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Digital control of dynamic systems G. F.

Franklin and J. D. Powell

Article July 1983

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Automatica, Vot. 19, No. 4, pp. 457 458, 1983
Printed in Great Britain.
Digital Control of Dynamic Systems*
G. F. Franklin and J. D. Powell
Reviewer: H. N. KOIVO
Department of Electrical Engineering, Tampere University of
Technology, Tampere, Finland.
IT HAS been interesting to observe the impact of microprocessor
technology in the field of automatic control. There has been quite
a few new textbooks in the area of digital control, sometimes
having 'microprocessor' in the title. Research literature, on the
other hand, does not abound with papers dealing with problems
related to control with microprocessors. A number of simple
algorithms, including self-tuning controllers, have been pre-
sented in the 1970s with microprocessors in mind. The study of
quantization errors, limit cycles, and round-off errors caused by
short wordlengths of computers have partly been a carryover
from the theory of digital filters.
Based on this, it seems that control theorists have not, as a
group, been greatly influenced in their research by the
development in technology. We continue to study vigorously
control of linear, stochastic, hierarchical, and distributed systems
without realizing the wealth of significant problems brought on
by the change in technology. Perhaps the reason is that control
problems related to microprocessors and using graphics are not
well-formulated mathematically and they require a lot of
engineering insight both into hardware and software. The
mathematics just isn't exact and nice.
The overall feeling is that microprocessors are becoming more
and more powerful so that even complex, optimal control
algorithms can be implemented. Thus there is no need to change
one's research orientation at all. I believe this to be at least
partially a misconception. There is only a handful of
applications--say, navigation systems--where really com-
plicated algorithms are needed. In power industry, control is not
as important as reliability and alarm analysis. In process
industry, the PID-controller is the workhorse and is sufficient
most of the time. It is more important to know what to measure, if
possible, and what to control rather than how to control.
It seems that researchers in universities are nowadays too far
removed from the practical problems being closer to knowing
their mathematics very well. The field of control theory was born
from solving very realistic problems--consider Black's feedback
amplifier and Nyquist's theory, for example. There is no 'gap'
between theory and applications--it is more a question of
developing more right kind of theory ! Simple reliable algorithms,
e.g. for compensating time delays, disturbances, and inaccuracies
in models are still to be developed for scalar and multivariable
problems. In order to be useful, they have to be better than the
PID-controller. Since operators understand how a PID-control
works, it is, and will be in the future, the main algorithm in
automation systems. Other human engineering questions, such
as alarm analysis in automation systems, are becoming more
important.
The textbooks in digital control have not changed in content
very much over the years--not at least so much that the book
under review would be a book about the use of digital computers
in the real-time control of dynamic systems. This is the authors'
claim in the first sentence of the preface. Actually the book does
not say anything about real-time operating systems or other
relevant software aspects. The book is about digital control,
*Digital Control of Dynamic Systems, by G. F. Franklin and
J. D. Powell. Published by Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA (1980).
335 pp., U.S.$46.25.
457
0005-1098/83 $3.00 + 0.00
PergamonPress Ltd.
1983 InternationalFederationof AutomaticControl.
Book Review
emphasizing algorithms, but dealing also with digital filters,
quantization, and'sample rate selection. In this regard the book
by Franklin and Powell is well written, well organized, and easy
to read. It also has a good selection of exercises on most topics.
The book is intended for a readership having as a background
a classical control course dealing with continuous systems. In
Tampere University of Technology the material is taught for
fourth year students with the suggested background with good
results.
The book begins with transform techniques and continues with
state-space methodology. Chapters on digital filters and those
deaing with state-space techniques are the major difference, the
new material, compared with the earlier textbooks. It is rather
amusing that the basic discrete PID-controller algorithm is not
discussed, although it is used extensively in various forms in all
new automation systems. In fact, it is also becoming part of
programmable logic modules.
The chapter on system identification is well justified, but is only
loosely connected to other chapters of the book. Here a short
description of the powerful self-tuning controller algorithm
would have been quite appropriate. Even the style of writing is
slightly different from other chapters. Here general theory is
presented, when through the rest of the book simple guiding
examples are given to motivate the development of the theory.
Identification, with its tedious notation and heavy machinery,
would have needed more stimulating, illustrative examples.
The discussion on stability of discrete dynamic systems is
handled rather haphazardly. According to authors a very
important qualitative property of some dynamic systems is
stability. In the closed-loop systems it is the overriding property !
Only BIBO-stability is briefly discussed based on the unit pulse
response. No discussion of the location of the roots of the
characteristic equation related to stability is given. In fact,
characteristic equation of a digital control system is mentioned
for the first time in connection with root locus with no
justification why such an equation might be important. No
criterion based on the coefficients of the characteristic equation is
given. If the reader is careful, he knows from the section
concerning signal analysis that ira pole lies outside the unit circle
this results in a growing signal. The fact that the system is
unstable, if the roots of the characteristic equation have this
property is finally mentioned in a sentence, when Ragazzini's
direct design method is discussed. Even in connection of state-
space techniques stability is not discussed as a separate issue.
Although a course on classical control is a prerequisite, I do
not think that a couple of sentences is enough to describe
Mason's rule in the section of block diagram reduction and
Mason's rule. Further I did not see how it was used at all and
when an impression of using it is given, it only confuses the simple
block diagram algebra.
The chapter on sampled data systems is nicely written, but the
last section on block diagram analysis of sampled data systems
would need just a little polishing. An example of a step-response
calculation and perhaps drawing the block diagram of the
discrete system in the first example would clarify the situation.
This would tie in with the next chapter where the discrete system
is taken for granted.
The chapter on the design of systems using transform
techniques gives a good selection of different methods. Treatment
of a PID-controller and perhaps some emphasis on time-delay
compensation would have complemented the chapter nicely.
Stich a practical issue as 'ringing', that is, large variations in the
control signal, is not discussed either. In the chapter on
 458 Book Review
quantization effects, the stochastic analysis is a bit hard for
students who have little background in stochastic processes. The
use of integral inverse transform in this context is quite involved
and authors should have given tables for computing the complex
integral. The chapter on sample rate selection could have been
more extensive, since the sample rate has to be picked early in
design and there appears to be no uniform treatment of it in the
literature.
The book by Franklin and Powell has made some new inroads
in the area of textbooks on digital control systems. Although it
does not offer any fresh viewpoints, it is one of the best textbooks
to teach digital control, while we are waiting for a book that
would deal more comprehensively with real-time control systems
and not only with digital algorithms.
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About the reviewer
Heikki Koivo received his Ph.D. degree from University of
Minnesota in 1971. Also in 1971 he became a visiting assistant
professor and later an assistant professor in the Department of
Electrical Engineering of University of Toronto. Since 1975 he
has been an associate professor at the Department of Electrical
Engineering of Tampere University of Technology, Finland. He
has also served as a consultant to a number of companies and is a
co-founder of Prodycon, an R &D company. His present research
areas include multivariable and adaptive control, microprocessor
applications, and process control.