School of Engineering Page 1 of 4

ENGR 315 –Systems & Control

Dr. H. Najjaran
Assignment 1

Problem 1) In a nuclear power generating plant, heat from a reactor is used to generate steam for
turbines. The rate of the fission reaction determines the amount of heat generated, and this rate is
controlled by rods inserted into the radioactive core. The rods regulate the flow of neutrons. If
the rods are lowered into the core, the rate of fission will diminish; if the rods are raised, the
fission rate will increase. By automatically controlling the position of the rods, the amount of
heat generated by the reactor can be regulated. Draw a functional block diagram for the nuclear
reactor control system shown in the figure below. Show all blocks and signals. (See Section 1.4
of the textbook and follow the design process.)

Problem 2) Obtain the inverse Laplace transform of the following functions:

1)

2)

Check your answers with Matlab.

 School of Engineering Page 2 of 4

ENGR 315 –Systems & Control

Dr. H. Najjaran
Assignment 1

Problem 3) Find the transfer function, / for the network shown below.
Solve the problem using once using mesh analysis (Kirchhoff’s voltage law) and once using
nodal analysis (Kirchhoff’s current law).

Note: You may use the method of the sum of impedances for mesh analysis, and the method of
the sum of admittances in nodal analysis to simply the process.

Problem 4) Find the transfer function, / .

 School of Engineering Page 3 of 4

ENGR 315 –Systems & Control

Dr. H. Najjaran
Assignment 1

Problem 5) Find the transfer function, / .

Problem 6) Find the transfer function, / .

Problem 7) Find the transfer function, / .

 School of Engineering Page 4 of 4

ENGR 315 –Systems & Control

Dr. H. Najjaran
Assignment 1

Problem 8) Find the transfer function, / .

Matlab Exercises)

a) Find the inverse Laplace transfer function of the following equation:

1 2

b) Use MATLAB to generate the partial fraction expansion of the following function:

c) A function G(s) = A(s)/B(s) consists of the following zeros, poles and gain K:
‐ zeros at s = -1, s = -2
‐ poles at s = 0, s = -4, s = -6
‐ gain K = 5

Determine A(s), numerator, and B(s), denominator of G(s).