Controls systems exams

Examiner: Dr. M. Sami Fadali, fadali@unr.edu

Text

The exam topics are covered in most texts for a first course on Control Systems. Examples of suitable texts are:

N. S. Nise, Control Systems Engineering, J. Wiley, NY, 2008.
R. C. Dorf, R. H. Bishop, Modern Control Systems, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, N.J., 2005.
K. Ogata, Modern Control Engineering, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, N.J., 2002.

The duration of the exam is three hours.
The exam is open book. Nevertheless, it is recommended that each student compile a formula sheet for use during the exam.
The use of MATLAB is allowed unless otherwise indicated in the exam question.

The exam covers modeling, analysis and control of engineering systems. The student may be asked to:

Formulate mathematical models for dynamical systems (electrical, mechanical and electromechanical systems). This includes obtaining input-output differential equations, transfer functions and block diagrams, and state equations
Linearize nonlinear systems
Obtain the response of a system to standard inputs (step, ramp, parabolic) using differential equations, transfer functions or state equations
Determine the stability status of a given system (Routh-Hurwitz criterion, Nyquist criterion)
Design compensators for analog plants using s-domain and frequency domain methods
Obtain z-transfer functions or state equations for discrete-time systems