Revised: August 27, 2014

ECE 624 - Homework # 1

Fall Semester 2014
1. Consider the inverted pendulum on a cart in the following gure:
As indicated in the gure the full length of the pendulum is L
p
. For analysis, the pendulum can be
considered as a point mass m that is rotated with radius l
p
=
1
2
L
p
. The cart is the portion of the
vehicle with the pinion gears meshed with the tracks teeth. The mass of the cart is m
c
. On top of the
cart is a weight that has been added to connect the pendulum. The mass of this weight is m
w
. The
sum of these two masses is demoted by M. This is the mass that is displaced by the force that results
from the motors torque.
(a) Derive the nonlinear equation of motion for the inverted pendulum, including the rotational and
translational dynamics. Assume that friction and viscous damping are negligible. The input for
this task is the force F that results from the motor torque. The outputs are the pendulum angle
and the carts displacement x.
(b) Derive a linearized state space model for the inverted pendulum dynamics if the desired equilibrium
for the pendulum angle is = 0. The input is F, and the outputs are and x. Combine the
motor dynamics with the equation of the inverted pendulum to get the overall state space model.
Derive also the transfer functions from F to the pendulum angle , and the transfer function from
to the carts position x.
(c) Device an appropriate block diagram (closed-loop) of transfer functions so that the angle of the
beam and the position of the cart can be controlled. Just provide a reasonable block diagram (no
design analysis is required).
2. Let G(s) be
G(s) = K
s +
(s +)
2
.
Find K, and so that the steady state error of a unit step input is 0.1; damping ratio is 0.5; and
the natural frequency is

10.
3. Let G(s) be
G(s) =
K
s(s +a)
.
Given that G(s) is in a unity feedback control system, nd
(a) K and a so that the velocity constant K
v
is 1000 and the response has 20% overshoot.
(b) K and a to yield a 1% error in the steady state and 10% overshoot.
4. We reviewed the description of the characteristics of a transfer function (damping ratio, natural fre-
quency, etc) with respect to positions in the S-plane (for example, diagonal lines correspond to constant
damping ratio). However, the argument was provided only for 2nd order systems. Explain how can
you use this idea for higher order transfer function including zeros (Hint: refresh your mind on the
concept of dominant poles).
5. Let G(s) be
G(s) =
K
s(s
2
+ 4s + 1)
.
Given that G(s) is in a unity feedback control system,
(a) Plot the root loci for the system.
(b) Determine the value of K such that = 0.5 and determine all the closed loop poles.
(c) Which of the closed-loop poles is a higher order pole?
6. During ascent the automatic steering program aboard the space shuttle provides the interface between
low-rate processing and high-rate processing of ight control (steering in response of the commands).
The function performed is basically that of smoothing. A simplied representation of a maneuver
smoother linearized for coplanar maneuvers is below
Here
CB
(s) is the is the desired body angle sent to ight control after smoothing
(a) Sketch the root locus when the roots vary as a function of K
3
.
(b) Locate the closed-loop zeros.
(c) Repeat the previous items for for the root locus in terms of K
2
Hint: Suppose
T(s) =
KG(s)
1 + KD(s)G(s)
and that KD(s)G(s) =
K
(s+k1)(s+k2)
. Observe that
T(s) =
K
s
2
+ (k
1
+k
2
)s +k
1
k2 +K
.
Isolating k
1
T(s) =
K
s
2
+k2s+K
s
2
+k
2
s +K +k
1
(s +k2)
=
K
1 +k
1
(s+k2)
s
2
+k2s+K
.
Thus,
KD(s)G(s) = k
1
(s +k2)
s
2
+k
2
s +K
,
and one can use the exact same techniques to draw a root locus plot with respect to k
1
(k
2
and K are
considered xed).
7. Use any method you know to design a PD controller for a plant having transfer function
G(s) =
K
s(s + 5)(s + 15)
to reduce the settling time by 4 while continuing having 20% overshoot.