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MEC524 — Chapter 1
Introduction to Control Engineering
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Introduction to Control Systems

A control system manages, commands, or regulates the behaviour of another system to achieve a desired output. Every system has four core elements: controller, actuator, plant, and (optionally) sensor.

◆ Diagram
ReferenceInput r(t)ControllerG_c(s)Actuatoru(t)PlantG_p(s)y(t)OutputSetpointDecisionActionSystemGeneral Control System Block Diagram
◆ Key Points
01.The plant is the physical process being controlled (e.g. motor, furnace, aircraft)
02.The controller computes the corrective action based on the error signal
03.Actuators convert control signals into physical forces or movements
04.Sensors measure the actual output and feed it back for comparison
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