Specialty: Electrotechnic

Module: Servo control and regulation

Title: Control Systems

1. Basic terminologies in control system

System: An arrangement or combination of different physical components that are connected

or related together to form an entire unit to achieve a certain objective is called a system.

Control : The meaning of control is to regulate, direct or command a system so that a desired
objective is obtained.
Plant or process: It is defined as the part or component of a system which is to be controlled
or regulated. It is also called as process.

Controller : It is the element of the system itself, or may be external to the system. It controls
the plant or the process.
Input : The applied signal or excitation signal that is applied to a control system to get a
specified output is called input.

Output : It is the actual response obtained from the control system.

Disturbances : The signal that has some adverse effect on the value of the output of a system
is called disturbance. If a disturbance is produced within the system, it is termed as an internal
disturbance; otherwise, it is known as an external disturbance.

A control system: is a system, which provides the desired response by controlling the output.
( It is an amalgamation of different physical elements linked in such a maner so as to regulate,
direct or command itself to obtain a certain objective).

Called as a control system.

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Physical system control system

Automation: The control of a process by automatic means.

Actuator: It is the device that causes the process to provide the output. It is the device that
provides the motive power to the process.

Regulator: The control system where the desired values of the controlled outputs are more or
less fixed and the main problem is to reject disturbance effects.

Servo system: The control system where the outputs are mechanical quantities like
acceleration, velocity or position.

Stability: It is a notion that describes whether the system will be able to follow the input
command. In a non-rigorous sense, a system is said to be unstable if its output is out of control
or increases without bound.

A control system consists of subsystems and processes (or plants) assembled for the purpose
of obtaining a desired output with desired performance, given a specified input. Figure shows
the simple block diagram of a control system:

Here, the control system is represented by a single block. Since, the output is controlled by
varying input, the control system got this name.

2. Classification of Control Systems

Based on some parameters, we can classify the control systems into the following ways:

2.1. Natural control system and Man-made control system:

Natural control system: It is a control system that is created by nature, i.e. solar system,
digestive system of any animal, etc.

Man-made control system: It is a control system that is created by humans, i.e. automobile,
power plants etc.

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2.2. Automatic control system and Combinational control system:

Automatic control system: It is a control system that is made by using basic theories from
mathematics and engineering. This system mainly has sensors, actuators and responders.

Combinational control system: It is a control system that is a combination of natural and man-
made control systems, i.e. driving a car etc.

2.3. Time-variant control system and Time-invariant control system:

Time-variant control system: It is a control system where any one or more parameters of the
control system vary with time i.e. driving a vehicle.

Time-invariant control system: It is a control system where none of its parameters vary with
time i.e. control system made up of inductors, capacitors and resistors only.

2.4. Linear control system and Non-linear control system:

Linear control system: It is a control system that satisfies properties of homogeneity

and additive.
• Homogeneous property: f(x+y)=f(x)+f(y)

• Additive property: f(ax)=af(x)

Non-linear control system: It is a control system that does not satisfy properties of

Homogeneity and additive,i.e. f (x)=x2 : (𝑥! + 𝑥" )" ≠ 𝑥!" + 𝑥"" , (𝛼𝑥)" ≠ 𝛼(𝑥)"

2.5. Continuous time and Discrete-time Control Systems

Continuous-Time control system: It is a control system where performances of all of its

parameters are function of time, i.e. armature type speed control of motor.

Discrete -Time control system: It is a control system where performances of all of its
parameters are function of discrete time i.e. microprocessor type speed control of motor.

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In discrete data control system, if the signal is not continuously varying with time but it is in
the form of pulses, the controlled system is called discrete data control system.

It is of two types

1. Sampled
2. Digital

If the signal is in the form of pulse data, the system is called a sampled data control system. The
sampled form is shown in the below-drawn diagram.

If the signal is in the form of digital code, the system is called a digital control system.

2.6. Deterministic control system and Stochastic control system:

Deterministic control system: It is a control system where its output is predictable or repetitive
for certain input signal or disturbance signal.

Stochastic control system: It is a control system where its output is unpredictable or non-
repetitive for certain input signal or disturbance signal.

2.7. Lumped-parameter control system and Distributed-parameter control system:

Lumped-parameter control system: It is a control system where its mathematical model is
represented by ordinary differential equations.

Distributed-parameter control system: It is a control system where its mathematical model

is represented by an electrical network that is a combination of resistors, inductors and
capacitors.

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2.8. SISO and MIMO Control Systems

Control Systems can be classified as SISO control systems and MIMO control systems based
on the number of inputs and outputs present.

SISO (Single Input and Single Output) control systems have one input and one output. For
example, a position control system has only one input (a desired position) and only one output
(actual output position). Whereas, MIMO (Multiple Inputs and Multiple Outputs) control
systems have more than one input and more than one output.

2.9. Open Loop and Closed Loop Control Systems

Open-loop control system: It is a control system where its control action only depends on
input signal and does not depend on its output response.

Closed-loop control system: It is a control system where its control action depends on both of
its input signal and output response.

3. Open-loop control system

• Output is not fed-back to the input. So, the control action is independent of the desired
output.

block diagram of the open loop control system

Here, an input is applied to a controller and it produces an actuating signal or controlling signal.
This signal is given as an input to a plant or process which is to be controlled. So, the plant
produces an output, which is controlled.

3.1 Example 1: Automatic toaster system

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3.2 Traffic light controller

4. Closed-loop control system

The error detector produces an error signal, which is the difference between the input and the
feedback signal. This feedback signal is obtained from the block (feedback elements) by
considering the output of the overall system as an input to this block. Instead of the direct input,
the error signal is applied as an input to a controller.

So, the controller produces an actuating signal which controls the plant. In this combination,
the output of the control system is adjusted automatically till we get the desired response.
Hence, the closed loop control systems are also called the automatic control systems. Traffic
lights control system having sensor at the input is an example of a closed loop control system.

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The differences between the open loop and the closed loop control systems are mentioned in
the following table.

If either the output or some part of the output is returned to the input side and utilized as part
of the system input, then it is known as feedback. Feedback plays an important role in order
to improve the performance of the control systems. In this chapter, let us discuss the types of
feedback & effects of feedback.