ENG331 Control Systems 1 (University of Tasmania) 1

ENG331 - Control Systems 1

Design report (20%)

2. A compressed file containing MATLAB scripts called “ENG331 Simulation Files” is available to
assist with drawing the figures and simulating the system.

3. Ensure you are able to run the MATLAB scripts on your computer. Note that this script can run
from a few seconds to several hours depending on your system resources and parameter
settings. Carefully consider these before setting forth.

4. It is highly unlikely that students will develop exactly similar systems, please ensure you work
on your own as it will prepare you for the exam.

5. Ensure you upload your document by the due date in PDF format.

System Explanation:
The block diagram of your control system is given in figure 1 below. The transfer functions G1(s) and
G2(s) are unknown, but you can set H1(s), H2(s) and O1(s) to be anything.

Figure 1: System diagram

Your task is to determine and set the functions H1(s), H2(s) and O1(s), such that the output of the system,
C(s), matches your design requirements.
ENG331 Control Systems 1 (University of Tasmania) 2

Report Requirements:
Your report must be a maximum of 2 pages. You can attach your completed table 1 as an appendix
which does not count towards the page limit.

Design Requirements:
Your final system output must meet the following design requirements under a unit step input:

• Zero steady state error.

Guidance and Hints:

1. Estimate the open loop poles for the plant G2(s). Conduct analysis to verify your estimates.
Hint: Poles and zeros respond differently based on the inputs provided. All open loop poles
are located within {pi} ϵ ℝ, |pi|< 5 and at most 1-digit decimal. Plant G2(s) is an overdamped
second order system with strong poles located in close proximity of each other.

2. Design a controller H2(s) that will reduce the effect of the closed loop poles of G2(s) has on
the system’s output response. Explain and prove that your design is working as intended.
Hint: Consider what the ‘reducing the effect’ of G2(s) will have on the output. H2(s) is in the
feedback path, hence you cannot cancel out any poles in the closed loop system. Solve a
generic transfer function of G2(s) and H2(s) and observe the placement of each numerator
and denominator in the transfer function.

3. After removing the effects of the closed loop poles G2(s), you are now able to control/observe
the response generated by plant G1(s). The controller H1(s) = K, with K = 0.001 (default).
Investigate and report how the value of K affects the system.
Hint: which values induce overdamped, undamped, underdamped, critically damped
responses (if any)? Is the system stable? Keep in mind that this may affect your design of
H2(s), and you will need to keep track of the closed loop poles of G2(s).

4. Increase your system gain until there is a persistent oscillation on the stable natural response
produced by plant G1(s) (undamped response). Derive all relevant parameters of the
oscillation and design a cascade controller H1(s) will mitigate this effect.
Hint: The oscillation is caused by a complex conjugate pair of closed loop poles that should be
near the jω-axis. Keep in mind, that the position of this pair moves with changes to the
cascade controller H1(s) and that H1(s) may affect other designs done previously. You want to
attract this pole pair and mitigate their effects with H1(s). This will inherently affect your
forward gain. If you are struggling with this section, please raise it in a tutorial session.

5. Augment the cascade controller to H1(s) to allow for the output of your system C(s), to match
the design requirements while retaining previous effects. Experiment and propose three
different controllers to meet requirements and provide all information and results of these
controllers in Table 1. Include a figure in your report directly comparing the outputs of all
three controllers via a plot with all system outputs on the same axis.
ENG331 Control Systems 1 (University of Tasmania) 1

Table 1: Results of proposed designs

Uncompensated System after removing New proposed system New proposed system New proposed system
Metric
Original system Oscillations 1 2 3
H1(s)

H2(s)

O1(s)

ωn

%OS

Ts

Tp

e(∞)

Other metrics

Notable system
improvement