A variable resistor, called a potentiometer, is shown in Figure P1.1. The resistance is varied by moving a wiper arm along a fixed resistance. The resistance from A to C is fixed, but the resistance from B to C varies with the position of the wiper arm. If it takes 10 turns to move the wiper arm from A to C, draw a block diagram of the potentiometer showing the input variable, the output variable, and (inside the block) the gain, which is a constant and is the amount by which the input is multiplied to obtain the output. An animation PowerPoint presentation (PPT) demonstrating this system is available for instructors at www.wiley.com/college/nise. See Potentiometer. [Section 1.4: Introduction to a Case Study]
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Textbook Solutions for Control Systems Engineering
Question
Some skillful drivers can drive and balance a four wheeled vehicle on two wheels. To verify that a control system can also drive a car in this fashion, a prototype using an RC (remote-controlled) car is equipped with a feedback control system (Arndt, 2011). In a simplified system model,the roll angle at which the car balances was calculated a priori and found to be \(52.3^{\circ}\). This value was used as the desired input. The desired input is compared with the actual roll angle and the difference is fed to a controller that feeds a servo motor indicating the desired wheel steering angle that controls the vehicle’s roll angle on two wheels. The car’s actual roll angle is measured using a hinged linkage that rolls along the ground next to the vehicle and is connected to a potentiometer. Draw a block diagram indicating the system functions. Draw blocks for the system controller, the steering servo, and the car dynamics. Indicate in the diagram the following signals: the desired roll angle, the steering wheel angle, and the actual car roll angle.
Solution
The first step in solving 1 problem number 13 trying to solve the problem we have to refer to the textbook question: Some skillful drivers can drive and balance a four wheeled vehicle on two wheels. To verify that a control system can also drive a car in this fashion, a prototype using an RC (remote-controlled) car is equipped with a feedback control system (Arndt, 2011). In a simplified system model,the roll angle at which the car balances was calculated a priori and found to be \(52.3^{\circ}\). This value was used as the desired input. The desired input is compared with the actual roll angle and the difference is fed to a controller that feeds a servo motor indicating the desired wheel steering angle that controls the vehicle’s roll angle on two wheels. The car’s actual roll angle is measured using a hinged linkage that rolls along the ground next to the vehicle and is connected to a potentiometer. Draw a block diagram indicating the system functions. Draw blocks for the system controller, the steering servo, and the car dynamics. Indicate in the diagram the following signals: the desired roll angle, the steering wheel angle, and the actual car roll angle.
From the textbook chapter INTRODUCTION you will find a few key concepts needed to solve this.
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