CONTROL SYSTEMS TERMINOLOGY

Introduction

1. BLOCK DIAGRAMS: FUNDAMENTALS

2. BLOCK DIAGRAMS OF CONTINUOUS (ANALOG)
FEEDBACK CONTROL SYSTEMS
3. TERMINOLOGY OF THE CLOSED-LOOP BLOCK DIAGRAM
4. BLOCK DIAGRAMS OF DISCRETE-TIME (SAMPLED-DATA,
DIGITAL) COMPONENTS, CONTROL SYSTEMS, AND
COMPUTER-CONTROLLED SYSTEMS
5. SUPPLEMENTARY TERMINOLOGY
6. SERVOMECHANISMS
7. REGULATORS
BLOCK DIAGRAMS: FUNDAMENTALS

A BLOCK DIAGRAM is a shorthand,

pictorial representation of the cause-and-
effect relationship between the input and
output of a physical system.
It provides a convenient and useful method for characterizing
the functional relationships among the various components
of a control system.
BLOCK DIAGRAMS: FUNDAMENTALS
System components are alternatively called elements
of the system. The simplest form of the block diagram is
the single block, with one input and one output, as
shown in Fig. 2-1.

The interior of the rectangle usually contains a description

of the element, or the symbol for the mathematical
operation to be performed on the input to yield the output.
The arrows represent the direction of information or signal
flow.
BLOCK DIAGRAMS: FUNDAMENTALS
BLOCK DIAGRAMS: FUNDAMENTALS
The operations of addition and subtraction have
a special representation. The block becomes a
small circle, called a summing point, with the
appropriate plus or minus sign associated with the
arrows entering the circle.

The output is the algebraic sum of the inputs. Any

number of inputs may enter a summing point.
BLOCK DIAGRAMS OF CONTINUOUS
(ANALOG) FEEDBACK CONTROL
SYSTEMS
The blocks representing the various components
of a control system are connected in a fashion
which characterizes their functional relationships
within the system.
The basic configuration of a simple closed-loop
(feedback) control system with a single input and
a single output (abbreviated SISO) is illustrated in
Fig. 2-6 for a system with continuous signals only.
BLOCK DIAGRAMS OF CONTINUOUS
(ANALOG) FEEDBACK CONTROL
SYSTEMS

For example, the major source of energy for the

thermostatically controlled furnace is often
chemical, from burning fuel oil, coal, or gas. But
this energy source would not appear in the
closed control loop of the system.
TERMINOLOGY OF THE CLOSED-LOOP
BLOCK DIAGRAM

Lowercase letters are used to represent the input

and output variables of each element as well as
the symbols for the blocks g1, g2, and h.
TERMINOLOGY OF THE CLOSED-LOOP
BLOCK DIAGRAM

1. Plant (or process, or controlled system) g2 is

the system, subsystem, process, or object
controlled by the feedback control system.
2. Controlled output c is the output variable of
the plant, under the control of the feedback
control system.
3. Forward path is the transmission path from
the summing point to the controlled output c.
TERMINOLOGY OF THE CLOSED-LOOP
BLOCK DIAGRAM

4. Feedforward (control) elements g, are the

components of the forward path that generate
the control signal U or m applied to the plant.
Note: Feedforward elements typically include
controller(s), compensator(s) (or equalization
elements), and/or amplifiers.
5. Control signal u (or manipulated variable m)
is the output signal of the feedforward
elements g, applied as input to the plant g2.
6. Feedback path is the transmission path from
the controlled output c back to the summing
point.
TERMINOLOGY OF THE CLOSED-LOOP
BLOCK DIAGRAM

7. Feedback elements h establish the functional

relationship between the controlled output c
and the primary feedback signal b.
Note: Feedback elements typically include
sensors of the controlled output c,
compensators, and/or controller element s.
8. Reference input r is an external signal applied
to the feedback control system, usually at the
first summing point, in order to command a
specified action of the plant. It usually
represents ideal (or desired) plant output
behavior.
TERMINOLOGY OF THE CLOSED-LOOP
BLOCK DIAGRAM

9. Primary feedback signal b is a function of the

controlled output c, algebraically summed
with the reference input r to obtain the
actuating (error) signal e, that is, r b = e.
Note: An open-loop system has no primary
feedback signal.
10. Actuating (or error) signal is the reference
input signal r plus or minus the primary
feedback signal b. The control action is
generated by the actuating (error) signal in a
feedback control system. Note: In an open-
loop system, the actuating signal is equal to r.
BLOCK DIAGRAMS OF DISCRETE-TIME
CONTROL SYSTEMS, AND
COMPUTER-CONTROLLED SYSTEMS
A discrete system component (or components) with
discrete-time input u( tk) and discrete-time output
y(tk) signals, where t, are discrete instants of time,
k = 1,2,. . . , etc., may be represented by a block
diagram, as shown in Fig. 2-7.
BLOCK DIAGRAMS OF DISCRETE-TIME
CONTROL SYSTEMS, AND
COMPUTER-CONTROLLED SYSTEMS
A sampler is a device that converts a continuous-
time signal, say u(t), into a discrete-time signal,
denoted u*(t), consisting of a sequence of values of
the signal at the instants t1, t2, . . . , that is, u(t1),
u(t2), . . ., etc.
BLOCK DIAGRAMS OF DISCRETE-TIME
CONTROL SYSTEMS, AND
COMPUTER-CONTROLLED SYSTEMS
BLOCK DIAGRAMS OF DISCRETE-TIME
CONTROL SYSTEMS, AND
COMPUTER-CONTROLLED SYSTEMS
A hold, or data hold, device is one that converts
the discrete-time output of a sampler into a
particular kind of continuous-time or analog signal.
BLOCK DIAGRAMS OF DISCRETE-TIME
CONTROL SYSTEMS, AND
COMPUTER-CONTROLLED SYSTEMS
A zero-order hold (or simple hold) is one that maintains
(i.e., holds) the value of u(tk) constant until the next sampling
time tk+1, as shown in Fig. 2-11.
Note that the output yHO(t) of the zero-order hold is ontinuous,
except at the sampling times.
This type of signal is called a piecewise-continuous signal.

BLOCK DIAGRAMS OF DISCRETE-TIME

CONTROL SYSTEMS, AND
COMPUTER-CONTROLLED SYSTEMS
An analog-to-digital (A/D) converter is a device
that converts an analog or continuous signal into a
discrete or digital signal.
A digital-to-analog (D/A) converter is a device that
converts a discrete or digital signal into a
continuous-time or analog signal.
BLOCK DIAGRAMS OF DISCRETE-TIME
CONTROL SYSTEMS, AND
COMPUTER-CONTROLLED SYSTEMS
Digital computers or microprocessors are often used to control
continuous plants or processes.
A/D and D/A converters are typically required in such applications,
to convert signals from the plant to digital signals, and to convert the
digital signal from the computer into a control signal for the analog
plant.
The joint operation of these elements is usually synchronized by a
clock and the resulting controller is sometimes called a digital filter.
BLOCK DIAGRAMS OF DISCRETE-TIME
CONTROL SYSTEMS, AND
COMPUTER-CONTROLLED SYSTEMS
A computer-controlled system includes a
computer as the primary control element.
The most common computer-controlled systems
have digital computers controlling analog or
continuous processes. In this case, A/D and D/A
converters are needed, as illustrated in Fig. 2-14.
SUPPLEMENTARY TERMINOLOGY
A transducer is a device that converts one energy
form into another.
For example, one of the most common
transducers in control systems applications is the
potentiometer, which converts mechanical position
into an electrical voltage (Fig. 2-15).
SUPPLEMENTARY TERMINOLOGY
The command v is an input signal, usually equal to
the reference input r. But when the energy form of
the command v is not the same as that of the
primary feedback b, a transducer is required
between the command v and the reference input r
as shown in Fig. 2-16(a).
SUPPLEMENTARY TERMINOLOGY
The command v is an input signal, usually equal to
the reference input r. But when the energy form of
the command v is not the same as that of the
primary feedback b, a transducer is required
between the command v and the reference input r
as shown in Fig. 2-16(a).
SUPPLEMENTARY TERMINOLOGY
When the feedback element consists of a transducer, and a
transducer is required at the input, that part of the control system
illustrated in Fig. 2-16(b) is called the error detector.

1. Stimulus, or test input, is any externally (exogenously)

introduced input signal affecting the controlled output c.
Note: The reference input r is an example of a stimulus, but it is not the
only kind of stimulus.
2. A disturbance n (or noise input) is an undesired stimulus or
input signal affecting the value of the controlled output c. It
may enter the plant with u or m, as shown in the block
diagram of Fig. 2-6, or at the first summing point, or via
another intermediate point.
3. The time response of a system, subsystem, or element is the
output as a function of time, usually following application of a
prescribed input under specified operating conditions.
4. A multivariable system is one with more than one input
(multiinput, MI-), more than one output (multioutput, -MO), or
both (multiinput-multioutput, MIMO).
SUPPLEMENTARY TERMINOLOGY
5. The term Controller in a feedback control
system is often associated with the elements of
the forward path, between the actuating (error)
signal e and the control variable U. But it also
sometimes includes the summing point, the
feedback elements, or both, and some authors
use the term controller and compensator
synonymously. The context should eliminate
ambiguity.

The following five definitions are examples of

control laws, or control algorithms.
SUPPLEMENTARY TERMINOLOGY

6. The term Controller in a feedback control

system is often associated with the elements of
the forward path, between the actuating (error)
signal e and the control variable U. But it also
sometimes includes the summing point, the
feedback elements, or both, and some authors
use the term controller and compensator
synonymously. The context should eliminate
ambiguity.