Controls systems exams

Examiner: Professor 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.

Exam rules:

• 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.

Exam topics: 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

View a sample Controls Exam