Overheads for ACS111 Systems

Modelling
The following resources are taken from the 2009/2010 ‘introduction to modelling’ lecture as forming a part of Systems Modelling for first year
engineering undergraduate. For supporting and other documentation for this lecture and others on the course please see
http://controleducation.group.shef.ac.uk/OER_index.htm.

The main focus is on electrical and mechanical systems, but there is also some discussion of dc motors, fluids and heat as well as an introduction to time
series modelling. The main emphasis is on why modelling is important and how to go about doing this from first principles (e.g. Kirchhoff's laws,
Newton's Laws, etc.). Given the focus is on new students arriving at University, there is no attempt to develop models beyond second order.

The resources here include the lecture hand out (pdf) which includes embedded tutorial questions, some powerpoints for structuring lectures , flash
animations to step through modelling process for electrical circuits and a large data base of CAA developed on WebCT (here provided in a zip file). The
lecture notes also contains a brief overview on usage for lecturing staff.

These were developed at the University of Sheffield and authored by J A Rossiter from the Department of Automatic Control and Systems Engineering.

ACS111 Systems Modelling 1

© University of Sheffield 2009. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 License.
Anthony Rossiter
Department of Automatic Control
and Systems Engineering
University of Sheffield
www.shef.ac.uk/acse

Systems Modelling

Week 1

Acs111 Systems Modelling 2

 Contents
• Introduction
• Why is modelling important for an engineer?
• Understanding behaviour
• What is a model?
• Types of system
• System attributes
• Environment
• Attributes
• What are models used for?
• What is modelling?
• UNITS IN MODELLING GET A DATA BOOK
• Dimensional consistency
• Possible case studies
• Summary
• Credits & notices

Acs111 Systems Modelling 3

 Student responsibility
• You are adults entirely responsible for your
own progress!
• You must work regularly, a minimum of
5hrs private study per week per module.
• Get plenty of sleep – you cannot learn
effectively if tired.
• See me asap if genuine problems.

Acs111 Systems Modelling 4

 MOLE*
• This module has many resources on MOLE*
vista.
• All the courseworks can be accessed and
submitted only via MOLE*.
• If you cannot find ACS111 on your MOLE*
login page, check your module registration.

*MOLE is University of Sheffield’s Virtual Learning Environment and access is permissible only through the University.

Acs111 Systems Modelling 5

 Courseworks
1. Essay – due by end week 2 and 3 10%
2. CAA 1 – due by end week 5 10%
3. CAA 2 – due by end week 12 10%
4. Case study – due by Wed. week 10 10%
The exam counts for 60%.
NOTE: DON’T book flights/holidays early. You will
score zero for any missing assignments due to absence.

Acs111 Systems Modelling 6

 Why is modelling important for an
engineer?
Split into groups of 5 and consider this
question.
We will collate group answers in 5-
10minutes.

Acs111 Systems Modelling 7

 Why is modelling important?
• Expensive to build and test prototypes.
• Use models to deduce the expected behaviour of a
real system.
• Use models in design stage.

Example: Choose the size of struts for building a

single lane bridge for cars to span a river width
10m!
Answer on Board!
Acs111 Systems Modelling 8
 Understanding behaviour
Models allow us to understand why a system behaves the way it does.
One can then propose alterations which would be expected to improve
behaviour.

1.Why does a mass spring damper system oscillate ? How can one reduce
oscillation ?
2.You need a new computer. It must be capable of running a given piece
of software and should not become outdated to quickly. How would you
decide which computer to buy ?
3.You need to buy a radiator to fit in a room. Explain how you would
decide which radiator to buy.

Acs111 Systems Modelling 9

 What is a model?
You have a pogo stick and a ruler.

Find the mass of the lecturer.

Acs111 Systems Modelling 10

 Types of system
1. Physical (focus of this module)
2. Chemical
3. Biological
4. Ecological
5. Economic
6. Computer
7. Control
8. Etc.
Systems involve interconnections of different subsystems. Broad
based knowledge is essential.
This module focuses on understanding the smallest parts.
Acs111 Systems Modelling 11
 Examples
1. List some systems and identify the type.
2. Consider a simple heating system in your house.
What information would you need to model
this ?
3. What information would you need to construct a
model for filling and emptying a bath tub ?
4. Revisit the examples of the central heating and
bath tub and list all the attributes.

Acs111 Systems Modelling 12

 System attributes
1. Entities or components
2. Interconnections
3. Inputs (adjustable or uncontrolled)
4. Dependent variables
5. Initial conditions
6. Outputs and states
7. Reasons for existence
8. Control (e.g. adjust 3 so 6 achieves 7)
Acs111 Systems Modelling 13
 Environment
1. Everything outside the system which
affects the system but is unaffected by the
system.
2. Where to separate the system from the
environment is not always clear and
requires judgement.

Acs111 Systems Modelling 14

 Environment examples
• A spacecraft is affected by the gravitational pull of a nearby
planet but its pull on the planet, although real, is sufficiently
small to be ignored for spacecraft trajectory prediction.
• A short-circuit to earth of a mains cable from an electricity
generator may be considered to have negligible effect on the
potential of the earth itself.
• Power consumption of a freezer is effected by the environment,
the freezer system can not be treated in isolation from the
external temperature. Although a freezer does heat up its
environment, this effect is usually negligible.

Acs111 Systems Modelling 15

 Attributes
List the components, inputs, outputs, states,
purpose, connections and environment for
the following systems.
1. Kettle
2. Car
3. Robot arm
4. Keyboard
Acs111 Systems Modelling 16
 What are models used for?
1. To predict behaviour of real system
2. To avoid risk and expense

Models take many forms: Scaled physical

models, laboratory models, pilot plant,
computer models, mathematical models,
etc.
ACS111 focuses on mathematical models.
Acs111 Systems Modelling 17
 What is modelling?
1. Fundamental laws of physics apply to ideal entities.
2. Real system usual comprise physical entities but are
imperfect.
3. Approx. is essential to decide on numbers of
interconnections, entities, etc. that might represent the
system.
4. Formulate all the equations describing the ‘ideal’ system
and manipulate into a suitable form.

Acs111 Systems Modelling 18

 Computer modelling
Increasingly computers are used for modelling and model simulation.
SIMULINK: construct a simple model (as a block diagram) and then
parameter design by repeated simulation.
MATLAB to simulate a suspension system and parameter design by
repeated simulation.
There is a demand for:
1. Engineers with sufficient modelling skills to code models into
computer software and sufficient insight to do design.
2. Computer programmers with sufficient engineering awareness and
mathematical skills to develop modelling and simulation software
that is easy to use.

Acs111 Systems Modelling 19

 Do a critique of the essays and
‘critiques’
You can do this in groups of about 3.
1. What makes a good essay?
2. What makes a good critique?

Acs111 Systems Modelling 20

 UNITS IN MODELLING
GET A DATA BOOK
It is essential that you place units against every physical
quantity. This is so you can ensure dimensional compatibility.
For instance:
1. Which is heavier, an object weighing 3kg, an object weighing
3002grammes or an object weighing 6.4pounds ?
2. Which distance is longest ? 200 inches, 5metres, 50000mm,
5.2 yards or 17 feet
It is conventional to use metric units. You are recommended
to always change all units to metric before you start and then
no errors will occur.

Acs111 Systems Modelling 21

 Units
StiffnessNewtons per metre N/m
Damping Newton seconds per metre Ns/m
Mass Kilogrammes Kg
Force Newton N
Energy Joules J
Power Energy per second (Watt) J/s W
Resistance Ohms
Current Ampere A
Voltage volts V
Charge coulomb C
Capacitance farads F
Inductance Henrys H

Acs111 Systems Modelling 22

 Dimensional consistency
When you have an equation with various parts adding
together, you must ensure that the dimensions of all the
components are identical, otherwise the quantities cannot add.
For instance you cannot add seconds to kilogrammes as that is
a nonsense.

1. What are the units in the mass-spring-damper model ?

2. What are the units in the RLC circuit model ?

Acs111 Systems Modelling 23

 Possible case studies
Here are some case study items for you • Lego vehicle
to consider through this course. • Scalextric
• Bicycle pump and foot pump.
• What are the design criteria? • Hair dryer
• What behaviour do I want? • Pogo stick
• How do I choose the parameters? • Zoom lens on a camera.
• Electric kettle.
• Car suspension (single wheel
model).
• Bicycle gearing.
• Noise filtering (time series)
• Pattern recognition.
• Modelling for control.
• Water pistol

Any more suggestions ?

Acs111 Systems Modelling 24
 Summary
1. By next week you should have completed
part of coursework 1.
2. This is to submit a brief essay on why
modelling is important.
3. Submissions by discussions board only!

Acs111 Systems Modelling 25

This resource was created by the University of Sheffield and released as an open educational resource through the Open Engineering Resources project of
the HE Academy Engineering Subject Centre. The Open Engineering Resources project was funded by HEFCE and part of the JISC/HE Academy UKOER
programme.

© University of Sheffield 2009

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 License.

Where Matlab® screenshots are included, they appear courtesy of The MathWorks, Inc.

The name of the University of Sheffield and the logo are the name and registered marks of the University of Sheffield. To the fullest extent permitted by
law the University of Sheffield reserves all its rights in its name and marks which may not be used except with its written permission.

The JISC logo is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 UK: England & Wales
Licence. All reproductions must comply with the terms of that licence.

The HEA logo is owned by the Higher Education Academy Limited may be freely distributed and copied for educational purposes only, provided that
appropriate acknowledgement is given to the Higher Education Academy as the copyright holder and original publisher.

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