Book Review: Control System Dynamics, R. N. Clark, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England, U.K., 1996, ISBN 0-521-47239-3, xiii+509 pp., £55.00.
✍ Scribed by M. F. Aburdene
- Book ID
- 101285375
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1998
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 41 KB
- Volume
- 12
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0890-6327
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
According to the author, the textbook was designed to help students learn the basic control theory methods required to begin the practice of automatic control engineering. The text focuses on classical control theory (frequency-domain methods) and provides an introduction to modern control theory (time-domain methods). To solve many of the problems, a control systems program and/or simulation package is needed, which allows students to solve more complex problems and focus on understanding concepts rather than on numerical techniques. There are many excellent books that address these two areas and I have listed a few texts in the References 1-7, with apologies to the many authors whose excellent texts are not included.
Chapters 1-5 develop mathematical modelling and analysis of systems, including a mass-spring-damper system, a rate gyroscope, a cart pendulum system, mechanical drive systems, a single-axis rigid spacecraft, a longitudinal-axis dynamics model of an airplane, passive RLC circuits, active electronic circuits, DC machines, electromagnets, and an electrohydraulic amplifier-valveram system. The emphasis is on modelling these electromechanical and aerospace systems using differential equation forms to develop state variables representations that are solved easily using computers. These chapters are very important and the author presents an excellent overview for modelling physical systems. Emphasis on these topics is what distinguishes this book from other control systems texts. However, at many colleges and universities, these topics often are covered at the second or third year level. Similar systems are modelled and are also well presented in the text by Close and Fredrick. Chapter 6 addresses the solution to initial-value problems and I personally feel the devotion of a chapter to this topic is important, since this is a fundamental part of the modelling process. Many texts assume students have a good understanding of this topic and neglect to emphasize its significance.
Chapters 7-10 present analysis and design methods using transfer functions and pole-zero methods for singleinput-single-output systems. Chapter 7 emphasizes polezero analysis, and response of second-order, third-order, and higher-order systems, in addition to series compensation and non-minimum phase systems. The discussion of 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.