Part A: To provide the student with the ability to select a suitable transducer and associated system for a given measurement application and to consider possible alternative solutions. To understand the principles of transducer operation and factors contributing to the measurement error.

Part B: To provide the student with a thorough understanding of the principles of a closed loop control system via system modelling, performance analysis and controller design and synthesis. To provide a framework, within which students can evaluate, develop and implement the design methodologies of classical control, with applications to Electrical, Mechanical and Mechatronics systems.

(LO1) An understanding of the physical basis of some common electrical transducers A general appreciation of basic transducer specifications and their interpretation An understanding of the system requirements for a typical measurement system An appreciation of some common factors that can affect the performance of a measurement system.

(LO2) An understanding of the behavior of linear systems, the derivation of mathematical models, and transfer function representation A familiarity with the problem of stability, and the ability to apply standard tests for stability An appreciation of the advantages and disadvantages of closed-loop feedback with regard to system response speed, sensitivity to parameters and disturbances, accuracy and stability An appreciation of graphical techniques for representing control system characteristics A familiarity with common types of system controller, and an ability to select the most appropriate controller for a given problem An appreciation of how complete control schemes are implemented in hardware and software, and the problems of system integration.

(S1) On successful completion of the module, students should be able to show experience and enhancement of the following key skills: Independent learning Problem solving and instrumentation system design skills

(S2) On successful completion of this module, students should be able to demonsrate practical experimental skills in data collection, analysis and interpretation and have an ability to calculate suitable controller settings for a given problem.

(S3) Part-A: After succesful completion of the module, the student should be able to demonstrate a basic understanding of the factors that need to be considered in the design of a typical measurement system, including the choice of transducer, associated signal conditioning and transmission path requirements.On successful completion of the module, the student is expected to have: An understanding of the physical basis of some common electrical transducers A general appreciation of basic transducer specifications and their interpretation An understanding of the system requirements for a typical measurement system An appreciation of some common factors that can affect the performance of a measurement system. An understanding of the behavior of linear systems, the derivation of mathematical models, and transfer function representation A familiarity with the problem of stability, and the ability to apply standard tests for stability An appreciation of the advantages and disadvantages of closed-loop feedback with regard to system response speed, sensitivity to parameters and disturbances, accuracy and stability An appreciation of graphical techniques for representing control system characteristics A familiarity with common types of system controller, and an ability to select the most appropriate controller for a given problem An appreciation of how complete control schemes are implemented in hardware and software, and the problems of system integration.

(S4) Part-B:Students should be able to demonstrate ability in applying knowledge of the module topics to: An understanding of the behavior of linear systems, the derivation of mathematical models, and transfer function representation A familiarity with the problem of stability, and the ability to apply standard tests for stability An appreciation of the advantages and disadvantages of closed-loop feedback with regard to system response speed, sensitivity to parameters and disturbances, accuracy and stability An appreciation of graphical techniques for representing control system characteristics A familiarity with common types of system controller, and an ability to select the most appropriate controller for a given problem An appreciation of how complete control schemes are implemented in hardware and software, and the problems of system integration.

Introduction to instrumentation systems: Terminology; transducer specifications.

Measurement of  temperature: Thermocouples and resistive thermometers.

Measurement of strain: Strain gauges, measurement of tensile and bending strain. Temperature compensation and signal conditioning.

Measurement of displacement and level: Linear and rotary displacement transducers: capacitive, inductive, optical. The LVDT, synchro-resolvers and fuel tank senders.

First and second order response of systems: Application to step and sinusoidal response of transducers: temperature transducers, accelerometers.

The transmission path: Bandwidth requirements of analogue and digital paths, quantization error, principles of A-D and D-A conversion.

Signal processing techniques: Sources of interference noise, filtering and noise reduction methods, error correcting codes, the ARINC429 databus.

Solving exam problems from previous years.

Introduction: Function, architecture, history and applications of a control system. Open-loop and closed-loop systems. Mathematical model of a control system.    

Control system modelling: Laplace transforms, Transfer function, Characteristic equations, Poles and zeros. State-space model. Transformation between transfer function and state space model. Single-input single-output system and multi-input and multi-output system. Components and their underlying mathematics of block diagrams. Block diagram manipulation and reduction. Closed-loop transfer function of a negative feedback control system.

Control System performance: How to use Laplace Transform to solve the time response of a dynamic system. Typical input signals. First-order system and second-order system. Generalized second-order system.

Steady state response design: General steady state response, steady-state accuracy and errors. System characterization by order and type number.

Simple control system d esign: Three term PID controller. Finding open and closed loop poles and zeros. Pole and zero placement design for a PID controller.
 
System stability: Stability and instability. Relationship between poles location and stability. Routh-Hurwitz stability criteria.

Control system design: Root locus diagram representation for a closed loop system with variable gain. Design of a control system via Root Locus.

Frequency response: Experimental and theoretical determination of frequency response. Nyquist stability criterion. Diagrammatic representations using Nyquist and Bode plots. Phase and gain margins.

Frequency response design: Frequency response of PI, phase-lead and phase-lag compensators. Comining controller and process frequency responses. Optimising controller parameters.

Due to Covid-19, one or more of the following delivery methods will be implemented based on the current local conditions and the situation of registered students. It is anticipated that both a) & b) will be in operation for semester 1.
(a) Hybrid delivery, with social distancing on Campus
Teaching Method 1 - On-line asynchronous lectures
Description: Lectures to explain the material
Attendance Recorded: No
Notes: On average one per week

Teaching Method 2 - Synchronous face to face tutorials
Description: Tutorials on the Assignments and Problem Sheets
Attendance Recorded: Yes
Notes: On average one per fortnight

Teaching Method 3 - Campus based Laboratory Work to Undertake Experiment 81
Description: Laboratory Sessions to undertake the Experiment
Attendance Recorded: Yes
Notes: 7 Hour laboratory to undertake Experiment 81

(b) Fully online delivery and assessment
Teaching Method 1 - On-line asynchronous lectures
Description: Lectures to explain the material
Attendance Recorded: No
Notes: On average one per week

Teaching Method 2 - On-line synchronous tutorials
Description: Tutorials on the Assignments and Problem Sheets
Attendance Recorded: Yes
Notes: On average one per fortnight

Teaching Method 3 - on-line Laboratory Work Tutorials
Description: On-Line Laboratory Sessions to undertake Experiment 81
Attendance Recorded: Yes
Notes: 7 hour on-line laboratory to undertake experiment 81.

(c) Standard on-campus delivery with minimal social distancing
Teaching Method 1 - Lecture
Description: Lectures to explain the material
Attendance Recorded: Yes
Notes: On average one per week

Teaching Method 2 - Tutorial
Description: Tutorials on the Assignments and Problem Sheets
Atten dance Recorded: Yes
Notes: On average one per fortnight

Teaching Method 3 - Laboratory Work to Undertake Experiment 81
Description: Laboratory Session to undertake tutorials the experiment
Attendance Recorded: Yes
7 Hour laboratory to undertake Experiment 81