz
Converter
560 kW
1200 r/min

Find the required firing angle α under rated full - load conditions.
Find the firing angle required so that the motor develops its rated torque at 400 r/min

14
(a) At full load the converter must develop a DC output of 250 V
E d = 1.35 E cos α
250 = 1.35 × 208 cos α
α = 27 o
Armature IR drop at rated current = 2500 A × 0.004 Ω = 10V
Counter - emf at 1200 r/min ( Eo ) = 250 - 10 = 240 V
(b) To develop rated torque at 400 r/min, the armature current must still be
 400 
be 2500 A. The emf at 400 r/min is : Eo =   × 240 = 80 V
 1200 
Armature terminal voltage is E d = 80 + 10 = 90 V
The converter must generator 90 V. To determine the firing angle, we have
E d = 1.35 E cos α = 1.35 × 208 cos α
α = 71o (see the Figure in the next page)

15
 Transfer Function

s ( Js + b)θ ( s ) = KI ( s )
( Ls + R) I ( s ) = V − Ksθ ( s )
θ K
=
V ( Js + b)( Ls + R) + K 2

R u θ&
Controller Plant

16
 Data Measurement
• Once we have identified the transfer function of the system we may
proceed to the final two phases of the design cycle, the design of a
suitable controller and the implementation of the controller on the
actual system. In the case of speed control of the DC motor, the
control will prove to be quite easy.
• An important point to be highlighted here is that if we have a good
model of the plant to be controlled, and we already have identified
the parameters of the model, then the design of the controller is
easy.

Computer D/A Converter Power Amplifier DC Motor

Armature voltage
Oscilloscope
Tachometer
17
 State Space
Chose the speed and current as the state variables and the
voltage as an input. The output is chosen to be the speed.

 b K
&  −  & 0 
d θ  J J θ   
  =   + 1 V
dt i   K R  i   
− - L
 L L
θ&
θ& = [1 0]  
i 

18
 Design Needs and System Performance
• The uncompensated motor may only rotate at 0.1 rad/sec with an input
voltage of 1 V. Since the most basic requirement of a motor is that it should
rotate at the desired speed, the steady-state error of the motor speed should
be less than 1%.
• The other performance requirement is that the motor must accelerate to its
steady-state speed as soon as it turns on. In this case, we want it to have a
settling time of 2 seconds for example. Since a speed faster than the
reference may damage the equipment, we want to have an overshoot of less
than 5%. If we simulate the reference input (r) by a unit step input, then the
motor speed output should have:

• Settling time less than 2 seconds

• Overshoot less than 5%
• Steady-state error less than 1%

Use the MATLAB to represent the open loop response

19
PID Design technique for DC Motor Speed Control
• Combining all three modes of control (proportional, integral and
derivative) enables a controller to be produced which has no offset
error and reduces the tendency for oscillations. Such a controller
is called PID controller.

de
I out = K P e + K I ∫ edt + K D + Io
dt
1
(I out − I o )( s) = K P E ( s) + K I E ( s) + sK D ( s)
s
1
Transfer function = K P e + K I + sK D
s

20
• Design a PID controller and add it into the system.
• Recall the transfer function for a PID controller.
• See how the PID controller works in a closed-loop
system using the previous Figure. The variable (e)
represents the tracking error, the difference between the
desired input value (R) and the actual output (y). This
error signal (e) will be sent to the PID controller, and the
controller computes both the derivative and the integral of
this error signal.
• The signal (u) just past the controller is equal to the
proportional gain (Kp) times the magnitude of the error
plus the integral gain (KI) times the integral of the error
plus the derivative gain (KD) times the derivative of the
error.

21
 The Characteristics of P, I, and D Controllers
These correlations may not be exactly accurate, because Kp, KI, and KD are dependent of each
other. In fact, changing one of these variables can change the effect of the other two. For this
reason, the table should only be used as a reference when you are determining the values for
KI, Kp and KD.

Response Rise Time Overshoot Settling SS Error

Time
Small
KP Decrease Increase Change Decrease

KI Decrease Increase Increase Eliminate

Small Small
KD Change Decrease Decrease Change

22
 The PID Adjustment Steps

• Use a proportional controller with a certain gain. A code should be

added to the end of m-file.
• Determine the closed-loop transfer function.
• See how the step response looks like.
• You should get certain plot.
• From the plot you may see that both the steady-state error and the
overshoot are too large.
• Recall from the PID characteristics that adding an integral term will
eliminate the steady-state error and a derivative term will reduce the
overshoot. Let us try a PID controller with small KI and KD.
• The settling time is too long. Let us increase KI to reduce the settling
time.
• Large KI will worsen the transient response (big overshoot). Let us
increase KD to reduce the overshoot.
• See the plot now and see if design requirements will be satisfied.

23
 Root Locus Design Method for DC Motor Speed Control
Drawing the Open-Loop Root Locus
• The main idea of root locus design is to find the closed-loop response
from the open-loop root locus plot. Then by adding zeros and/or
poles to the original plant, the closed-loop response can be modified.
• We need the settling time and the overshoot to be as small as
possible. Large damping corresponds to points on the root locus near
the real axis. A fast response corresponds to points on the root locus
far to the left of the imaginary axis.
• The system may be overdamped and the settling time will be about
one second, so the overshoot and settling time requirements could
be satisfied.
• The only problem we may see from the generated plot is the steady
state error. If we increase the gain to reduce the steady-state error,
the overshoot becomes too large. We need to add a lag controller to
reduce the steady-state error.

24
 Adding a Lag Controller
• A first-order lag compensator can be designed using the root locus. A lag
compensator in root locus form is given by

s − zo
G ( s) =
s − po
• where the magnitude of zo is greater than the magnitude of po. A phase-lag
compensator tends to shift the root locus to the right, which is undesirable.
For this reason, the pole and zero of a lag compensator must be placed
close together (usually near the origin) so they do not appreciably change
the transient response or stability characteristics of the system.

25
 How does the Lag Controller Shift the Root Locus to the
Right?

• Recall finding the asymptotes of the root locus that lead to the zeros at
infinity, the equation to determine the intersection of the asymptotes along
the real axis is:

α= ∑ poles − ∑ zeros
poles − zeros

• When a lag compensator is added to a system, the value of this intersection

will be a smaller negative number than it was before. The net number of
zeros and poles will be the same (one zero and one pole are added), but the
added pole is a smaller negative number than the added zero. Thus, the
result of a lag compensator is that the asymptotes' intersection is moved
closer to the right half plane, and the entire root locus will be shifted to the
right.

26
 Frequency Design Method for DC Motor Speed Control
• The idea of frequency-based design is to use the Bode plot of the
open-loop transfer function to estimate the closed-loop response.
Adding a controller to the system changes the open-loop Bode plot,
therefore changing the closed-loop response. First you should draw
the Bode plot for the original open-loop transfer function.
• Add proportional gain!
• Plot the closed-loop response.
• The settling time will be fast enough, but the overshoot and the
steady state error will be too high. The overshoot can be reduced by
reducing the gain a bit to get a higher phase margin, but this would
cause the steady-state error to increase. A lag controller is probably
needed.
• Add a lag controller to reduce the steady state error.
• At the same time, we should try to reduce the overshoot by reducing
the gain.

27
• Lag controller should only minimally change the transient
response because of its negative effect. If the phase-lag
compensator is not supposed to change the transient
response noticeably, what is it important for?

• The answer is that a phase-lag compensator can

improve the system's steady-state response. It works in
the following manner. At high frequencies, the lag
controller will have unity gain. At low frequencies, the
gain will be z0/p0 which is greater than 1. This factor z0/p0
will multiply the position, velocity, or acceleration
constant (Kp, Kv, or Ka), and the steady state error will
thus decrease by the factor z0/p0.
28
 A State-Space Controller for DC Motor Speed
• We have two state variables in this example. They are easy to measure. An
ammeter may measure the current and a tachometer (DC generator) may measure
the speed. The schematic for a full state feedback problem is shown.

x& = Ax + Bu
y = cx

R u y
+
-
x
x& = (A − BK)x + Bu
k y = Cx

the characteristic polynomial for this closed - loop system is the determinant of
[sI - (A - BK)]
29
 • Run the mfile to see the plot.
• Add a reference point. From this plot we may see that the steady-
state error is too large. In contrast to the other design methods,
where we feed back the output and compare it to the reference to
compute an error, here we are feeding back both states. We need to
compute what the steady-state value of the states should be, multiply
that by the chosen gain K, and use this new value as our reference
for computing the input. This can be done in one step by adding a
constant gain after the reference. See the plot after that.
x& = Ax + Bu
y = cx

u y
R +
N
-
x

30
• Since the matrices A and BK are both 2x2 matrices, there should be
2 poles for the system.

• By designing a full-state feedback controller, we can move these two

poles anywhere we want them. We shall first try to place them at -5
+ i and -5-i (note that this corresponds to a ξ = 0.98 which gives
0.1% overshoot and a sigma = 5 which leads to a 1 sec settling
time).

31
 Project: Methods of Braking DC Motors

For DC machines, a changeover from motoring to braking may be

accomplished by reversing the flow of the motoring armature current,
Ia. In this project we shall examine braking methods on the second
quadrant of the speed torque domain in which Ia and Tem are reversed.

• Use the following parameters: Rated power = 2 kW, Va = 125-V, Ia =

16 A, Ra = 0.25 Ω, Rf = 111 Ω 1750 rev/min, separately excited DC
machine.

• Fix the excitation field at the rated condition.

• The inertia of the rotor J is 0.5 kgm2.
• Ignore brush drop and armature reaction.
• Assume Ia never to exceed 40 A.

32
 Plugging
Va − Ra I a 125 − 0.25 × 16
k aφ = = 60 = 0.68 N - m/A
ωm 2π × 1750
The developed torque, Tem = k aφI a = 10.72 N - m
The internal voltage Eb = k aφωm = 122.76 V
Ea -(-Va ) = I am ( Rext + Ra )
Keep I a within 250% of its rated value
122.76 + 125
Rext = − 0.14 = 6 Ω
2.5 ×16

33
 Dynamic Braking
Similar equation may be used to compute the limiting resistor for the
dynamic breaking method, except that Va during breaking will be zero.

Examine the braking performance of the plugging and dynamic braking

methods assuming that the load torque behaves in a manner described
by

−4
Tload = −Tmech = 0.01 + 3.189e ωm
2

Regenerative Braking
Use the SIMULINK of a simple closed loop speed system that can be
used to demonstrate the raising, holding, and lowering operations.

34
 References
• Sergey E. Lyshevski, Electromechanical Systems, Electric Machines
and Applied Electronics, CRS, 1999,
• W. Bolton, Mechatronics, Pearson Prentice Hall, 2003.
• Chee-Mun Ong, Dynamic Simulation of Electric Machines Using
Matlab/Simulink, Prentic Hall, 1998.
• John Dorsey, Continuous and Discrete Control Systems, McGraw
Hill, 2002.
• Control Tutorials for Matlab, Michigan University.
• Theodore Wildi, Electrical Machines, Drives, and Power Systems,
Fifth Edition.
• The Textbook.

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