Advances in microcomputer display devices and support software during the past decade have made the microcomputer an increasingly popular vehicle for technical education. This is especially apparent in the area of simulation. The pedagog can provide the student of control theory not merely with the block diagrams and differential algebra but with high resolution color graphic animations supported by mathematical models whose parameters are easily changed by some editor facility. This mode of control system design and behavior study is both faster and more enjoyable for the student, providing greater continuity, concentration, and learning efficiency.
This paper describes the simulation of a PID two-tank level control system. The System is at most fourth-order and provides a good introduction to system control theory. The model is not unusual, and its nonlinear fourth-order Runge-Kutta solution is straightforward. Simulation itself takes form as (1) a graphical animation in which the user is aware of changing water levels and pipe flows and (2) a numerical multi-column output of system inputs, state variables, and outputs. Both applications are very user-friendly.
A special editor is developed, under which the above applications run. This paper is not a thorough treatment of the control system; a course is required here. Instead, the focus is on the editor and the organization of its Pascal source code. Discussed are a general editor concept and object-oriented code template to which any mathematical driver and associated simulators may be adapted. The editor’s source code is designed to be programmer-friendly so that the uninitiated programmer may rapidly assimilate editor structure and continue development.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ucf.edu/oai:stars.library.ucf.edu:rtd-5909 |
| Date | 01 January 1986 |
| Creators | Fadden, Leon |
| Publisher | University of Central Florida |
| Source Sets | University of Central Florida |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Retrospective Theses and Dissertations |
| Rights | Public Domain |
Page generated in 0.0022 seconds