AED 401: GROUP AIRCRAFT DESIGN PROJECT (3 Units; C; LH 30; PH 90)

Outcomes: At the end of the course the following intended outcomes are to be achieved:

1. Students should be able to identify requirements capture for intended designs.

2. Students should be able to generate and evaluate their own design concepts
3. Students should be able to design and fabricate
4. Student should be able to know the design control Software
5. Students should understand the concept of Testing and Debugging
6. Students should be able to document their designs and results.

Identifying Problem Requirements, In this guide, student will learn:

how to define problem solving in the context of design, the adaptive model and the
innovative model of problem solving, the five steps in the creative problem-solving process,
the design thinking process, and the lean process methodology.

In design thinking, you can identify problem requirements by defining a problem statement
during the Define stage. The goal is to understand the exact problems so that you can find
the best solutions. Once you’ve identified an opportunity, what happens next?

Designers or Engineers employ problem solving and need recognition techniques to carry
the idea forward, to solve issues that arise as the system advances. Problem solving is
essential to the genesis of design. At the same time, problem-solving techniques can be
used in managing the design to the end and in the designer’s everyday personal life.

One way to help designers clearly define and outline a problem is to create human-centric
problem statements. A problem statement helps frame a problem in a way that provides
relevant context in an easy to comprehend way.

What is problem solving?

Engineers’ problem solving is the process of using innovation and creative solutions to close
that gap by resolving societal, business, or technological problems. Sometimes, personal
problems can lead to opportunities if validated in the market. The engineer visualizes the
prospect of filling the gap with an innovative solution that might entail the revision of a
product or the creation of an entirely new product. In any case, the aircraft designers
approach the problem-solving process in various ways.

Before getting into the heart of this question, we need to make a distinction:

Decision making is different from problem solving

A decision is needed to continue or smooth a process affecting the operation of a firm. It can
be intuitive or might require research and a long period of consideration. Problem solving,
however, is more direct. It entails the solution of some problem where a gap exists between
a current state and a desired state. Engineers are problem solvers who offer solutions using
creativity or innovative ventures that exploit opportunities.

Two Problem Solving Models: Adaptive and Innovative

There are two prominent established problem-solving models: adaptive and

innovative.

 The first and more conservative approach an engineer may use to solve problems is
the adaptive model. The adaptive model seeks solutions for problems in ways that
are tested and known to be effective. An adaptive model accepts the problem
definition and is concerned with resolving problems rather than finding them. This
approach seeks greater efficiency while aiming at continuity and stability.

 The second and more creative approach is the innovative model of engineer problem
solving, which uses techniques that are unknown to the market and that bring
advantage to an organization.

What does innovative problem-solving style does?

An innovative problem-solving style challenges the problem definition, discovers problems

and avenues for their solutions, and questions existing assumptions—in a nutshell, it does
things differently. It uses outside-the-box thinking and searches for novel solutions. Novelty
is a shared trait of creative engineer, and it is why engineers gravitate toward this method of
problem solving.

Problem-Solving Skills

While identifying problems is a necessary part of the origin of the engineering process,
managing problems is an entirely different aspect once a venture is off the ground and
running. An engineer does not have the luxury of avoiding problems and is often responsible
for all problem solving in a startup or other form of business. There are certain skills that
engineers possess that make them particularly good problem solvers.

 Critical Thinking: Critical thinking is the complex analysis of a problem or issue with
the goal of solving the problem or making a decision. The engineer analyzes and
peels away the layers of a problem to find the core of an issue facing a business. The
designer focuses on the heart of the problem and responds reasonably and openly to
 suggestions for solving it. Critical thinking is not only important for developing aircraft
design ideas: it is a sought-after asset in education and employment.

 Communication: Communication skills, the ability to communicate messages

effectively to an intended recipient, are the skills engineers use to pool resources for
the purposes of investigating solutions leading to innovative problem solving and
competitive advantage. Good communication allows for the free association of ideas
between entrepreneurs and businesses. It can illustrate a problem area or a shared
vision, and seeks stakeholder buy-in from various constituencies. Networking and
communication within an industry allow the entrepreneur to recognize the position of
an enterprise in the market and work toward verbalizing solutions that move an
organization beyond its current state. By “verbalizing,” we mean communication from
and with the company/entity. Internal communications include company emails,
newsletters, presentations, and reports that can set strategic goals and objectives,
and report on what has been accomplished and what goals and objectives remain, so
that employees within an organization are knowledgeable and can work on solving
problems that remain within the organization. External communications could include
press releases, blogs and websites, social media, public speeches, and
presentations that explain the company’s solutions to problems. They could also be
investor pitches complete with business plans and financial projections.

 Decisiveness: Decisiveness is as it sounds: the ability to make a quick, effective

decision, not letting too much time go by in the process. Entrepreneurs must be
productive, even in the face of risk. They often rely on intuition as well as on hard
facts in making a choice. They ask what problem needs to be solved, think about
solutions, and then consider the means necessary to implement an idea. And the
decisions must be informed with research.

 Ability to Analyze Data: Data analysis is the process of analyzing data and modeling
it into a structure that leads to innovative conclusions. It is one thing to amass
information and statistics; it is another to make sense of that data, to use it to fill a
market need or forecast a trend to come. Successful founders know how to pose
questions about and make meaning out of information. And if they can’t do that
themselves, they know how to bring in experts who can.

 Understanding of Business and Industry: Entrepreneurs need a sound understanding

of markets and industries. Oftentimes, they are already working in a large
organization when they see growth opportunities or inefficiencies in a market. The
employee gains a deep understanding of the industry at hand. If the employee
 considers a possible solution for a problem, this solution might become the basis for
a new business.

 Resourcefulness: Resourcefulness is the ability to discover clever solutions to

obstacles. Entrepreneurs start thinking about a business venture or startup by talking
to people and procuring experts to help create, fund, and begin a business.
Entrepreneurs are risk takers, passionate about new endeavors.

Types of Problem Solvers

Engineers have an insatiable appetite for problem solving. This drive motivates them to find
a resolution when a gap in a product or service occurs. They recognize opportunities and
take advantage of them. There are several types of engineer problem solvers, including self-
regulators, theorists, and petitioners.

 Self-Regulating Problem Solvers: Self-regulating problem solvers are autonomous

and work on their own without external influence. They have the ability to see a
problem, visualize a possible solution to the problem, and seek to devise a solution.
The solution may be a risk, but a self-regulating problem solver will recognize,
evaluate, and mitigate the risk.

 Theorist Problem Solvers: Theorist problem solvers see a problem and begin to
consider a path toward solving the problem using a theory. Theorist problem solvers
are process oriented and systematic. While managers may start with a problem and
focus on an outcome with little consideration of a means to an end, entrepreneurs
may see a problem and begin to build a path with what is known, a theory, toward an
outcome. That is, the entrepreneur proceeds through the steps to solve the problem
and then builds on the successes, rejects the failures, and works toward the outcome
by experimenting and building on known results. At this point, the problem solver may
not know the outcome, but a solution will arise as experiments toward a solution
occur.

 Petitioner Problem Solvers: Petitioner problem solvers see a problem and ask others
for solution ideas. This entrepreneur likes to consult a person who has “been there
and done that.” The petitioner might also prefer to solve the problem in a team
environment. Petitioning the entrepreneurial team for input ensures that the
entrepreneur is on a consensus-driven path. This type of problem solving takes the
longest to complete because the entrepreneur must engage in a democratic process
that allows all members on the team to have input. The process involves exploration
of alternatives for the ultimate solution. In organizational decision-making, for
 example, comprehensiveness is a measure of the extent a firm attempt to be
inclusive or exhaustive in its decision-making. Comprehensiveness can be gauged
by the number of scheduled meetings, the process by which information is sought,
the process by which input is obtained from external sources, the number of
employees involved, the use of specialized consultants and the functional expertise
of the people involved, the years of historical data review, and the assignment of
primary responsibility, among other factors. Comprehensive decision-making would
be an example of a petitioner problem-solving style, as it seeks input from a vast
number of team members.

 The Steps of the Creative Problem-Solving Process

 Creativity can be an important trait of an entgineer. Here, we will look in more depth
at creativity’s role in problem solving. Let’s first formally define creativity as the
development of original ideas to solve an issue. The intent of being an engineer is to
break away from practical norms and use imagination to embrace quick and effective
solutions to an existing problem, usually outside the corporate environment.
 Training oneself to think like an engineer means learning the steps to evaluating a
challenge: clarify, ideate, develop, implement, and evaluate.

Step 1: Clarify

To clarify is the critical step of recognizing the existence of a gap between the current state
and a desired state. This can also be thought of as having need awareness, which occurs
when the engineer notes a gap between societal or customer needs and actual
circumstances. Clarifying the problem by speaking with clients and developing a detailed
description of the problem brings the specifics of a problem to light. Failure to identify the
specifics of a problem leaves the engineer with the impossible task of solving a ghost
problem, a problem that is fully unknown or unseen. To establish and maintain credibility, an
engineer must clarify the problem by focusing on solving the problem itself, rather than
solving a symptom of the problem.

Step 2: Ideate

To ideate is the step of the creative problem-solving process that involves generating and
detailing ideas by the engineer. After collecting all information relevant to the problem, the
engineer lists as many causes of the problem as possible. This is the step in which the
largest variety of ideas are put forth. Each idea must be evaluated for feasibility and cost as
a solution to the problem.

Step 3: Develop

To develop is the step in which the engineer takes the list of ideas generated and tests each
solution for feasibility. The entrepreneur must consider the cost of each idea and the
obstacles to implementation.

Step 4: Implement

To implement is the step in which the solution to the problem is tested and evaluated. The
engineer walks through the planned implementation with the client and tests each part of the
solution, if a service, or thoroughly tests a developed good. The entrepreneur implements
the solution and goes through a structured system of follow-up to ensure the solution
remains effective and viable.

Step 5: Evaluate

To evaluate is the step in which the final solution is assessed. This is a very important step
that engineers often overlook. Any fallacy in the implementation of the product or service is
reassessed, and new solutions are implemented. A continual testing process may be needed
to find the final solution.

Using Creativity to Solve Problems

Entrepreneurs are faced with solving many problems as they develop their ideas for filling
gaps, whether those opportunities involve establishing a new company or starting a new
enterprise within an existing company. Some of these problems include staffing, hiring and
managing employees, handling legal compliance, funding, marketing, and paying taxes.
Beyond the mundane activities listed, the engineer, or the team that the engineer puts in
place, is indispensable in maintaining the ongoing creativity behind the product line or
service offered. Innovation and creativity in the business are necessary to expand the
product line or develop a groundbreaking service.

It is not necessary for the engineer to feel isolated when it comes to finding creative
solutions to a problem. There are societies, tools, and new methods available to spur the
creativity of the engineer that will further support the success and expansion of a new
enterprise. Learning and using engineering methods to solve problems alleviates the stress
many startup owners feel. The engineer’s creativity will increase using collaborative
methodologies.
  Some engineering collaborative methodologies include crowdsourcing,
brainstorming, storyboarding, conducting quick online surveys to test ideas and
concepts, and team creativity activities.

Crowdsourcing

Crowdsourcing involves teams of amateurs and non-experts working together to form

a solution to a problem. The idea is to tap into the collective intelligence of the public at
large to complete business-related tasks that a company would normally either perform itself
or outsource to a third-party provider. Yet free labor is only a narrow part of crowdsourcing’s
appeal. More importantly, it enables managers to expand the size of their talent pool while
also gaining deeper insight into what customers really want.

Brainstorming

Brainstorming is the generation of ideas in an environment free of judgment or

dissension with the goal of creating solutions. Brainstorming is meant to stimulate
participants into thinking about problem solving in a new way. Using a multifunctional group,
meaning participants come from different departments and with different skill sets, gives
entrepreneurs and support teams a genuine chance to suggest and actualize ideas. The
group works together to refine and prototype potential solutions to a problem.

Storyboarding

Storyboarding is the process of presenting an idea in a step-by-step graphic

format. This tool is useful when the entrepreneur is attempting to visualize a solution to a
problem. The steps to the solution of a problem are sketched and hung in graphic format.
Once the original graphic is placed, images of steps working toward a solution are added,
subtracted, and rearranged on a continual basis, until the ultimate solution emerges in the
ultimate graphic format. For many years, entrepreneurs have used this process to create a
pre-visual for various media sequences.

Team Creativity

Team creativity is the process whereby an entrepreneur works with a team to create
an unexpected solution for an issue or challenge. Teams progress through the same
creative problem-solving process described already: clarify, ideate, develop, implement, and
evaluate. The main advantage of team creativity is the collaboration and support members
receive from one another. Great teams trust in other team members, have diverse members
with diverse points of view, are cohesive, and have chemistry.

What is design thinking?

Design thinking is a method to focus the design and development decisions of a
product on the needs of the customer, typically involving an empathy-driven process
to define complex problems and create solutions that address those problems. A
common core of design thinking is its application beyond the design studio, as the methods
and tools have been articulated for use by those outside of the field, particularly business
managers. Design practice is now being applied beyond product and graphic areas to the
design of digital interactions, services, business strategy, and social policy.

Design Thinking Process

One design thinking approach is human-centered design (HCD). HCD, as the name
suggests, focuses on people during design and development. This is the definition of design
thinking. Inspiration for ideas comes from exploration of actual people, their needs and
problems.

 Three spaces—inspiration, ideation, and implementation—compose the design

thinking process. The process uses “spaces” and not “phases” because multiple
spaces can happen simultaneously.

HCD emphasizes the following spaces of the design thinking process:

 Empathizing: As illustrated by the human-centered approach, it is important to have

empathy for the problem you are attempting to solve.

 Defining: This aspect involves describing the core problem(s) that you and your team
have identified. Asking “how might we?” questions helps narrow the focus, as the
ultimate aim here is to identify a problem statement that illustrates the problem you
want to tackle.

 Ideating: This is where you begin to come up with ideas that address the problem
“space” you have defined.

 Prototyping: In this space, the entrepreneur creates and tests inexpensive, scaled-
down versions of a product with features or benefits that serve as solutions for
previously identified problems. This could be tested internally among employees, a
process known as dogfooding, or externally with potential customers. This is an
experimental phase.

 Testing: Designers apply rigorous tests of the complete product using the best
solutions identified in the prototyping space.
A little research into everyday activities, is usually a very good starting point. One way of
identifying a potential design problem, is to make a list of the things you do or see
throughout the day. You could even photograph potential design problems you see.

What is the lean process methodology?

The lean process is a systematic method for the maximizing of continuous

improvement and the minimization of surplus or unused material in the production of
a process. The engineer begins the startup with a sense the original product will be the
product carrying the organization to success in the long term. In most cases, the good or
service will require modification to maintain a process, technology, or up-to-date product
offering.

Lean problem solving means the entrepreneur’s entire team scans both the company’s
internal and external environments for continuous improvement and methods for bringing
additional revenue to the startup by cost improvement processes that promote sustainable
value.

 The external environment encompasses customers, industry trends, and competition.

 The internal environment comprises the factors inside the enterprise, such as
employees, and internal practices and processes.
Lean Problem-Solving Process

The lean problem-solving process is a cycle of observation, assessment, and continual

evaluation.

1. Clarify the problem.

2. Analyze the problem.

3. Set targets.

4. Identify root causes. Asking, “Why?” repeatedly can narrow down the factors to a root
cause.

5. Develop countermeasures by asking, “What is the specific change we want to

make?” and involving others in the problem-solving process.

6. Implement the countermeasures and see them through.

7. Monitor results.

8. Standardize processes that succeed. Lean problem solving is about learning more
about the problem itself and its deep causes in context.

Lean Problem-Solving Phases

Observation is the phase in which the entrepreneur studies the challenge and notes all
facets of the challenge requiring solution. In this phase, the entrepreneur asks questions and
conducts research about the change needed for a successful product, outcome, or service.
The entrepreneurs must determine why the change is needed. What is the purpose of the
endeavor? Feedback is extremely important in this phase.

After the observation of the problem comes assessment, the phase in which the
entrepreneur experiments and analyzes the potential process and its capabilities. The
entrepreneur leverages creative tools and resources to arrive at a solution and assesses
each step of a possible solution. Each step must add value to the solution, or that step in the
solution is unnecessary. In addition, the step must be capable of solving the issue and add
flexibility to the solution. How is the process or product being improved? In this phase, a
prototype of the product is developed and delivered. The entrepreneur must ask the
customer if all needs and wants are satisfied with the prototype. If the prototype is being
developed for mass production, surveying customers about potential sales is essential. In
the school lunch example, the school system would have been the customer of the new food
menu (prototype) in the assessment phase.
Evaluation is the phase in which behaviors are analyzed to assess success. The engineer
continually studies each phase of the solution to observe the effectiveness of outcomes
desired by the client. The engineer ensures that transformation is built into the habits of the
school to obtain, maintain, and develop the desired outcomes.

Generating and Evaluating Design Concepts

Generating and evaluating design concepts involves the use of system approaches. These
are system models utilized for the purpose of having conceptual designs from preliminary,
detail designs, development, implementation (integration), validation and testing (evaluation)
Design and Fabrication, Design Control Software
In Simulink, it is very straightforward to represent and then simulate a mathematical model
representing a physical system. Models are represented graphically in Simulink as block
diagrams. A wide array of blocks are available to the user in provided libraries for
representing various phenomena and models in a range of formats. One of the primary
advantages of employing Simulink (and simulation in general) for the analysis of dynamic
systems is that it allows us to quickly analyze the response of complicated systems that may
be prohibitively difficult to analyze analytically. Simulink is able to numerically approximate
the solutions to mathematical models that we are unable to, or don't wish to, solve "by
hand."

In general, the mathematical equations representing a given system that serve as the basis
for a Simulink model can be derived from physical laws. In this page we will demonstrate
how to derive a mathematical model and then implement that model in Simulink. This model
is then employed in the Introduction: Simulink Control page in order to demonstrate how to
employ Simulink to design and simulate the control for a system.

Simulink Basics Tutorial

Simulink is a graphical extension to MATLAB for modeling and simulation of systems. One of
the main advantages of Simulink is the ability to model a nonlinear system, which a transfer
function is unable to do. Another advantage of Simulink is the ability to take on initial
conditions. When a transfer function is built, the initial conditions are assumed to be zero.

Contents

 Starting Simulink

 Model Files

 Basic Elements

 Simple Example

 Running Simulations

 Building Systems
In Simulink, systems are drawn on screen as block diagrams. Many elements of block
diagrams are available, such as transfer functions, summing junctions, etc., as well as virtual
input and output devices such as function generators and oscilloscopes. Simulink is
integrated with MATLAB and data can be easily transfered between the programs. In these
tutorials, we will apply Simulink to the examples from the MATLAB tutorials to model the
systems, build controllers, and simulate the systems. Simulink is supported on Unix,
Macintosh, and Windows environments; and is included in the student version of MATLAB
for personal computers. For more information on Simulink, please visit
the MathWorks home.

The idea behind these tutorials is that you can view them in one window while running
Simulink in another window. System model files can be downloaded from the tutorials and
opened in Simulink. You will modify and extend these system while learning to use Simulink
for system modeling, control, and simulation. Do not confuse the windows, icons, and menus
in the tutorials for your actual Simulink windows. Most images in these tutorials are not live -
they simply display what you should see in your own Simulink windows. All Simulink
operations should be done in your Simulink windows.

Starting Simulink

Simulink is started from the MATLAB command prompt by entering the following command:

simulink

Alternatively, you can hit the Simulink button at the top of the MATLAB window as shown
here:

When it starts, Simulink brings up a single window, entitled Simulink Start Page which can
be seen here.
Once you click on Blank Model, a new window will appear as shown below.

Model Files
In Simulink, a model is a collection of blocks which, in general, represents a system. In
addition to creating a model from scratch, previously saved model files can be loaded either
from the File menu or from the MATLAB command prompt. As an example, download the
following model file by right-clicking on the following link and saving the file in the directory
you are running MATLAB from.

[Link]

Open this file in Simulink by entering the following command in the MATLAB command
window. (Alternatively, you can load this file using the Open option in the File menu in
Simulink, or by hitting Ctrl-O in Simulink).

simple

The following model window should appear.

A new model can be created by selecting New from the File menu in any Simulink window
(or by hitting Ctrl-N).

Basic Elements

There are two major classes of items in Simulink: blocks and lines. Blocks are used to
generate, modify, combine, output, and display signals. Lines are used to transfer signals
from one block to another.
Blocks

There are several general classes of blocks within the Simulink library:

 Sources: used to generate various signals

 Sinks: used to output or display signals

 Continuous: continuous-time system elements (transfer functions, state-space

models, PID controllers, etc.)

 Discrete: linear, discrete-time system elements (discrete transfer functions, discrete

state-space models, etc.)

 Math Operations: contains many common math operations (gain, sum, product,
absolute value, etc.)

 Ports & Subsystems: contains useful blocks to build a system

Blocks have zero to several input terminals and zero to several output terminals. Unused
input terminals are indicated by a small open triangle. Unused output terminals are indicated
by a small triangular point. The block shown below has an unused input terminal on the left
and an unused output terminal on the right.

Lines

Lines transmit signals in the direction indicated by the arrow. Lines must always transmit
signals from the output terminal of one block to the input terminal of another block. On
exception to this is a line can tap off of another line, splitting the signal to each of two
destination blocks, as shown below (right-click here and then select Save link as ... to
download the model file called [Link]).
Lines can never inject a signal into another line; lines must be combined through the use of a
block such as a summing junction.

A signal can be either a scalar signal or a vector signal. For Single-Input, Single-Output
(SISO) systems, scalar signals are generally used. For Multi-Input, Multi-Output (MIMO)
systems, vector signals are often used, consisting of two or more scalar signals. The lines
used to transmit scalar and vector signals are identical. The type of signal carried by a line is
determined by the blocks on either end of the line.

Simple Example
The simple model consists of three blocks: Step, Transfer Function, and Scope. The Step is
a Source block from which a step input signal originates. This signal is transferred through
the line in the direction indicated by the arrow to the Transfer Function Continuous block.
The Transfer Function block modifies its input signal and outputs a new signal on a line to
the Scope. The Scope is a Sink block used to display a signal much like an oscilloscope.

There are many more types of blocks available in Simulink, some of which will be discussed
later. Right now, we will examine just the three we have used in the simple model.

Modifying Blocks

A block can be modified by double-clicking on it. For example, if you double-click on

the Transfer Function block in the Simple model, you will see the following dialog box.
This dialog box contains fields for the numerator and the denominator of the block's transfer
function. By entering a vector containing the coefficients of the desired numerator or
denominator polynomial, the desired transfer function can be entered. For example, to
change the denominator to

(1)

enter the following into the denominator field

[1 2 4]

and hit the close button, the model window will change to the following,
which reflects the change in the denominator of the transfer function.

The Step block can also be double-clicked, bringing up the following dialog box.
The default parameters in this dialog box generate a step function occurring at time = 1 sec,
from an initial level of zero to a level of 1 (in other words, a unit step at t = 1). Each of these
parameters can be changed. Close this dialog before continuing.

The most complicated of these three blocks in the Scope block. Double-clicking on this
brings up a blank oscilloscope screen.
When a simulation is performed, the signal which feeds into the scope will be displayed in
this window. Detailed operation of the scope will not be covered in this tutorial.

Running Simulations

To run a simulation, we will work with the following model file:

[Link] (right-click and then select Save link as ...)

Download and open this file in Simulink following the previous instructions for this file. You
should see the following model window.
Before running a simulation of this system, first open the scope window by double-clicking
on the scope block. Then, to start the simulation, either select Run from
the Simulation menu, click the Play button at the top of the screen, or hit Ctrl-T.
The simulation should run very quickly and the scope window will appear as shown below.

Note that the step response does not begin until t = 1. This can be changed by double-
clicking on the step block. Now, we will change the parameters of the system and simulate
the system again. Double-click on the Transfer Function block in the model window and
change the denominator to:

[1 20 400]

Re-run the simulation (hit Ctrl-T) and you should see the following in the scope window.
Since the new transfer function has a very fast response, it compressed into a very narrow
part of the scope window. This is not really a problem with the scope, but with the simulation
itself. Simulink simulated the system for a full ten seconds even though the system had
reached steady state shortly after one second.

To correct this, you need to change the parameters of the simulation itself. In the model
window, select Model Configuration Parameters from the Simulation menu. You will see
the following dialog box.
There are many simulation parameter options; we will only be concerned with the start and
stop times, which tell Simulink over what time period to perform the simulation. Change Start
time from 0.0 to 0.8 (since the step doesn't occur until t = 1.0). Change Stop time from 10.0
to 2.0, which should be only shortly after the system settles. Close the dialog box and rerun
the simulation. Now, the scope window should provide a much better display of the step
response as shown below.
Building Systems

In this section, you will learn how to build systems in Simulink using the building blocks in
Simulink's Block Libraries. You will build the following system.
If you would like to download the completed model, right-click here and then select Save
link as ....

First, you will gather all of the necessary blocks from the block libraries. Then you will modify
the blocks so they correspond to the blocks in the desired model. Finally, you will connect
the blocks with lines to form the complete system. After this, you will simulate the complete
system to verify that it works.

Gathering Blocks

Follow the steps below to collect the necessary blocks:

 Create a new model (New from the File menu or hit Ctrl-N). You will get a blank
model window.

 Click on the Tools tab and then select Library Browser.

 Then click on the Sources listing in the Simulink library browser.

 This will bring up the Sources block library. Sources are used to generate signals.
 Drag the Step block from the Sources window into the left side of your model
window.
 Click on the Math Operations listing in the main Simulink window.

 From this library, drag a Sum and Gain block into the model window and place them
to the right of the Step block in that order.

 Click on the Continuous listing in the main Simulink window.

 First, from this library, drag a PID Controller block into the model window and place it
to the right of the Gain block.

 From the same library, drag a Transfer Function block into the model window and
place it to the right of the PID Controller block.

 Click on the Sinks listing in the main Simulink window.

 Drag the Scope block into the right side of the model window.
Modify Blocks

Follow these steps to properly modify the blocks in your model.

 Double-click on the Sum block. Since you will want the second input to be
subtracted, enter +- into the list of signs field. Close the dialog box.

 Double-click the Gain block. Change the gain to 2.5 and close the dialog box.

 Double-click the PID Controller block and change the Proportional gain to 1 and the
Integral gain to 2. Close the dialog box.

 Double-click the Transfer Function block. Leave the numerator [1], but change the
denominator to [1 2 4]. Close the dialog box. The model should appear as:
 Change the name of the PID Controller block to PI Controller by double-clicking on
the word PID Controller.

 Similarly, change the name of the Transfer Function block to Plant. Now, all the
blocks are entered properly. Your model should appear as:
Connecting Blocks with Lines

Now that the blocks are properly laid out, you will now connect them together. Follow these
steps.

 Drag the mouse from the output terminal of the Step block to the positive input of
the Sum input. Another option is to click on the Step block and then Ctrl-Click on
the Sum block to connect the two togther. You should see the following.
 The resulting line should have a filled arrowhead. If the arrowhead is open and red,
as shown below, it means it is not connected to anything.

 You can continue the partial line you just drew by treating the open arrowhead as an
output terminal and drawing just as before. Alternatively, if you want to redraw the
 line, or if the line connected to the wrong terminal, you should delete the line and
redraw it. To delete a line (or any other object), simply click on it to select it, and hit
the delete key.

 Draw a line connecting the Sum block output to the Gain input. Also draw a line from
the Gain to the PI Controller, a line from the PI Controller to the Plant, and a line from
the Plant to the Scope. You should now have the following.

 The line remaining to be drawn is the feedback signal connecting the output of
the Plant to the negative input of the Sum block. This line is different in two ways.
First, since this line loops around and does not simply follow the shortest (right-
angled) route so it needs to be drawn in several stages. Second, there is no output
terminal to start from, so the line has to tap off of an existing line.

 Drag a line off the negative portion of the Sum block straight down and release the
mouse so the line is incomplete. From the endpoint of this line, click and drag to the
line between the Plant and the Scope. The model should now appear as follows.
 Finally, labels will be placed in the model to identify the signals. To place a label
anywhere in the model, double-click at the point you want the label to be. Start by
double-clicking above the line leading from the Step block. You will get a blank text
box with an editing cursor as shown below.
  Type an r in this box, labeling the reference signal and click outside it to end editing.

 Label the error (e) signal, the control (u) signal, and the output (y) signal in the same
manner. Your final model should appear as:

To save your model, select Save As in the File menu and type in any desired model name.
The completed model can be downloaded by right-clicking here and then selecting Save link
as ....

Simulation

Now that the model is complete, you can simulate the model. Select Run from
the Simulation menu to run the simulation. Double-click on the _Scope_block to view its
output and you should see the following:
Taking Variables from MATLAB

In some cases, parameters, such as gain, may be calculated in MATLAB to be used in a

Simulink model. If this is the case, it is not necessary to enter the result of the MATLAB
calculation directly into Simulink. For example, suppose we calculated the gain in MATLAB
in the variable K. Emulate this by entering the following command at the MATLAB command
prompt.

K = 2.5

This variable can now be used in the Simulink Gain block. In your Simulink model, double-
click on the Gain block and enter the following the Gain field.

K
Close this dialog box. Notice now that the Gain block in the Simulink model shows the
variable K rather than a number.

Now, you can re-run the simulation and view the output on the Scope. The result should be
the same as before.
Now, if any calculations are done in MATLAB to change any of the variables used in the
Simulink model, the simulation will use the new values the next time it is run. To try this, in
MATLAB, change the gain, K, by entering the following at the command prompt.

K=5

Start the Simulink simulation again and open the Scope window. You will see the following
output which reflects the new, higher gain.
Besides variables and signals, even entire systems can be exchanged between MATLAB
and Simulink.

Testing and Debugging of Systems.

Documentation of Design and Results.