MANMOHAN TECHNICAL

UNIVERSITY

CONTROL SYSTEM COMPONENTS

UNIT 1: THE GENERAL CONCEPT OF

CONTROL SYSTEM
By
Er. Madhav Prasad Nagarkoti
Visiting Faculty
CONTENTS

• Introduction
• Representation of control system
• Types of control system
• Working of servomechanism
• Task of control engineers
INTRODUCTION

• The control system is very important for all

engineers.
• The first significant control device was James Watt’s
Fly ball Governor.
• This was invented in 1767 to keep the speed of the
engine constant by regulating the supply of the
steam to the engine.
• In control system, the behaviour of the system is
described by the differential equations.
INTRODUCTION

• Control is the device or mechanism installed or

instituted to guide or regulate the activities or
operation of an apparatus, machine, person, or
system.
• A control system is a system of devices or set of
devices, that manages, commands, directs or
regulates the behavior of other device(s) or
system(s) to achieve desired results. In other words,
a control system is a system, which controls other
system.
• For examples, a refrigerator, an air conditioner, an
automatic iron, an automobile etc.
REPRESENTATION OF CONTROL
SYSTEM WITH BLOCK DIAGRAM
 REPRESENTATION OF CONTROL
SYSTEM WITH BLOCK DIAGRAM
Control system consists of following components:
- Actuator
- Controller
- Sensor
- Error detector
• Actuator:
An actuator is a type of motor that is responsible for
moving or controlling a mechanism or system.
It is operated by a source of energy, typically electric
current, hydraulic fluid pressure, or pneumatic pressure
and converts that energy into motion.
An actuator is the mechanism by which a control system
acts upon an environment.
 REPRESENTATION OF CONTROL
SYSTEM WITH BLOCK DIAGRAM
• Controller:
A controller is a device, historically using
mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic or electronic
techniques often in combination, but more recently
in the form of microprocessor or computer, which
monitors and physically alters the operating
conditions of a given dynamical system.
The controller receives the difference between the
reference set point and the measured output and
generates a control action to make the error to
zero.
The generated control action manipulates the
process variable closer to set point.
 REPRESENTATION OF CONTROL
SYSTEM WITH BLOCK DIAGRAM
• Sensor:
A sensor is device that detects and responds to some
type of input from the physical environment.
The specific input could be light, heat, moisture, motion,
pressure, or anyone of great number of other
environmental phenomena.
The output is generally a signal that is converted to
human-readable display at the sensor location or
transmitted electronically over a network for reading or
further processing.
• Error Detector:
Error detector is a device which compares two
signals(reference signal and output signal) and
produces an error signal.
 TYPES OF CONTROL SYSTEM

• Open loop control system and Closed loop control

system
• Analog control system and Digital control system
 OPEN LOOP CONTROL SYSTEM

• The open loop control system is also known as control

system without feedback.
• In open loop system, the control action is independent
of the desired output.
• In this system, the output is not compared with the
reference input.
• The components of open loop control system are
controller and plant.
• The controller may be amplifier, filter etc. depends upon
the system.
• An input is applied to the controller and the output of
the controller gives to the plant and we get the desired
output.
 OPEN LOOP CONTROL SYSTEM

• Examples: Automatic washing machine, immersion rod, a

field control dc motor, automatic control of traffic etc.
• Advantages:
- Simple design and easy to construct
- Economical
- Easy for maintenance
- Highly stable operation
• Disadvantages:
- open loop system are inaccurate.
- these are not reliable.
- These are slow.
- Recalibration of the parameters are required time to time.
 CLOSED LOOP CONTROL SYSTEM

• Closed loop control system are also known as feedback

control systems.
• In closed loop control system, the control action is dependent
on the desired output.
• If any system having one or more feedback paths forming a
closed loop system.
• In closed loop control system, the output is compared with the
reference input and error signal is produced.
• The error signal is fed to the controller to reduce the error and
desired output is obtained.
 CLOSED LOOP CONTROL SYSTEM
• Examples: Automatic electric iron, air conditioners, speed
control of dc motor, voltage stabilizer, turbine water control
system at power station etc.
• Advantages:
- these systems are more reliable.
- close loop systems are faster.
- a number of variables can be handled simultaneously.
- optimization is possible.
- there is facility of automation
- time to time recalibration of the parameters are not
required.
• Disadvantages:
- closed loop systems are expensive.
- maintenance is difficult.
- complicated installation
COMPARISON BETWEEN OPEN-LOOP AND CLOSED-
LOOP CONTROL SYSTEMS
 ANALOG CONTROL SYSTEM

• Analog control system is also known as continuous

time control system.
• In this system, all the variables are continuous signals.
• Whether the system is linear or nonlinear, all variables
are continuously present and therefore known
(available) at all times.
 ANALOG CONTROL SYSTEM

• In this system, noise, interference and distortion is

comparatively more.
• Power efficiency is comparatively less (because of
continuous signals).
• Storage, analysis and processing of data is a bit
complicated.
• They are less used.
• Examples: Speed control, voltage control etc.
 DIGITAL CONTROL SYSTEM

• In a digital control system, the control algorithm is

implemented in a digital computer.
• The error signal is discretized and fed to the computer
by using an A/D (analog to digital) converter. The
controller output is again a discrete signal which is
applied to the plant after using a D/A (digital to analog)
converter.
• Digital control systems deals with binary or discrete
signals having values 1 or 0.
 DIGITAL CONTROL SYSTEM

• Noise, interference and distortion is comparatively

less in case of digital control systems.
• Power efficiency is more.
• Storage, analysis and processing of data is easy
and convenient.
• They are widely used as they are easy to handle
and operate.
• Examples: Autopilot systems
WORKING OF SERVOMECHANISMS
 WORKING OF SERVOMECHANISMS
• A servo system primarily consists of three basic
components – a controlled device, a output sensor, a
feedback system.
• This is an automatic closed loop control system. Here
instead of controlling a device by applying the variable
input signal, the device is controlled by a feedback
signal generated by comparing output signal and
reference input signal.
• When reference input signal or command signal is
applied to the system, it is compared with output
reference signal of the system produced by output
sensor, and a third signal is produced by a feedback
system. This third signal acts as an input signal of
controlled device.
 WORKING OF SERVOMECHANISMS

• This input signal to the device presents as long as there is a

logical difference between reference input signal and the
output signal of the system.
• After the device achieves its desired output, there will be no
longer the logical difference between reference input
signal and reference output signal of the system. Then, the
third signal produced by comparing theses above said
signals will not remain enough to operate the device further
and to produce a further output of the system until the next
reference input signal or command signal is applied to the
system.
• Hence, the primary task of a servomechanism is to maintain
the output of a system at the desired value in the presence
of disturbances.
WORKING OF SERVOMOTOR
 WORKING OF SERVOMOTOR
• A servo motor is basically a DC motor (in some special cases it
is AC motor) along with some other special purpose
components that make a DC motor a servo.
• In a servo unit, we will find a small DC motor, a potentiometer,
gear arrangement and an intelligent circuitry.
• The intelligent circuitry along with the potentiometer makes
the servo to rotate according to our wishes.
• As we know, a small DC motor will rotate with high speed but
the torque generated by its rotation will not be enough to
move even a light load.
• This is where the gear system inside a servomechanism comes
into the picture. The gear mechanism will take high input
speed of the motor (fast) and at the output, we will get an
output speed which is slower than original input speed but
more practical and widely applicable.
 WORKING OF SERVOMOTOR
• Say at the initial position of servo motor shaft, the position
of the potentiometer knob is such that there is no electrical
signal generated at the output port of the potentiometer.
• This output port of the potentiometer is connected with
one of the input terminals of the error detector amplifier.
Now an electrical signal is given to another input terminal
of the error detector amplifier.
• Now difference between these two signals, one comes
from potentiometer and another comes from external
source, will be amplified in the error detector amplifier and
feeds the DC motor.
• This amplified error signal acts as the input power of the DC
motor and the motor starts rotating in desired direction.
• As the motor shaft progresses the potentiometer knob also
rotates as it is coupled with motor shaft with help of gear
arrangement.
 WORKING OF SERVOMOTOR
• As the position of the potentiometer knob changes there
will be an electrical signal produced at the potentiometer
port.
• As the angular position of the potentiometer knob
progresses the output or feedback signal increases.
• After desired angular position of motor shaft the
potentiometer knob is reaches at such position the
electrical signal generated in the potentiometer becomes
same as of external electrical signal given to amplifier.
• At this condition, there will be no output signal from the
amplifier to the motor input as there is no difference
between external applied signal and the signal generated
at potentiometer. As the input signal to the motor is nil at
that position, the motor stops rotating. This is how a simple
conceptual servo motor works.
TASKS OF CONTROL ENGINEER
TASKS OF CONTROL ENGINEER
TASKS OF CONTROL ENGINEER