Analog electronic test board for an estimation of time characteristics of the basic elements of automatic control systems

Abstract

This work presents the design and implementation of an analog electronic test board (AETB) for determining the time characteristics of basic elements of automatic control systems. Test signals are formed to study time responses of open and closed-loop basic control systems. In the practical part, a laboratory test board was designed and manufactured. Electronic components have been installed on a PCB prototype and the whole system has been enclosed in a polycarbonate box containing BNC junctions to connect it with an external oscilloscope. The device has been divided into functional blocks such as power supply, signal generator and a system containing basic elements of automation. Moreover, parameters of both the generator and the basic elements are tunable. By using the AETB test board, it is possible to analyze properties of the PID controllers as well as the first and second-order basic elements. In the preliminary stage of the design, numerical simulations allowed to choose proper values of most electronic components. Finally, a few waveforms were examined on the oscilloscope to make a comparison with the simulation results.