Chapter 3

Continuous System Simulation

 Continuous System Simulation
•A continuous system is one in which the predominant activities
of the system cause smooth changes in the attributes of system
entities

• When such a system is modeled mathematically, the variables

of models representing the attributes are controlled by
continuous functions.

• Continuous System Simulation describes how mathematical

models of dynamic systems, usually described by sets of
differential equations possibly coupled with algebraic equations
can be simulated
 Differential Equations
•A differential equation is a mathematical equation which
relates some function with its derivatives, where functions
usually represents physical quantities, the derivatives
represent rate of change and equation represents relation
between two.
•The typical example of linear differential equation with
constant coefficients is used to describe the wheel
suspension system of automobile.
•Dependent variable x, Independent variable t, Input F(t).
• If the dependent variable or any of its derivatives appear in any
other form, such as being raised to a power, or are combined in
any other way for example, by being multiplied together, the
differential equation is said to be nonlinear. [examples]
• When more than one independent variable occurs in a
differential equation, the equation is said to be partial
differential equation. [examples]
• It can involve the derivatives of the same dependent variable with
respect to each of the independent variables.
Significance of Differential Equations:
•The most physical and chemical process involves rate of
change which requires differential equation for their
mathematical description.
•Since a differential coefficient can also represent a growth
rate, continuous models can also be applied to problems of
social or economic nature where there is a need to
understand general effects of growth trend.
•Differential equations can be used to represent different
engineering problems as in describing behavior of
automobile wheel suspension, with mechanical principles.
•Differential equations are extensively used to describe
analytical solutions of different system.
•Differential equations are extensively used in simulating
behavior of real operational system using electrical circuits.
 Analog Computer
•An analog computer is a form of computer that uses
continuously changeable aspects of the physical phenomena
such as electrical, mechanical or hydraulic quantities to
model the problem being solved.
•An analog computer is a computer which is used to
process analog data.
•Analog computer does not use discrete values but rather
continuous values.
•Processes cannot be reliably repeated with exact
equivalence.
•Examples of analog computers are slide rule, nomogram,
oscilloscope, television, analog sound processor, flight
simulator etc.
Analog Computer
• The most widely used form of analog computer is the
electronic analog computer, based on the use of high gain
dc (direct current) amplifiers, called operational amplifiers.
• Voltages in the computer are equated to mathematical
variables, and the operational amplifiers can add and
integrate the voltages.
• With appropriate circuits, an amplifier can be made to add
several input voltages, each representing a variable of the
model, to produce a voltage representing the sum of the
input variables.
The core mathematical operations used in an electric analog
computer are:
•Addition
•Integration with respect to time
•Inversion
•Multiplication
•Exponentiation
•Logarithm
•Division
•Differentiation with respect to time is not frequently used,
and in practice is avoided by redefining the problem when
possible.
Analog Computer
• Different scale factors can be used on the inputs to represent
coefficients of the model equations.
• Amplifiers that sums different terms are called summers.
• Another circuit arrangement produces an integrator for
which the output is the integral with respect to time of a
single input voltage or the sum of several input voltages.
• All voltages can be positive or negative to correspond to the
sign of the variable represented.
• Tosatisfy the equations of the model, it is sometimes
necessary to use a sign inverter, which is an amplifier
designed to cause the output to reverse the sign of the input.
Pros and Cons of Analog Computer
Advantages (Pros):
•The analog computer do not suffer quantization noise but
are limited by analog noise.
•Analog computers are widely used in scientific and
industrial applications where digital computers lack
sufficient performance, like flight computer in aircrafts, for
teaching control system in universities.
•The analog representation of a system is often more natural
as it directly reflects the structure of system; thus
simplifying both the setting up of a simulation and
interpretation of results.
•The analog computer is faster than digital under certain
circumstances as it could solve many equations in
simultaneous manner while digital computer can be working
on one equation at a time.
Disadvantages (Cons):
•An analog computer have limited accuracy and dedication
to one particular problem, may not be significant.
•Electronic analog computer have limited accuracy due to
following reasons-
•It is difficult to carry the accuracy of measuring a voltage
beyond a certain point
•A number of assumptions are made in deriving relationship
for operational amplifiers, none of which is strictly true.
•The assumption that there should be zero output voltage for
zero input voltage is difficult to achieve.
•Operational amplifiers have limited dynamic range of
outputs, so scale factor must be introduced to keep within
range.
Advantages of Digital Computer
•Any degree of accuracy can be programmed virtually in
digital computer with floating point representation of
numbers, so an extremely wide range of variations can be
tolerated.
•A digital computer has advantages of being easily used for
many different problems.
Analog methods: Example
• 1.Analog Computer Model of Automobile Suspension

• The general method by which analog computers are applied can be

demonstrated using the second-order differential equation that has
already been discussed:
• Solving the equation for the highest order derivative gives:
•Suppose a variable representing the input F(t) is supplied, and
assume for the time being that there exist variables representing -x
and -ẋ.

•These three variables can be scaled and added with a summer to

produce a voltage representingM ẍ.

•Integrating this variable with a scale factor of 1/M produces ẋ.

•Changing the sign produces - ẋ, which supplies one of the

variables initially assumed; and a further integration produces -x,
which was the other assumed variable.
• For convenience, a further sign inverter is included to
produce +x as anoutput.
• A block diagram to solve the problem in this manner is
shown in following Figure.
Figure: Analog Computer model for the automobile suspension problem
• The symbols used in the figure are standard symbols for
drawing block diagrams representing analog computer
arrangements.
• The circles indicate scale factors applied to the variables.
• The triangular symbol at the left of the figure represents the
operation of adding variables.
• The triangular symbol with a vertical bar represents an
integration, and the one containing a minus sign is a
sign changer.
• The addition on the left, with its associated scaling factors,
corresponds to the addition of the variables representing the
three forces on the wheel, producing a variable
representing M ẍ.

• With an electronic analog computer, the variables that

have been described would be voltages, and the symbols
would represent operational amplifiers arranged as
adders, integrators, andsign changers.
• The above Figure would then represent how the amplifiers
are interconnected to solve the equation.
• It should be pointed out, however, that there can be several
ways of drawing a diagram for a particular problem,
depending upon which variables are of interest, and on the
size of the scale factors.
2…Analog Computer Model of Liver
(First see the mathematical model of the liver)
• When a model has more than one independent variable, a
separate block diagram is drawn for each independent
variable and, where necessary, interconnections are made
between the diagrams.
• As an example, the following Figure shows a block diagram
for solving the model of the liver with 3 independent
variables as x1,x2 and x3.
Figure: Analog computer model of the liver
• There are three integrators, shown at the bottom of the
figure. Reading from left to right, they solve the equations
for X1, X2’X3.
• Interconnections between the three integrators, with sign
changers where necessary, provide inputs that define the
differential coefficients of the three variables.
• The first integrator, for example, is solving the equation
•The second integrator is solving the equation:

•The last integrator solves the equation:

•In the second integrator, x2 is being used twice as

an input to the integrator so that two coefficients k21
and k23 can be changed independently.
Hybrid Computers
•The hybrid computers are the combination of the traditional
analog-computer elements, giving smooth continuous outputs and
the elements carrying out such non linear, digital operations as
storing values, switching and performing logical operations.

•Originally the term ‘hybrid computer’ had connotation of

extending analog-computer capabilities, usually by the addition
of special-purpose and often specially constructed devices.

•Hybrid computers may be used to simulate systems that are

mainly continuous but in fact have some digital elements.

•For example, an artificial satellite for which both continuous

equations of motions and the digital control signals must be
simulated.
•It has the speed of analog computer and the memory and
accuracy of digital computer.

Hybrid computers are used in several applications. Such as

•Petrol pump – Measurement convert fuel flow into

currency rate
•Electrocardiogram machine
•ATM machine
•Control industrial process.
•Radar systems etc.
 Continuous System Simulation
Languages (CSSLs)
•CSSLs are the language which use familiar statement type
of input for digital computers, allowing a problem to be
programmed directly from equations of mathematical
model, rather than requiring to be broken into functional
elements.
•They could easily include macros, or subroutines that
performs the functions of specific analog elements, so it is
possible to incorporate convenience of a digital-analog
simulator.
•The language contains macro instructions which carry out
the action of adders, integrators and sign changers.
•CSSLs include a variety of algebraic and logical expressions
to describe the relation between variables.
•Lets take Continuous System Modeling Program, Version III
(CSMP III) to illustrate nature of these CSSLs.
•CSMP III, or Continuous System Modeling Program IlI is
an early scientific computer software designed for modeling
and solving differential equations numerically. This enables
real-world systems to be simulated and tested with a computer.
•Strucuture
•Like all computer programs its analytical and simulation
programs are constructed from three general types of
statements:
•Structural statements, which define the model. They consist
of FORTRAN-like programming language statements, and
functional blocks of program code (procedures) designed for
repeat operations that frequently occur in a model definition.
•Data statements, which assign numerical values to various
changing parameters, constants, and initial conditions.
•Control statements, which specify options in assembly and
execution of the program, and the choice of output of the
results of the calculations performed.
•Structural statements can make use of the operations of addition,
subtraction, multiplication, division, and exponentiation, using
the same notation and syntax rules as are used in FORTRAN.
•If, for example, the model includes the equation
X=6Y/W+(Z-2)^2 the following statement will be
used to define the variables and calculus performed:
X=6.0*Y/W+(Z-2.0)**2.0
[real constant also in decimals]

•1.2E-4 represents 0.00012

•Examples:

• Y=INTGRL(IC,X)
Y(0)=IC
INTEGRATOR

Y=EXP(x)
EXPONENTIAL

•Y=ln(x) Y=ALOG(x)
EXPONENTIAL

•Y=sin(X) Y=SIN(X)
TRIGONOMETRIC SIGN
 Feedback Systems
• In a feedback system, a portion of the system output is fed
back into the system, thus introducing a level of
dependencies among input and output signals in the system.
• With the use of feedback in communication systems,
satisfactory response and robust performance can generally
be achieved.
•In a system with feedback, also known as a closed-loop
control system, the past output may influence the present or
future outputs.
•Most physical systems embody some form of feedback.
•In a system with feedback, a closed sequence of cause-and-
effect relations exists between system variables.
•There are two types of feedback systems. In a positive
feedback system, the feedback is used to increase the input
signal level, thus generally making the system unstable.
•Positive feedback is widely used in oscillatory circuits such
as oscillators and timing circuits.
•In a negative feedback system, the feedback is used to
decrease the input signal level to ensure system stability.
• Tendency toward oscillation or instability is an important
characteristic of feedback, and the issue of instability in all
feedback systems thus needs to be fully addressed.
•A home heating system controlled by a thermostat is
a simple example of a feedback system.
•The system has a furnace whose purpose is to heat a room,
and the output of the system can be measured as room
temperature.
•Depending upon whether the temperature is below or above
the thermostat setting, the furnace will be turned on or off,
so that information is being fed back from the output to the
input.
•In this case, there are only two state, either the furnace is on
or off.
Feedback System and Autopilot
•An example of a feedback system in which there is continuous
control is the aircraft system.
•Here, the input is a desired aircraft heading and the output is
the actual heading.
•The gyroscope of the auto pilot is able to detect the difference
between the two headings.
•A feedback is established by using the difference to operate
the control surface, since change of heading will then affect the
signal being used to the heading.
•The difference between the desired heading and actual heading
is called the error signal, since it is a measure of the extent to
which the system deviates from the desired condition.
•The feedback in the autopilot is said to be negative feedback.
• The more the system output deviates from the desired value
stronger is the force to drive it back.
•Many simulation studies of continuous system are
concerned primarily with the study of servomechanism,
which is the general name given to the devices that rely
upon feedback for their operation.