Course syllabus for Control theory

The course syllabus contains changes
See changes

Course syllabus adopted 2024-01-23 by Head of Programme (or corresponding).

Overview

  • Swedish nameReglerteknik
  • CodeERE103
  • Credits7.5 Credits
  • OwnerTKDAT
  • Education cycleFirst-cycle
  • Main field of studyElectrical Engineering
  • DepartmentELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
  • GradingTH - Pass with distinction (5), Pass with credit (4), Pass (3), Fail

Course round 1

  • Teaching language Swedish
  • Application code 49120
  • Block schedule
  • Open for exchange studentsNo
  • Only students with the course round in the programme overview.

Credit distribution

0115 Laboratory 3 c
Grading: UG		 3 c
0215 Examination 4.5 c
Grading: TH		 4.5 c
  • 17 Jan 2025 pm J
  • 14 Apr 2025 pm J
  • 21 Aug 2025 am J

In programmes

Examiner

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Eligibility

General entry requirements for bachelor's level (first cycle)
Applicants enrolled in a programme at Chalmers where the course is included in the study programme are exempted from fulfilling the requirements above.

Specific entry requirements

The same as for the programme that owns the course.
Applicants enrolled in a programme at Chalmers where the course is included in the study programme are exempted from fulfilling the requirements above.

Course specific prerequisites

Basic concepts of mathematics that must be mastered before the start of the course are:
- Complex numbers
- Linear algebra
- Taylor series
- Ordinary differential equations
- Laplace transform
It is also presumed that the student has knowledge of the basic physical relations necessary to set up the energy, power and material balances.

Aim

Many technical systems are controlled by feedback actions based on measurements; a controller uses information in the measurements about the state of the system to affect the system according to stated requirements.

The purpose of this course is to introduce the fundamental concepts in the field of automatic control and to provide basic methods for design of control systems. The course widens the students perspective of technical systems and gives them an understanding of the interaction between mechanical, electrical, computer and control engineering. These insights are necessary in order to improve and develop new products that offer new functionality and increased performance.

After completion of this course the student will have basic knowledge in control engineering analysis and design methods required to systematically solve basic control problems.

Learning outcomes (after completion of the course the student should be able to)

  • explain the function of a control system, and describe its potentials and limitations;define the concepts of feedback and feed-forward;
  • formulate dynamic models for basic technical systems, on state space as well as transfer function form;
  • linearize nonlinear models;
  • analyze the properties of linear systems in the time and frequency domain and transform between their different model representations;
  • sketch the frequency response in a Bode diagram and interpret frequency curves in a Bode or Nyquist diagram;
  • design common filters depending on the desired frequency response;
  • apply the Nyquist criterion to decide the stability of a feedback system;
  • analyze a control system using sensitivity functions, and to understand the possibilities, limitations and conflicts in a feedback system, and how this is connected to the system's loop transfer function;
  • design P, PI, and PID controllers satisfying given specifications;
  • understand and explain alternative design structures like feed-forward, cascade and state feedback control;
  • implement simple controllers by computer, and understand the concepts of sampling and aliasing;
  • use modern computer tools to support the analysis, design and evaluation of dynamic systems.

Content

Introduction: Examples of control problems, dynamic systems, open and closed loop control, compensation of disturbances, servo functions, treatment of parameter variations.

Dynamic models: Transfer functions, block diagrams, transient and frequency analysis, Bode plots. Principles of construction of dynamic models for technical systems. Special attention is paid to similarities between systems from completely different technical areas. State models, linearisation and simulation.

Analysis of feedback systems: Stability, the Nyquist criterion, stability margins, sensitivity and robustness with respect to parameter uncertainties and non-modelled dynamics. Performance and accuracy, transient and stationary performances, specification in the time and frequency domains.

Design of control systems and filters: Fundamental principles of controller design, possibilities and limitations depending on interference between different frequency areas. Design of PI and PID controllers, cascade control feedforward and state feedback control.

Implementation: Digital implementation based on analogue design, handling control signal limitations.

Hand-in assignments: Design, tuning and implementation of controllers for real processes.

Organisation

Lectures and problem sessions.
Hand-in assignments (mandatory).

Literature

Refer to the course homepage.

Examination including compulsory elements

Written exam (U, 3, 4, 5) and approved assignments, where the final grade of the course is determined by the exam grade.

The course examiner may assess individual students in other ways than what is stated above if there are special reasons for doing so, for example if a student has a decision from Chalmers on educational support due to disability.

The course syllabus contains changes

  • Changes to course rounds:
    • 2024-03-08: Examinator Examinator changed from Bill Karlström (bill) to Jonas Sjöberg (sjoberg) by Viceprefekt
      [Course round 1]