Theory of automatic control

The theory of automatic control was born in the 19th century, in its second half, and was called "regulation." With the expansion of the field of application of machines with steam engines, there appeared a need for special regulators, which are devices supporting the uninterrupted operation of such machines. It is this fact that gave impetus to the beginning of scientific research in the field of technical management of objects and is known as the "theory of automatic regulation". Later on, the scientists deduced the main aspects of this teaching, which can be successfully applied in such systems as social and economic ones. Therefore, the original name was replaced by a term of wide significance - "Theory of automatic control."

The next stage in this field of research is the process of introducing into the control system (SS) and regulation of automation devices of some electronic elements and telemechanics. This fact contributed to the appearance of sufficiently accurate guidance and tracking systems, telemetry and telecontrol, automatic correction and control. The 20th century (50th years) is famous for the creation of automatic control systems for industrial complexes and production processes using electronic computers.

The management of any object implies an impact on it to achieve a goal determined by a particular process or state. In the form of a control object (OS), an electric motor, any machine or aircraft can be adopted. The use of technical means without involving a person in the management process is called automatic. In turn, the automatic control system (ACS) is formed on the basis of the combination of automatic control and OS.

The fundamentals of the theory of automatic control assume the maintenance of laws of change of certain physical quantities that characterize the processes taking place in the OS, without the participation of man. Such quantities are called "controlled quantities". In this class of systems, automatic control systems can be seen. Their task is to establish the values of the controlled quantity at a constant level. It is also necessary to achieve changes of the same magnitude within the given program. For example, when considering a baking oven as a control object and as a controlled value, a temperature will be used that changes its values according to a certain program, based on the requirements of the technological process.

In further studies, the management objective was linked directly to a set of quality indicators that gave a complete characterization of the system. In turn, these indicators began to be required to achieve the smallest or largest (marginal) values. It is for this purpose that self-adaptive or adaptive systems were created.

The theory of automatic control contributes to the improvement of the functioning of the object, which must be controlled by a special system. Often, auxiliary operations such as start-up, monitoring, shutdown and commissioning can also be automated. By itself, the ACS should function as part of a certain production facility.

The theory of automatic control considers such classifications of control systems as:

- the purpose of management ;

- type of control loop;

- The method of signal transmission.

The theory of automatic control should study the regularities of the processes that occur in the construction of automatic control systems, investigate the design features of the control object, taking into account the conditions of its operation, for the construction of qualitative, accurate and efficient control systems.