TEL240 Control Engineering and Automation

Credits (ECTS):10

Course responsible:Ibrahim Abdelfattah Abdelhameed

Campus / Online:Taught campus Ås

Teaching language:Norsk, engelsk

Course frequency:Annually

Nominal workload:Approx. 250 hours.

Teaching and exam period:The course has teaching and evaluation in Spring parallel.

About this course

This course provides an in-depth exploration of control systems and feedback control, focusing on time-domain analysis and design. It begins with an introduction to control theory and the application of the Laplace transform for solving differential equations, establishing a strong foundation for dynamic system modeling in both the time and frequency domains.

Students will learn about the time response of linear time-invariant (LTI) systems, steady-state error, and stability analysis using the Routh-Hurwitz criterion, as well as step response methods. In addition, the course covers the principles and methodologies necessary for modeling, analyzing, and designing control systems. This includes the design and tuning of controllers to meet desired performance criteria in real-world systems, with a focus on Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) controllers, controller and observer design using state feedback, and advanced techniques such as Linear Quadratic Control (LQC) and Model Predictive Control (MPC).

Students will also study state estimation using Kalman filters, which are essential for applications like robot motion planning and control, allowing systems to predict states in the presence of uncertainties.

The course incorporates a wide range of practical examples, which are simulated, controlled, and analyzed using Python, offering students hands-on experience in applying control system concepts to real-world scenarios.

Code:

All examples and problems covered in the course are simulated using Python and can be accessed in GitHub.

Learning outcome

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

  • Model dynamic systems using both time- and frequency-domain techniques and differential equations.
  • Analyze the time response of linear time-invariant (LTI) systems and assess their behavior.
  • Evaluate system stability and performance using the Routh-Hurwitz stability criterion and step response methods.
  • Design, implement, and tune various types of controllers, such as PID, state feedback, LQC, and MPC, and evaluate their effectiveness in meeting performance criteria.
  • Understand the principles and applications of state estimation using Kalman filters and apply them to predict system states in dynamic environments with uncertainty.
  • Utilize Python for control system simulation, analysis, and design, applying it to practical examples.
  • Lectures, theoretical exercises, simulations, laboratory work, self study.
  • Guidance by the course assistant(s) and the course teacher.
  • Basic knowledge in linear algebra (calculations with matrices and vectors), differential equations, complex numbers, and Laplace transform.
  • Individual exam on campus on the student's own PC. Grade rule: A-F. Duration: 3 hours.

    Mandatory requirements: The work requirements must be approved to sit for the exam.



    Written exam Grading: Letter grades Permitted aids: C1 All types of calculators, other aids as specified
  • An external examiner approves the exam assignments and collaborates with the course teacher (internal examiner) on determining the grades.
  • Four mandatory assignments altogether comprising simulation, programming and laboratory work must be approved to get access to the exam.
  • None
  • Mainly 4 hours of lectures and 2 hours of guidance each week. There may be a separate timetable for the laboratory assignments.
  • None