ME2142-1 ~ Speed/ Position Control of a DC Motor

Objectives
This experiment serves the following:

 To become familiar with the operation of an armature-controlled DC motor.

 To study the transient and steady state response of a close-loop speed control system.
 To study the transient response of a close-loop position control system.

Dept of Mech & Prod Engineering 1

ME2142-1 ~ Speed/ Position Control of a DC Motor

Discussion
1. Discuss the differences in open-loop and close-lop control in achieving a speed
control system and the effects of loop gain and load on the outout speed.

The open-loop control systems are unsophisticated systems and it is not difficult to
see that they would not satisfactorily fulfil critical performance requirements. For
instance, if the input voltage is set at a certain initial value, which corresponds to a certain
motor speed, when a load (in this experiment, the brake setting) is applied, there is not
way to prevent a drop in motor speed. The only way to make the system work is to have
a means of adjusting input voltage in response to a change to the load in order to maintain
the motor speed at a desired level. The conventional electric wasking machine is a good
example of an open-loop control system because, typically, the amount of machine wash
time is determined entirely by the judgement and estimation of the human operator. In the
case of the close-loop control system, there is a link or feedback from the output to the
input of the system.
To obtain a more accurate system, the controlled signal y should be fed back and

Refence Actuating Controlled

input r signal u variable y
Controller Controlled
Process

Fig.1 Elements of an open-loop control system

compared with the refence input, and an actuating signal (in this experiment, a voltage
proportional to the negative of the output speed, is obtained through a tachogenerator) is
then fed to the controller so as to correct the error.
Error
detector Load
m
Controller Motor
+
-

Speed
Transducer

Fig.2 Close-loop idle-speed control system

In the figure above, the reference input voltage sets the desired idling speed. The motor
speed at idle should agree with the reference value, and any difference such as the load
torque is sensed by the speed transducer and the error detector. The controller will
operate on the difference and provide a signal to adjust the input voltage to correct the
error. All in all, the close-loop control system appears to be insentive to external

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ME2142-1 ~ Speed/ Position Control of a DC Motor

disturbances and possible internal variations in system parameters. From table 1, it is

obvious that open-loop control systems can be applied for systems with mininal
disturbances, if the cost, weight and size are of primary considerations. In table 2, we see
that the motor was unable to achieve the desired speed without feedback and the increase
in load causes speed deviation. Thus, there is no speed control. From table 3 and 4, we
see that there is a response by the control system when feedback is used with the response
being higher with a higher gain. Therefore, if we increase the gain proportional, taking
into account of the compromise of instability, the system will respond more insensitively to
disturbances.

2. Discuss the effect of loop gain and brake scale settings on the transient response
of the close-loop speed control system.

From table 5, the increase of gain and load will shorten the 50% delay time for the
response of the close-loop system. Thus, in the stable region, higher gain and increased
load is encouraged for faster reaction of the system towards disturbances.

3. Discuss the effect of loop gain and velocity feedback on the response of the close-
loop position control system.

The effect of loop gain and velocity feedback is as discussed in para 2 above.
However, we note that the system actually reacts slower compared to para 2.

4. Disconnect the speed feedback signal and observe the transient response.
Comment.

The initial part of the transient response indicates an overshot before it settles
down. This is because the peak time for the control system decreases without feedback.
In a control system with speed feedback signal, the peak time for the system is too large
for overshot to take place as the input function has already change its polarity.

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ME2142-1 ~ Speed/ Position Control of a DC Motor

5. Connect for positive feedback and observe the response. Comment.

R(S) + K C(S)
Ts + 1
+

bs

Fig. 2 Positive Feedback Control System

The transfer function of the above positive feedback control system is given by:

C(S) = K
R(S) (T - bK)s + 1

The time constant of a control system can be reduced by properly chosing the value of b.
If the value of b is set to T/K, then time constant becomes zero. However, if disturbances
like that of this experiment causes T - bK to become -ve instead of zero, the system will
become unstable.

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ME2142-1 ~ Speed/ Position Control of a DC Motor

Conclusion
In this experiment, we are introduced to some of the basic concepts of what a
control system is and what it is supposed to accomplised. The basic components of a
control system is described. By demostrating the effects of feedback in a rudimentary way,
the question of why most control systems are close-loops is clarified. It should be pointed
out that feedback can make or break a control system. This points out the challenging
task of the design of a control system, taking into account of certain performance criteria.

Dept of Mech & Prod Engineering 5

ME2142-1 ~ Speed/ Position Control of a DC Motor

Transient Response of Closed-Loop Speed Control System

Brake 5 Brake 5
Gain 0.05 Gain 0.1

Brake 10 Brake 10
Gain 0.05 Gain 0.1

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ME2142-1 ~ Speed/ Position Control of a DC Motor

Transient Response of Closed-Loop Position Control System with Speed Feedback

Brake 5 Brake 5
Gain 0.05 Gain 0.1

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ME2142-1 ~ Speed/ Position Control of a DC Motor

Transient Response with No Speed Feedback Signal

Transient Response wfor Positive Feedback Control System

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