Cairo University Control System Dynamics

Faculty of Engineering MDPN 372

Mechanical Engineering Program Spring 2021

Problem Set 4

Problem 1
Determine the rise time, settling time and maximum percentage overshoot due to step input for
each of the following systems. Plot the time response using Matlab and determine the time
response characteristics.

R(s) + 1 C(s)
10
- (0.1𝑠 + 1))
a)

20

R(s) + 10 C(s)
0.1
- (𝑠 2 + 2𝑠 + 10)
b)

4s

R(s) + 20 C(s)
5
c) - 𝑠(𝑠 + 5)

Problem 2
The time step of a first order control system to a unit step is shown figure 1. Identify the transfer
function of the system.

Figure 1

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Problem 3
The time step of a second order control system to a unit step is shown in figure 2. Identify the
transfer function of the system.

Figure 2

Problem 4
The block diagram in figure 3 illustrates a simple servo system.
For the amplifier gain K = 10, determine the values of the feedback controller gains ‘𝑎’ and ‘𝑏’
that give an overshoot of 16% and a natural frequency of 10 rad/s during the system response
to a step input.
If the value of ‘𝐾’ is decreased slightly, how does this affect the damping ratio of the system?

R(s) + 1 C(s)
𝐾
- 𝑠2

𝑏 + 𝑎𝑠
Figure 3

Problem 5
Check the stability of the systems having the following characteristic equations. Determine the
number of roots which are in the right half of the s-plane in each case. Check the roots using
Matlab.
a) 𝑠 3 + 20𝑠 2 + 9𝑠 + 100 = 0
b) 𝑠 3 + 20𝑠 2 + 9𝑠 + 200 = 0
c) 𝑠 4 + 2𝑠 3 + 6𝑠 2 + 8𝑠 + 8 = 0
d) 3𝑠 4 + 10𝑠 2 + 5𝑠 2 + 8𝑠 + 8 = 0
e) 𝑠 6 + 2𝑠 5 + 8𝑠 4 + 12𝑠 3 + 20𝑠 2 + 16𝑠 + 16 = 0

Problem 6
The characteristic equations for some feedback control systems are given bellow. Determine
the values of ‘K’ for which the system in each case is stable.
a) 𝑠 4 + 22𝑠 3 + 10𝑠 2 + 2𝑠 + 𝐾 = 0

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 b) 𝑠 4 + 20𝐾𝑠 3 + (10 + 𝐾)𝑠 + 15 = 0
c) 𝑠 3 + (𝐾 + 0.5)𝑠 2 + 4𝐾𝑠 + 50 = 0

Problem 7
The open loop transfer function of a unity feedback control system is in the form,
𝐾(1 + 𝑇𝑠)2
𝐺(𝑠)𝐻(𝑠) = 3
𝑠 (1 + 𝑠)

Determine the conditions for stability of the system. Plot the region in which the closed-loop
system is stable.

Problem 8
For each of the following unity feedback control systems whose open loop transfer function is
given, what are the suitable values of the gain ‘K’ that will make the steady state system error
less than 0.5% for step input, less than 1% for ramp input and less than 5% for parabolic input?

𝐾
a) 𝐺(𝑠) =
𝑠(𝑠 + 1)(𝑠 + 3)
𝐾(𝑠 + 20)
b) 𝐺(𝑠) = 2
𝑠 (𝑠 + 10)(𝑠 + 50)
𝐾
c) 𝐺(𝑠) =
(𝑠 + 5)(𝑠 + 12)
𝐾(𝑠 + 10)
d) 𝐺(𝑠) =
𝑠(𝑠 + 5)(𝑠 + 30)(𝑠 + 40)

Problem 9
A linear proportional servomechanism has an equivalent moment of inertia of 7.5 𝐾𝑔𝑚2 and
damping coefficient of 58 𝑁𝑚𝑠/𝑟𝑎𝑑, and its motor gives a torque of 350 𝑁𝑚/𝑟𝑎𝑑 of error as
illustrated in the block diagram in figure 4. It was observed that the steady state error due to
ramp input is relatively large.
To reduce this error to one tenth of its original value, the motor constant is changed and a
derivative controller of transfer function ‘1 + 𝑇𝑠’ is added to provide the original degree of
damping. Find the new constant of the motor and the time constant of the derivative controller.

R(s) + 𝐾 C(s)
- 𝐽𝑠 2 + 𝐶𝑠

Figure 4

Problem 10
Figure 5 shows the block diagram of a position control system incorporating integral control
‘1 + 1⁄𝑇𝑠’ and velocity feedback ‘𝐾𝑡 𝑠’. Determine the closed loop transfer function of the
system, and by means of Routh stability criterion, state the condition of stability.
If 𝐽 = 2 𝐾𝑔𝑚2 , 𝐶 = 28 𝑁𝑚𝑠/𝑟𝑎𝑑 and 𝐾 = 450 𝑁𝑚/𝑟𝑎𝑑 find the value of ‘𝐾𝑡 ’ which will
raise the damping ratio to its critical value, when there is no integral control.

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Find the value of ‘T’ at which the system becomes just unstable and the frequency of
oscillations.

R(s) + + + 𝐾 C(s)
1 K 2
- + - 𝐽𝑠 + 𝐶𝑠

1
𝑇𝑠 𝐾𝑡 𝑠

PI Control Rate Feedback Control

Figure 5

Problem 11
For the system shown in figure 6, derive the sensitivity of the steady-state error for changes in
‘K1’ and ‘K2’. Compute the sensitivity functions for K1 = 100 and K2 = 0.1. Using Matlab,
simulate the system response and track the response variation with the parameters change.
Assume step inputs for both the input and disturbance.

D(s)
R(s) + + 𝐾2 C(s)
𝐾1
- + (𝑠 + 3)

(𝑠 + 1)

Figure 6

Problem 12
The open-loop transfer function of a unity feedback control system is given by,
𝐾(𝑠 + 5)(𝑠 + 40)
𝐺𝐻(𝑠) = 3
𝑠 (𝑠 + 200)(𝑠 + 1000)

Discuss the stability of the closed-loop system as a function of ‘K’. Determine the values of ‘K’
which will cause sustained output oscillations of the closed loop system. What are the
frequencies of oscillations?
Model problem using Simulink and use it to verify your solution.
[Hint: You may use a unit step input in your Simulink model and observe the nature of the
output for stable, unstable, or sustained oscillations].

Problem 13
The mechanical system shown in figure 7 is displaced using the solenoid. The system is
controlled through the potentiometer ‘kp1’ movement ‘x’. A feedback signal is obtained from
the potentiometer ‘kp2’ to determine the mass position. Write the equations of this system and
obtain the system transfer function between the system input ‘x’ and the mass displacement ‘y’
using the block diagram reduction technique.
Simulate the system response for a unit step input:

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a) Using inverse Laplace b) Using SIMULINK
What are your comments on the obtained response?
kp1 = kp2 = 50 V/m, ka = 10, R = 2 Ω, L = 0.01 H, ks = 20 N/A,
m = 3 kg, c = 50 Ns/m, k = 400 N/m
𝑦
𝐿 𝑅 𝑘
𝑥 Mass
Amplifier 𝑘𝑠
𝑚 Viscous
𝑘𝑎 friction
𝑘𝑝1 𝑐
𝑘𝑝2

Figure 7

Problem 14
The vehicle shown in figure 8 is a Solar Powered Mars Rover. The block diagram of the motion
control mechanism is illustrated in figure 9. You are required to,
a) Plot the system sensitivity to the gain ‘K’ for tracking the control signal ‘R(s)’ and rejecting
the disturbance ‘D(s)’.
b) Model the control system using Simulink. (Use a unit step for input and a random signal
source of variance 0.05 for the disturbance)
c) Make several trials to determine a suitable value for the gain ‘K’ that will satisfy all the
following conditions:
• Max percentage overshoot less than 20%
• Settling time less than 3 seconds.
• Negligible disturbance effect.
• Steady state error due to step input less than 10%

Figure 8

D(s)
R(s) + + 1 C(s)
𝐾
- + (𝑠 + 1)(𝑠 + 3)

Rover Dynamics

Figure 9

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