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Control Systems made easy

Web-based Simulator

Explore, model, simulate, and analyze dynamic control systems in our simulator.

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Bode Plot Engine

Analyze plant transfer functions & design controllers.

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S/Z Plane Relationship

See the effect of pole location in continuous and discrete time domains at the same time.

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About Control Systems Academy

Basic Info

This portal provides a number of interactive examples focused on control system theory. Crafted by researchers focused on controls of electromechanical systems, the intent is to help students and engineers "connect the dots" by showing the relationships between the frequency and time domains and to elucidate some of the more abstract control theory analysis and design concepts.

What is here?

1) A series of articles focused on control system theory are to be found here.
2) A web-based simulator suited to test out concepts right away without MatLab/Simulink installed on your machine.
3) Bode Plot Engine, a computing and plotting environment with combined symbolic and numerical inputs.
4) Many other articles focused on power electronics, motor control, and instrumentation.

This site is viewed complementary to other websites focused on control theory- because those do not have interactive elements deemed crucial to understanding the nuances of analysis and design techniques.

MatLab(©) Compatibility

Crucial interactive demos are complemented by MatLab(©) code examples that allow the reader to readily port script to a standalone MatLab(©) application. All examples were extensively tested for 1:1 match with MatLab.

Video Introduction

The following YouTube video highlights some of the interactive features found on this portal.



Fourier Series Demo

It is all sine waves.

 
System Dynamics - Time Constants

Introduction to dynamic systems.

 
Time Domain Scope Features

Learn to use the online interactive scope.

 


Proportional Controller Implementation

In MatLab, DSPs, and FPGAs.

 
Control System Block Diagram

The fundamentals of signal flow.

 
System Modeling With Transfer Functions

Introduction to dynamic systems.

 


Bode Plot - Interactive Pole/Zero Placement

Bode plots of low/high-pass filters, PI controller, lead/lag filters and build-your-own.

 
Digital Control Loops

Learn about the path from the analog domain to the discrete-time domain.

 
Proportional-Integral Controller: Demo

The ubiquitous PI Controller explained.



Lead / Lag Compensators

Introduction to Lead and Lag compensators. Bode plot characteristics and simulation.

 
2nd-order System Dynamics

Natural frequency, damping factor, pole locations, time-domain waveforms.

 
Feedback-path Filtering

What is the effect of feedback-path filtering on controller design?



IIR to FIR System Conversion

How can one approximate IIR systems with FIR systems?

 
Low-Pass Filter Discretization

Explore the discretization process of the most common IIR filter.

 
Final Value Theorem

Calculate the final output of any transfer function. Really any transfer function?



Switching Losses & Simple 3D Plotting

Not all switches are made equal.

 
Capacitor / Resistor Discharge Circuit

Let's discharge caps with resistors. Demo included.

 
Transformations for Motor Drives - Clarke

Learn about the three-phase to two-phase transformation.



Notes on the Nyquist Stability Criterion

Notes on the Nyquist Stability Criterion by Prof. David Torrey.

 
Supplementary Notes on Circuit Analysis, Pt. 1

This article by Prof. David Torrey focuses on fundamental components.

 
Supplementary Notes on Circuit Analysis, Pt. 2

This article by Prof. David Torrey focuses on analysis techniques.



Number of Control Theory Articles:

32

Number of Interactive Demos:

12

Recent Updates:

05/27/24
Notice: This website is no longer periodically updated due to a variety of professional and personal responsibilities. However, should you find an error, please leave feedback at my email address (CSA Team. Thank you!

04/30/19
First-Order Low-Pass Filter Discretization corrections

04/13/19
Web-Based Simulator now contains pulse generation block.

02/20/19
Supplementary Notes on Circuit Analysis, Pt. 2 by Prof. David Torrey

02/10/19
Supplementary Notes on Circuit Analysis, Pt. 1 by Prof. David Torrey

01/24/19
Notes on the Nyquist Stability Criterion by Prof. David Torrey

08/15/18
Transformations for Motor Drive Design - Clarke

08/05/18
Web-based Simulator: the number of available scope signals has been increased to 5. Sine block now supports phase offset.

07/15/18
Bode Plot Engine - it is now possible to numerically evaluate symbolic variables.

06/10/18
Switching Losses & Simple 3-Dimensional Plotting plotting bugs fixed.

06/03/18
Bode Plot Engine - it is now possible to download magnitude and phase plots as .png files.

05/21/18
The www.controlsystemsacademy.org domain is now linked to this portal.

05/06/18
Bode Plot Engine - it is now possible to download frequency domain data as a .csv file.

04/22/18
Web-based Simulator: each scope block can now have a custom name.

04/20/18
Capacitor / Resistor Discharge Circuit : Theory + Demo

04/15/18
Bode Plot Engine - scripts can now be shared via page URL

04/10/18
Switching Losses & Simple 3-Dimensional Plotting

04/01/18
The integration block in Web-Based Simulator now supports initial condition.

03/20/18
Added a video introduction to some of the interactive features.

02/27/18
Fixed Documentation links on the Web-Based Simulator page.

02/04/18
Final Value Theorem

01/29/18
Bode Plot Engine - scientific notation enabled.

01/09/18
Bode Plot Engine

01/08/18
Bode Plot Engine Documentation

01/07/18
Web-based Simulator Documentation

01/05/18
IIR to FIR System Conversion

12/18/17
Feedback-path Filtering

11/21/17
2nd-order System Dynamics

11/19/17
Web-based Simulator now detects algebraic loops.

11/06/17
Lead / Lag Compensators : Introduction, Characteristics, Simulation

10/30/17
Interactive Pole-Zero Placement w/ Filter and Controller Examples and Bode Plots

10/18/17
Proportional-Integral (PI) Controller : Theory + Demo

10/09/17
Digital Control Loops

10/05/17
Time Domain Scope Feature

10/02/17
Proportional Controller: Theory and Demo

10/01/17
System Dynamics - Time Constants

09/28/17
Web-based Simulator

08/16/17
Textbooks and Journals for Power Electronics and Motor Controls

07/25/17
Control System Block Diagram

07/24/17
Transfer Function Stability - Interesting Facts About Polynomial Form

07/23/17
System Modeling With Transfer Functions

07/20/17
Proportional Controller Implementation

07/10/17
Relationship Between S/Z Planes and Time Domain

06/30/17
Interactive Fourier Series Demo

06/18/17
First-Order Low-Pass Filter Discretization

05/29/17
Current Mode Control- Where is the Second Pole?

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