ECE 157A Control Systems DESIGN PROJECTS
Submit only hand-sketched plots. Look at the MATLAB plots, use MATLAB to calculate crucial points,
and then draw your own.
Use correct labeling of axes. We dock points if the axes are not labeled.
We consider the following standard unity-feedback system configuration in all design projects:
R E Y
- - C(s) - P (s) -
+
6
−
Figure 1: Unity-Feedback System
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ECE 157A Control Systems DESIGN PROJECTS
DESIGN PROJECT 1 140 points:
Consider the plant transfer function
10
P (s) =
(s + 1)(s + 9)
Design Objectives:
i) The closed-loop system is stable.
ii) The percent overshoot of the unit-step response of y(t) does not exceed P O = 15% .
iii) The steady-state error ess = r(t)−yss due to a unit-step reference input r(t) = 1(t) is as small as possible.
Design 1) Let the controller be a constant, i.e., let C(s) = K. Propose a value for the controller that
satisfies the three design objectives and answer the following questions:
1) 5 points: What is the closed-loop transfer function (in terms of K)?
2) 5 points: What is the range of K for closed-loop stability?
3) 10 points: What is the range of K for design objective (ii)?
4) 10 points: What is the range of K for design objective (iii)?
5) 15 points: Pick a K value that satisfies all three objectives. Find the closed-loop poles, the steady-state
error, and the percent overshoot for the value of K you chose.
6) 10 points: Sketch the closed-loop step-response for the K value you picked. You can use MATLAB for
help with this plot.
Design 2) Now consider a dynamic controller
K
C(s) = .
s + 90
This is a trial-and-error design with the following steps:
1) 5 points: What is the closed-loop transfer function?
2) 15 points: What is the range of K for closed-loop stability?
3) 20 points: Find the value K = Km so that the closed-loop poles are on the jω-axis. Is the closed-loop
system stable for Km ? What are the closed-loop poles? Sketch the closed-loop step-response. You can use
MATLAB for help with this plot, i.e., MATLAB can be helpful to find some critical values, which you then
use in your hand-sketch.
4) 15 points: To narrow down the range of K, now try K = Km /2 . Find the closed-loop poles (you can
use MATLAB to find the roots). Estimate the (approximate) percent overshoot based on the dominant
pair of closed-loop poles. Then find the actual P O using MATLAB and note the discrepancy between the
approximation based on the dominant pair of poles.
5) 20 points: Now try different K values. Based on the previous step, do we need a larger or smaller value
of K than K = Km /2 ? Repeat (4) until you satisfy the design objectives. Propose a final K value. You
can tabulate the values for about four of the K values you tried. Sketch the closed-loop step-response for
your final design.
10 points: Final Comparison: Briefly explain the design trade-offs between design objectives (ii) and (iii).
Compare Design 1 and Design 2 in terms of how well they satisfy the objectives.
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ECE 157A Control Systems DESIGN PROJECTS
K value yss ymax closed-loop poles ξ estimated PO actual PO
chosen (computed) (MATLAB) (MATLAB) of dominant (MATLAB)
pole-pair
Km
Km /2
another K
another K
K
final design