Entry requirements

30 credits within an engineering program including Algebra and Vector Geometry. Calculus for Engineers of 1 credit must be completed.

Learning outcomes

After passing the course, students should be able to

• use Ohm's law and Kirchhoff's law for calculations on electrical circuits
• use oscilloscope and multimeter for measurement of electrical circuits
• give an account of the basics of automatic control system concepts
• select control parameters for a system controlled with a PID controller,
• use simple models for analysing stability, speed, precision and disturbance sensitivity for linear feedback systems
• use software for analysis of transfer functions
• give an account of the fundamental structure of a digital control system
• write a simple control program for Arduino or other small computer system
• specify the function of a system for sequential control using a state diagram or ladder diagram and implement it in a PLC (Programmable Logic Controller).

Content

Components of an automatic control system from sensors to actuators.

Electric circuit theory and electronics: voltage, current, electric measurement basics, resistance, capacitance, transistors, operational amplifiers, and applications for filters and amplifiers.

Automatic control: terminology, feedback control, static and dynamic properties, performance, frequency analysis using a Bode diagram, dimensioning of PID controllers. Time continuous versus time discrete implementations.

Control strategy: sequential control, state machines, implementation in Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) and Arduino.

Instruction

Lectures, seminars, supervision of laboratory sessions and computer exercises.

Assessment

Written examination (5 credits). Demonstration of functioning solutions to laboratory assignments (3 credits). Oral and written presentation of written assignments (2 credits).

If there are special reasons for doing so, an examiner may make an exception from the method of assessment indicated and allow a student to be assessed by another method. An example of special reasons might be a certificate regarding targeted pedagogical support from the university's disability coordinator.