Lab 1: Intro to Simulink and Frequency Analysis

Objectives:
1) To learn how to build a basic model in Simulink.
2) To simulate signals and view their frequency domain representation.
3) To synthesize signals from their Fourier series coefficients.
Introduction:
A signal is ordinarily described as a function of time. This is what we visualize when we view
the waveform on an oscilloscope. However, in communication systems it is also important that
we know the frequency content of a signal. The spectral density of a signal characterizes the
distribution of the signals energy or power in the frequency domain. This concept is important
when considering filtering in communication systems.
The mathematical tool which relates the frequency domain description of the signal to its time
domain description is called the Fourier Transform. The Fourier Transform of a signal specifies
the amplitudes and phases of the frequency content of the signal given its behavior in the time
domain. The inverse Fourier transform can then recover the original time domain signal given its
frequency domain description.
Simulink is a tool that allows us to visually create signal processing systems by connecting
individual blocks that describe the actions of the system. After specifying the blocks that make
the system do what we want, we can then pass any signal we want through it and view the output
on a virtual scope in either the time or the frequency domain.
Preliminary:
The complex Fourier series coefficients are given by:

1) Find the Fourier series coefficients of a square wave of odd symmetry of amplitude A and
frequency f Hz (assume 50% duty cycle and zero DC).
2) Find the Fourier series coefficients of a sawtooth wave of odd symmetry of amplitude A and
frequency f Hz (assume zero DC).
3) Sketch the amplitude and phase of the Fourier series coefficients obtained in 2 & 3.

Procedure:
Part A Getting Familiar with Simulink
To open Simulink, type simulink at the MATLAB command prompt. The Simulink library
browser will open. It consists of various blocksets specific to different applications such as
communications, signal processing, control systems, power systems etc. It is advisable to explore
the various block libraries on your own to get a good feel for the capabilities of Simulink.
In order to familiarize yourself with Simulink, you will first build a simple system by following
the steps given in this document. To open a new model, go to the File menu and select New ->
Model. A blank model will open. This will serve as your canvas to build your system model.
In the Simulink library browser, go to the Sources option and select a Sine Wave source block.
In order to include this block in your model, click and drag the block onto your model window.
Similarly search for a Gain block (to amplify the signal) and a Scope block (to visualize the
signal) in the various Simulink libraries. You should find the gain block under the Commonly
Used Blocks or the Math Operations libraries. You should find the scope block in the Commonly
Used Blocks or Sinks libraries. Include both in your model window.
For this model, we need two gain blocks. In order to duplicate a block, simply right click on the
block and drag and place this duplicate block in your model window too. We would also like to
have a Switch block to be able to select from multiple inputs and a multiplexer block to view
multiple signals on the same scope. The multiplexer is found in the libraries as the Mux block.
Search for these blocks in the basic libraries and include them in your model.
We also require a Clock block to use as a decision maker for switching between two signals
using the switch. This block simply outputs the current simulation time. Look for it in the
Sources library and include it in your model window.
(Note: This is not the clock used for synchronization of digital logic systems.)
Your model window should now have all of the blocks shown in Figure 1.

1
Sine Wave

Gain

Scope

Switch

Clock

1
Gain1

Figure 1 - Model window after creating blocks

In order to begin connecting the blocks, click on the sine wave block, then hold down the CTRL
key and click on the first gain block. A connecting line will form between the two blocks. An
alternate way to do this is to place your cursor near the output port of a block until the cursor
changes into a cross-hair, then click and drag a line to the input port of the block to be connected.
The same sine wave input is to be connected to the second gain block too. In order to draw a
second branch, right click on the original branch and drag a line to the input port of the second
gain block.
Connect the chosen blocks in the following manner.

1
Sine Wave

Gain
Clock

Switch

Scope

1
Gain1

Figure 2 - Model window after connecting blocks

Next, we need to set the parameters for the individual blocks. Double clicking on the blocks
opens the block parameters pane. First, double click on the sine wave source block. Set the block
parameters as given in Figure 3, and click OK to apply the settings.

Figure 3 - Sine wave source parameters

Open the two gain block settings and set them up for gains of 0.5 and 3 respectively. The switch
should have the parameters shown in Figure 4 in order to change from the second gain block
output to the first after a simulation time of 5 seconds. The mux block will have two inputs by
default. The clock and scope block settings need not be altered.
To add a title to the model, double-click at the location you want to type, then type Building a
Basic Model in Simulink. You may use the Format menu to change the font and font size. You
may also right-click on the title box and select Show Drop Shadow to emphasize the title. The
completed model is seen in Figure 5. Include a screenshot of the model in your lab report.
Set the simulation parameters by selecting Configuration Parameters from the Simulation menu.
Under the Solver tab, set the solver to discrete, the stop time to 10.0, and the max step size to
0.03. Then click OK. Now the model is ready for simulation.
Go to Simulation > Start or press
to begin simulation. In order to visualize the results, double
click on the scope block. The scope output should be as shown in Figure 6. Include a screenshot
of this result in your lab report.

Figure 4 - Switch block parameters

Building a basic model in Simulink

0.5
Sine Wave

Gain
Clock

Switch

3
Gain1

Figure 5 - Final model

Scope

Figure 6 - Scope display

Change the frequency of the sine wave generator to 5*2*pi rad/sec (i.e. 5 Hz) and change the
phase to pi/2 rad to turn it into a cosine wave. Simulate the model and observe the scope, then
include a screenshot of the new scope output in your report. Similarly, observe the scope for the
following variations of the original model and submit the outputs in your report:
1)
2)
3)
4)

Change the switch block to a Product block (remove the clock).

Change the clock to a cosine wave of frequency 4 rad/sec, amplitude 10, and bias 5.
Change two or more parameters of your choice in the original model.
Replace one of the gain blocks with any block of your choice.

Part B - Frequency Domain Analysis

In order to view the properties of a signal in the frequency domain, some different steps must be
taken. Ordinarily, a signal source will generate a single value at each point in time, which then
propagates through the entire system as Simulink processes the simulation. However, a proper
analysis in the frequency domain requires several time-domain points to be stored up and
processed at the same time, generally with an FFT block.
A handy block used to compute and display the frequency components of a signal is the
Spectrum Scope, found in the Signal Processing Toolbox libraries. To start using it, create a new
model and add a title of Frequency Domain Analysis of a Signal. Then find the spectrum scope
block in the library and add it to your new model.

Upon opening the block settings, a number of options will need to be set. To display a raw
magnitude spectrum (as opposed to the PSD), change the units to dBW, and set the display
options to one-sided. In order to use the standard signal sources from the normal toolbox, it is
necessary to check the Buffer Input box. When this is selected, the scope will take time-domain
samples from a source and accumulate them in a buffer until it has enough to calculate the
required FFT. Set the buffer size to 512, buffer overlap to 0, and spectral averages to 1. Do not
change any other settings from their default values.
A convenient signal source from the continuous-domain toolbox is the Signal Generator block.
This block can generate a number of different periodic signals given only an amplitude and a
frequency. Find this block and add it to your project, then open the settings. Leave the signal
type at sine and amplitude at 1, but change the frequency to 5 Hz.
It turns out that these two blocks cannot be directly connected together due to the way Simulink
processes signals. The signal generator produces continuous-time signals, which are numerically
computed using differential equations. However, the FFT scope requires a discrete-time signal to
function, which is handled in an entirely different way by Simulinks model solvers. In order to
convert the continuous signal into a discrete one, we require the Zero-Order Hold block. Find
this block in the library, then place it between the signal generator and the spectrum scope and
connect them together in a line. Your final model should resemble Figure 7.

Figure 7 Final model

There are still a few more things to do. By opening the zero-order hold settings, we can choose
the sampling period for the discrete signal. Set it to 0.01 (fs = 100 Hz). Finally, open the
simulation configuration settings and use the same settings as the previous example, but make
the max step size 0.001. We are now ready to run the simulation.
Upon finishing the simulation, the spectrum scope should pop up with the results of the FFT. For
the sine wave, there should be a single peak at 5 Hz and nothing else. It may also be a good idea
to connect a normal scope to the zero-order hold output to view the signal in the time-domain.

Now we are ready to look at a few more types of signals. Change the signal type in the generator
to square and rerun the simulation without changing any other settings. There should be
harmonics present this time; if they are not visible, go into the scope settings and lower the
minimum Y-value. Compare the magnitudes of these harmonics to the results from the
preliminary and note your observations in your lab report. Also, include a screenshot of your
magnitude spectrum.
Next, change the generated signal to a sawtooth wave and repeat the above process, noting your
observations on the harmonics and taking a screenshot of the spectrum. Finally, change the
generator to output a random signal and record your observations on the spectrum produced.

Part C - Signal Synthesis from Fourier Series Coefficients

Given the Fourier coefficients calculated in the preliminary exercise, it is possible to reconstruct
the square wave and sawtooth wave signals using only sine wave sources. To do this, open a new
model, then create a sine wave source for the fundamental frequency of the square wave and one
for each harmonic (use as many harmonics as you feel are necessary to reconstruct the signal
accurately). Set the amplitudes, frequencies, and phases of each according to the Fourier
coefficients you calculated previously.
To add all these sine waves together, the Sum block is required. Find this block in the libraries
and add it to your project. Open the settings, and under the list of signs, add as many plus (or
minus) signs as there are signals to add. This will expand the sum block to accept several inputs.
Attach a scope to the input and observe how close the sum of sinusoids comes to representing the
shape of the original signal, then include a screenshot of the scope output in your lab report.
Repeat the above steps to recreate a sawtooth wave and report your observations.

Post-Lab Questions:
Q1. In the demo model built in this lab, we used a mux block to visualize two signals on a single
scope. Is it possible to see two signals on the scope without using a mux block? If yes, explain
how.
Q2. Does changing the max step size in the configuration parameters have any effect on the way
the model runs?
Q3. In part A, does changing the simulation time have any effect on the model output?
Q4. In part B, what is the relation of the sample time to the signal frequency to get a reasonably
good representation of the frequency domain components?
Q5. In part B, what effect does changing the FFT buffer size have on the output spectrum?
Q6. In part C, change the phase and magnitude of each harmonic. Which is more important: the
phase of a harmonic or the magnitude?