ROHINI COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING

BIO CONTROL SYSTEM

UNIT-I INTRODUCTION
Part – A

1. What are the basic elements in control systems? (IC6501-May-June-16)

The components of feedback control system are plant, feedback path elements, error
detector and controller.

2. Define open loop and closed loop control systems. (EC2255-Apr-May-11/Nov-Dec-11)

The control system in which the output quantity has no effect upon the input
quantity is called open loop control system. This means that the output is not feedback to
the input for correction.
The control systems in which the output quantity has effect upon the input quantity
in order to maintain the desired output value is called closed loop systems.

3. Give an example for open loop and closed loop control system. (EE2253-Nov-Dec-11)
 Open loop control system: Electric Hand Drier, Washing Machine, Bread Toaster,
Automatic Tea/Coffee Maker, Timer Based Clothes Drier, Light Switch, Volume on
Stereo System.
 Closed loop control system: Automatic Electric Iron, Servo Voltage Stabilizer,
Water Level Controller, Missile Launched & Auto Tracked by Radar and Air
Conditioner

4. Distinguish between open loop and closed loop control systems. (EC6405-May-June-16)
(EE2253-May-June-13) (EC2255-Nov-Dec-14/Apr-May-10/Nov-Dec-10)

Sl.No Open loop system Closed loop system

1 Inaccurate and unreliable Accurate and reliable
2 Simple and economical Complex and costly
3 Changes in output due to external Changes in output due to external
disturbance are not corrected disturbance are corrected
automatically automatically
4 They are generally stable Great efforts are needed to design a
stable system

5. List the advantages of Closed Loop System? (EC6405-Nov-Dec-15) (EE2253-Apr-May-15

/ Apr-May-10 /Apr-May-17)
 Closed loop control systems are more accurate even in the presence of non-linearity.
 Highly accurate as any error arising is corrected due to presence of feedback signal.
 Bandwidth range is large.
 Facilitates automation.
 The sensitivity of system may be made small to make system more stable.
 This system is less affected by noise.

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6. List the major advantages and disadvantages of open-loop control systems. (EE2253-May-
June-15)
Advantages of Open Loop Control System
1. Simple in construction and design.
2. Economical.
3. Easy to maintain.
4. Generally stable.
5. Convenient to use as output is difficult to measure.
Disadvantages of Open Loop Control System
1. They are inaccurate.
2. They are unreliable.
3. Any change in output cannot be corrected automatically.

7. What are the characteristics of negative feedback? (EC225-May-June-14)

1. Accuracy in tracking steady-state value
2. Rejection of disturbance signals
3. Low sensitivity to parameter variations
4. Reduction in gain at the expense of better stability

8. Why negative feedback is preferred in control systems? (EE2253-Apr-May-11/May-June-

16) (IC6501-Nov-Dec-16/Apr-May-17)
The negative feedback results in better stability in steady state and rejects any
disturbance signals. It also has low sensitivity to parameter variations. Hence negative
feedback is preferred in closed loop systems.

9. Name any two dynamic models used to represent control systems. (EC2255-May-June-13)
1. Transfer function model
2. State space model
3. Impulse response model

10. Write the force balance equation of ideal dashpot and ideal spring. (EE2253 – Apr-May-15)
Ideal dashpot: 𝑑𝑥
𝑓𝐵 = 𝐵 𝑑𝑡
Ideal spring: 𝑓𝐾 = 𝐾𝑥

11. What are the three basic elements in electrical and mechanical system? (EE2253-Nov-Dec-
10)
Electrical System: Resistor, Inductor and Capacitor
Mechanical translational system: Mass, spring and damper
Mechanical rotational system: Inertia, torsional spring and friction

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12. Define: transfer function. (EE2253-Nov-Dec-15/Apr-May-17/Nov-Dec-15/Apr-May-10)
(EC2255-Nov-Dec-10/Nov-Dec-13)
The transfer function of a system is defined as the ratio of Laplace transform of
output to Laplace transform of input with zero initial conditions. It is also defined as the
Laplace transform of the impulse response of system with zero initial conditions.

13. Find the transfer function of the network given in Fig. 1 (EC6405-Apr-May-15)

𝑌(𝑠) 𝐺1(𝑠)𝐺2(𝑠)
=
𝑋(𝑠) 1 + 𝐺2(𝑠)

14. What are analogous systems? (EE2253-Nov-Dec-15)

Systems whose differential equations are of identical form are called analogous
systems.

15. What is Block diagram? What are its basic components? (EC6405-Nov-Dec-15) (IC6501-
Apr-May-17) (EC2255-Nov-Dec-11)
A block diagram of a system is a pictorial representation of the functions performed
by each component of the system and shows the flow of signals. The basic elements of
block diagram are block, take-off point and summing point.

16. State Mason’s gain formula. (EC6405-Apr-May-15/May-June-16) (EC2255-May-June-

14/Nov-Dec-14/May-June-13) (EE2253-Nov-Dec-11/Nov-Dec-10)
Mason’s gain formula states that the overall gain of the system (transfer function) as
follows, 1
Overall gain, 𝑇 = ∑ 𝑃 ∆
∆ 𝐾 𝐾 𝐾
T = T(s) = Transfer function of the system
K = Number of forward paths in the signal flow graph
PK = Forward path gain of Kth forward path

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 Δ = 1 - [sum of individual loop gains] + [sum of gain products of all possible
combinations of two non-touching loops] - [sum of gain products of all possible
combinations of three non-touching loops] + ...
∆𝐾= ∆ for that part of the graph which is not touching Kth forward path.

17. What are the advantages of signal flow graph method? (EE2253-Apr-May-11)
1. Gains of various forward paths and feedback loops are just the product of
corresponding branch gains. No formula is required for their simplification.
2. The Mason’s Gain formula is available which can be used directly to get resultant
transfer function without reduction of signal flow graph. Thus, signal flow graph
clearly and easily highlights the cause and effect relationship in the system.

18. Define resistance and capacitance of liquid level system. (EC2255-Nov-Dec-13)

The resistance of a liquid level system is defined as the change in the level
difference between the liquid levels of the two tanks necessary to cause a unit change in the
flow rate.
𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑙𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑙 𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑚
𝑅=
𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑚3/𝑠𝑒𝑐

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The capacitance of a liquid level system is defined as the change in the liquid stored in m3 necessary
to cause unit change in head measured in m.
𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑙𝑖𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑑 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑚3
𝐶=
𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑚

19. Write down the transfer function of the system whose block diagram is shown below.
(EC2255-Apr-May-11)

𝐶(𝑠)
= 𝐺1(𝑠) + 𝐺2(𝑠) + 𝐺3(𝑠) − 𝐺4(𝑠)𝐺5(𝑠)
𝑅(𝑠)