1.Course goals

As an important course for students majoring in Automation, the goals of the course Principle of Automatic Control Systems are as follows. After complete this course, students will be able to master the basic methods of analysis and design of automatic control systems, including the modeling of the physical systems, analyzing and designing of the control system using time-domain and frequency domain methods. 

2.Course topics 

Chapter1 Introduction

The students should understand the contents of automatic control theory and its classification, master the basic components for feedback control structure as well as the typical testing signals usually used in control systems. 

Chapter2 Mathematical models of control systems

The students should master three basic mathematical models used to describe a control system, which are differential equation, block diagram and signal flow chart. Starting from block diagram the students could find the gains of the system using Mason Gain Formula.

Chapter3 Modelling of physical systems

The students should understand the two modeling methods of physical systems, i.e. the modeling through experiment and theoretical modeling respectively. The students should master the features of the two modeling methods. The students should know how to assess the established model and determine the effective work region of the model. The students should understand how to use a linear model to approximate nonlinear physical system around certain working points, at which the nonlinear model is linearized. Therefore the theory of this course could be used to control the work behavior of the control system at the working point.

Chapter 4 Time domain analysis of the control systems 

The students should master 

(1) Routh array and the Routh stability criterion

(2) method to find the parameters for the critical stability of the system

(3) concepts of the steady state error and steady state error constants as well as their calculation methods

(4) method to calculate steady state errors aroused by disturbances and the method to attenuate the influence of the disturbances

(5) conditions under which the higher order system can be simplified to be the second order system and the simplification method.

Chapter5 Root locus method 

The students should master the method to plot the root locus and could analyze the characteristics of the control system using root locus.

Chapter6 Frequency domain analysis of the control systems 

The students should master: 

(1) the definition and the features of the frequency response

(2) the method to get the frequency response from experiment and transfer function

(3) the method to plot the Nyquist diagram and Bode diagram

(4) Nyquist criterion of stability

(5) definition of minimum phase system and its characteristics

(6) the method to find the steady state error from bode diagram

(7) definition of gain margin and the phase margin and their physical meaning

(8) method to get the margins from Nyquist diagram and bode diagram.

Chapter7 Compensation of the control systems

The students should master: 

(1) the relationship between the time domain and frequency domain specifications

(2) phase lead compensation and its influence on the system dynamics

(3) phase lag compensation and its influence on the system dynamics.

(4) Phase lead-lag compensation and its influence on the system dynamics