Happenings – 24 March (2) Control Theory

My general question in control theory was: should I work thru some ancient classical design problems, as they do, with root-locus, nyquist, Nichols, and bode plots? As a minor issue, I would need to select examples from among a few books. But the design methodology appeared to be: use frequency domain analysis to estimate control system parameter values which would lead to a desirable time-domain response of the system.

It occurred to me that my computer and Mathematica® are powerful enough to show the time-domain response in real time.

control theory books

“… fighting your way through this book will not, in itself, make you an expert in process control.” Luyben, “Process Modeling…”, p. 7.

The following books have been added to the bibliography; the entry for carstens has been edited to reflect my now-formal categories.

Carstens, for example, described PID, but used a rate generator to shift his bode plot sideways; the schaum’s outline, by contrast, barely mentions PID, and designs lead-lag controllers instead.

I think I am going to work thru Ellis next, for his treatment of observers, namely the luenberger observer, in a classical setting.

On odd days of the month, Tewari is the book I think I want to work thru for state space properly. On even days of the month, I think I want to start with the state space chapter in Franklin et al. Then, in either case, I’ve got to curl up with Kailath’s linear systems: there’s the mathematics of state-space.

If I’m trying to look at process control, I generally pick up all three of Bequette, Stephanopoulos, and Luyben.

For continuous EE control theory, I had been working thru Franklin et al., a fine general-purpose undergraduate text. They have a second text for digital control.

more books

The following books have been added to the bibliography page. They were mentioned in today’s “Happenings”. One is control theory, two are upper division physics books, and one is a popular book about physics.

Carstens, James R.; Automatic Control Systems and Components.

Prentice Hall, 1990. ISBN 0 13 054297 0

[classical controls; 25 feb 2008]

this book caught my eye when i saw that he had transfer functions for specific devices used in control systems; it won my heart when he distinquished between the parameters in his math models and the parameters to be found in catalogs!

This is an introductory and hands-on book. 

Zwiebach, Barton; A First Course in String Theory.

Cambridge University Press, 2004. ISBN 0 521 83143 1.

[string theory; 25 feb 2008]

This is the text for an upper-division couse at M.I.T.

Lederman, Leon, with Teresi, Dick; The God Particle.

Bantam Doubleday Dell, 1993. ISBN 0 385 31211 3.

[popular physics, particle physics; 25 feb 2008]

This is a popular book, and I had forgotten just how much fun it was to read. Even if you’ve seen The Standard Model of particles, you may enjoy this book; and if you don’t know the standard model, this is a fine place to start. (The title refers to the Higgs boson; it was that or the god-damned particle, he said.)

Griffiths, David; Introduction to Elementary Particles.

Wiley-VCH, 1987. ISBN 0 471 60386 3.

[elementary particle physics; 25 feb 2008]

An upper-division text. I really like his style, as well as his apparent precision. For an example of style: “In general, when you hear a physicist invoke the uncertainty principle, keep a hand on your wallet.”