Linear Feedback Controls: The Essentials

The design of control systems is at the very core of engineering. Feedback controls are ubiquitous, ranging from simple room thermostats to airplane engine control. Helping to make sense of this wide-ranging field, this book provides a new approach by keeping a tight focus on the essentials with a limited, yet consistent set of examples. Analysis and design methods are explained in terms of theory and practice. The book covers classical, linear feedback controls, and linear approximations are used when needed. In parallel, the book covers time-discrete (digital) control systems and juxtaposes time-continuous and time-discrete treatment when needed. One chapter covers the industry-standard PID control, and one chapter provides several design examples with proposed solutions to commonly encountered design problems.

The book is ideal for upper level students in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, biological/biomedical engineering, chemical engineering and agricultural and environmental engineering and provides a helpful refresher or introduction for graduate students and professionals

Focuses on the essentials of control fundamentals, system analysis, mathematical description and modeling, and control design to guide the readerIllustrates the theory and practical application for each point using real-world examplesStrands weave throughout the book, allowing the reader to understand clearly the use and limits of different analysis and design tools

1. Introduction to Linear Feedback Controls 2. Systems and Signals 3. Solving Differential Equations in the Laplace Domain 4. Time-Discrete Systems 5. Two-Point Control Systems 6. First Comprehensive Example:The Temperature-Controlled Waterbath 7. Laplace-and z-Domain Description of theWater bath Example 8. Block Diagrams:Formal Graphical Description of Linear Systems  9. Linearization of Nonlinear Components 10. A Tale of Two Poles:The Positioner Example and the Significance of the Poles in the s-Plane 11. Stability Analysis  12. Frequency-Domain Analysis and Design Methods 13. The Root Locus Method  14. The PID Controller 15. Design Examples