UNIT -VI

Dynamic models and analogies, System response. Process Controllers – Digital Controllers,
Programmable Logic Controllers, Design of mechatronics systems & future trends.

Dynamic Models and Analogies

Often, analytical models are used for the design, development, modification and control of a
mechatronics system. A model of component is an idealization of those component properties
in the form of system equations. These are the equations representing the relationship between
the input and the output of a component. A mechatronics system consists of many components
such as mechanical, electrical, fluid and thermal systems. This section explains the basic
concepts associated with the study of mechatronics systems with models. Further, how analytical
component models can be integrated to obtain the overall model of the system is discussed. The
analytical models are needed to understand the behavior of a system.
Mechanical Systems
Mechanical systems are categorized into two groups on the basis of the types of motion:
1. translational mechanical systems;
2. rotational mechanical systems.
The basic forms of the mechanical system building blocks are springs, damper dashpots and
masses. Springs represent the stiffness of a system, dashpots represent the forces opposing the
motion and masses represent the inertia or resistance to acceleration. Newton's second law of
motion can be applied to any mechanical system for modeling.
1. Spring: The force required to stretch a spring (Figure 6.1) to a distance "x" is given by F=
Kx
where K is a constant known as spring stiffness (N/m) and x the displacement. For torsional
spring, T = Kθ, where T is the torque and θ the angular displacement.

Fig. 6.1 Spring

2. Damper: A damper is a mechanical component that provides viscous friction or damping in
the motion control. It consists of a piston and an oil-filled cylinder. A force is experienced
when there is relative motion between the piston rods. The dashpot simply absorbs energy.
The force developed by a viscous damper shown in Figure 6.2 is directly proportional to the
velocity; therefore
Fαv
dx
F=Bv=B
dt
where B is a constant known as damping coefficient.
 Fig. 6.2 Dashpot

3. Mass: The mass of a body is the quantity of matter in it. If a force (F) is applied to a mass M,
then the motion of the mass is given by
F = Ma
where a is the acceleration of the mass (Figure 6.3). Also
2
dv d x
F=M ∨M 2
dt dt
For the torsional system
2
d θ
T =J 2
dt

Fig. 6.3 Mass

Translational Mechanical System

Spring mass damper system A spring mass damper system is shown in Figure 6.4. The system is
fixed at one end, and the mass is supported by a spring and damper. The mass is excited by force
and is free to oscillate. The equation of motion relating the horizontal motion "x" of mass to
applied force can be developed with the help of a free body diagram shown in Figure 6.5.
Note that in this case
Spring force = stiffness x displacement
Inertia force = mass x acceleration
Damping force = damping coefficient x velocity
From free body diagram, sum of forces acting on mass M is
M =f (t)— K x — Bv
dx
¿ f ( t )−Kx−B
dt
 Fig. 6.4 Simple spring mass damper system

Fig. 6.5 Free body diagram

Also
2
d x
Net force applied to mass (inertia force) = mass x acceleration = M 2
dt
Applying Newton's second law of motion, we get
2
d x dx
M 2 =f ( t )−Kx−B
dt dt
2
d x dx
M 2 + B + Kx=f ( t )
dt dt

The above equation is called the differential equation that describes the relationship between input and
output. Taking Laplace transform of Equation, we have
Ms2X(s)+ BsX(s)+ K X(s) = F(s)
The transfer function of the system can therefore be written as
X (s) 1
=
F (s ) M s 2 + Bs+ K
Rotational Mechanical Systems
The rotational mechanical systems are similar to translational mechanical systems. Here, torque
replaces force and displacement replaces translational displacement. The rotational mechanical
system essentially consists of three main components:
1. Torsional spring (Figure 10.39): When a torque T is applied to the free end of the spring,
it causes the spring to twist with an angular displacement θ. The torque T is given by
T =Kt θ
where Kt is the torsional spring stiffness (N m/rad).
 Fig. 6.6 Torsional spring
2. Torsionaldamper: Torsional damper is similar to viscous damper (see Figure 6.7). The
torque required to rotate a damper with an angular velocity w is given by T = Bω where B
is damping coefficient and to the angular velocity, given by dθ/dt. Therefore.
dθ
T =B
dt

Fig. 6.7 Torsional damper

3. Mass: The amount of torque in a rotating body to obtain required acceleration depends on
mass and its distribution about the center of rotation. This is described by a moment of
inertia. If rotor with moment of inertia "J" is accelerated by torque T, then the torque is
given by
T =Jα
where α is the angular acceleration. Therefore,
2
d θ
T =J 2
dt
This is nothing but Newton's second law of motion.
Geared system
Geared system provides a mechanical advantage to the rotational systems. For simple system of
gears shown in Figure 6.8, the relation among torque, angle and number teeth is given by

Consider a simple geared system shown in Figure 6.9. The equation of motion can be written as

Here
Substituting in the above equation, we get

The mechanical impedance is multiplied by n2, for example, Je = Jn2 . Therefore

 Fig. 6.8 Simple geared system

Fig. 6.9 System with gear drive

Electrical Systems
In this section, we will apply the transfer function to the electrical circuits comprising passive
elements. Basically, we will deal with the following passive elements: inductors, capacitors and
resistors. Table 10.2 gives the components and the relationships between voltage and current.
Electrical networks can be analyzed using Kirchhoff's current and voltage laws:
1.Kirchhoff's current law states that the sum of the currents flowing into a junction equals
the sum of the current flowing out of a junction.
2.Kirchhoff's voltage law states that the sum of the voltage input equals the sum of the voltage
drop in any closed loop.
Electromechanical Systems
There are many electromechanical systems such as potentiometers, motors and generators. A very
important electromechanical device is a DC motor that essentially converts an electrical input
signal into a mechanical output signal. The motor basically consists of a coil (stator) and an
armature coil which is free to rotate. The stator coil is located in the magnetic field provided by a
current that passes through the coils. When current flows through an armature coil, the interaction
between fields of armature and the stator causes the motor to turn. In the armature-controlled DC
motor, the speed of the motor is varied by varying the voltage on the armature circuit, and voltage
supply to the field winding is kept constant.
Position Servo Mechanism
A simple servo control system is shown in Figure 6.9.
The required position is set on the input potentiometer. The input is then a voltage proportional
to a required angle. The output is obtained from a similar arrangement where the angular position
is driven by the servo motor. The output is then also a voltage proportional to the output position.
 Fig. 6.9 Position servo mechanism
The transfer function of both power drive and DC servo motor can be written as

Assuming the control gain for the amplifier as K2, the block diagram obtained is shown in
Figure 6.10. Combining two blocks and taking K1 K2K, the open-loop transfer function (Figure
6.11) can be written as

CLTF is given by

Here H(s) = 1, therefore

The CLTF of a position servo motor is a second-order system whose performance depends on the
gain of the loop.

Fig. 6.10 Block diagram

Fig. 6.11 Combining two blocks

Thermal and Fluid Systems
Thermal systems are concerned with the transfer of heat from one body to another, and these
systems are governed by the laws of thermodynamics and heat transfer. Fluid systems, on the
other hand, contain tanks and reservoirs connected through pipes, fittings, valves and flow-
measuring elements. We define two dynamic components here:
1. Resistance
Thermal resistance: This is the change in temperature for a unit change in heat flow rate
and is given by Oi(s
)

K1 K2 K3

Fluid resistance: This is the change in pressure for a unit change in flow rate,

2. Capacitance
Thermal capacitance: This is the measure of an object to store heat, and is related to the rise
in temperature with heat transfer,

where dT/dt is the rate of change in temperature and Q the heat transfer rate.
Fluid capacitance: It relates the pressure head "h" developed and the net tank inflow rate
Q. Fluid capacitance is given by

Thermal and fluid components are analogous to electrical and mechanical system components.
Table 6.1 gives a summary of analogy between physical systems.
Table 6.1 Analogy of physical system

Hydraulic Power System

A hydraulic power system converts the hydraulic pressure into translational or rotational motion.
Figure 6.12 shows a hydraulic system in which an input displacement "x" of spool valve is
translated into an output displacement "y" of the piston rod.
 The movement of spool valve to the right side by "x" enables the hydraulic pressure supply
to result a flow of fluid into the left-hand side of the cylinder. Thereby, a piston rod moves to the
right-hand side. The return oil at the right-hand side of the piston is expelled through the return
port.

Fig. 6.12 Hydraulic power system

The rate of flow of fluid is essentially proportional to input motion of the spool valve:
Q=Kv x
where Kv is the valve constant. The flow rate in the cylinder is given by

where A is the cross-sectional area of cylinder.

Combining above two equations gives the differential equation of a hydraulic system:

The above system can be converted into a feedback device with the modification shown in Figure
6.13, known as the hydraulic servo mechanism.

Fig. 6.13 Hydraulic servo mechanism

Hydraulic servo mechanism is a feedback device to control the piston movement. The opening of a
valve through which the oil enters is set up due to the relative motion between the spool valves of
the sliding sleeve. The discharge of oil through the pressure port is given by
Where Kv is the valve constant. The discharge in the cylinder is given by

Where A is the cross-sectional area of the cylinder.

Combining above two equations,

From the feedback lever geometry

Substituting z value, we get

This is the differential equation of hydraulic servo mechanism

Pneumatic systems
A simple pneumatic system consisting of bellows is shown in Figure 6.14. A pneumatic system
supplies air to the pressure vessel through a pipe line, and resistance to flow is provided by a
constriction.
Let P1 be the air pressure of the source, Po the air pressure in the vessel and C the pneumatic
capacitance. Taking mass balance
Rate of gas storage in vessel = Rate of gas flow

This is the differential equation for a simple pneumatic system.

Static Response
The static response of a system is the steady-state error that a system may exhibit between the
controlled variable and the input. Whenever a system is disturbed, or whenever an input is
applied to a system,
the system will be in disturbed state (transient state) for some time, and later on, it gets
stabilized or attains a steady-state condition.
The difference between the steady-state value and the input value is known as the steady-state
error. It is a measure of the accuracy of a control system.
Steady-State Error for an Open-Loop Control System
From the above definition of steady-state error, the error E(s) for an open-loop control system
shown in Figure 6.14 is given by
 Fig. 6.14 Open-loop system

Also

Substituting C(s) in E(s) we get

From final value theorem, steady-state error is given as

Therefore