ME 391 Fundamentals of Control Systems
Course Objectives
Learning Objectives Upon completion of ME 391 students
should have learned about analysis and design of feedback controllers
for linear single-input single-output dynamic systems. Specifically:
- The usefulness of feedback control for disturbance rejection and
stabilization.
- Laplace transforms and transfer functions.
- Block diagram representations of feedback control systems.
- Impulse and step responses of second-order dynamic systems.
- The meaning of performance specifications such as maximum overshoot,
settling time, and steady-state error.
- The relationship between the location of system poles and
zeros and system performance.
- Proportional, integral, and derivative (PID) control, and
how each affects performance.
- Stability and the Routh-Hurwitz stability criterion.
- The root locus method of control system analysis, and how
to place a controller pole and zero to improve performance
(lead-lag compensation).
- Gain and phase (stability) margins from the Bode magnitude
and phase plots of the frequency response.
Performance Objectives Upon completion of ME 391 students
should be able to:
- Model physical (masses, springs, and dampers) and
electrical (capacitors, resistors, and inductors) systems and derive
their transfer functions.
- Read off performance parameters from a step response.
- Understand qualitatively how changing P, I, and D control
gains will affect the step response of a second-order system.
- Determine the stability of a transfer function.
- Sketch a root locus.
- Interpret a transfer function, step response,
pole-zero plot, or Bode plot and choose (or modify) a controller to
improve performance.
Experiences Upon completion of ME 391 students
should have completed the following experiences:
- Used MATLAB to help analyze dynamic systems and design
feedback controllers.
- Implemented PD and PID control on an experimental
torsional disk (mass-spring-damper) system and collected
step response data.
- Implemented a lead-lag controller on the torsional disk system.
- Experimentally derived the frequency response of the
torsional disk system.
Assessment
- Lab reports.
- Weekly problem sets.
- Two quizzes.
- A midterm and a final.