General Laboratory Information
ECE 476
The University of Alabama
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Fall 2009
Prepared by:
Dr. Tim A. Haskew
October 2009
ECE 476: Control Systems Laboratory
General Laboratory Information
1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I.
Course Information and Policies ................................................2
II.
Laboratory Logistics .......................................................................4
III. Laboratory Safety Rules .................................................................5
IV. Laboratory Reports .........................................................................6
ECE 476: Control Systems Laboratory
General Laboratory Information
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I. COURSE INFORMATION AND POLICIES
Coordinator:
Dr. Tim A. Haskew
302C Houser Hall
The University of Alabama
Box 870286
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0286
Office: (205)348-1766
Fax: (205)348-6959
Email: thaskew@eng.ua.edu
Web: http://haskew.eng.ua.edu
Graduate Teaching Assistants:
Instructor
Josh Spiegel
Office Location
149 East Eng.
Office Hours
2:00-3:00 MW
Pre/Corequisites:
Corequisite - ECE 475
Location:
Room 134, East Engineering
Texts:
Modern Control Systems, 10th edition, Richard C. Dorf and Robert H. Bishop,
Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2005.
Schedule
The schedule for this course is can be found through the web address:
http://haskew.eng.ua.edu/ECE476/ECE476.html.
Pre-Lab Assignments
For each laboratory exercise, you will be required to complete a pre-lab assignment.
This assignment should be worked on engineering paper using only one side of the page.
You will turn in the pre-lab assignment at the beginning of the corresponding lab period.
Lab Participation
Your laboratory instructor will grade your laboratory participation on a 10 point scale for
each laboratory exercise. This grade will be provided to you when your graded lab report is
returned.
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Laboratory Reports
For each laboratory exercise that is performed, you will be required to submit an
informal laboratory report at your next laboratory meeting. Details on the preparation of
these reports are provided later in this manual. Each student will submit their own report,
and each report should be prepared independently. Failure to submit any laboratory report
will result in failure of the course.
Grading
Final grades will be based on the following breakdown:
Pre-Laboratory Assignments ...................... 15%
Laboratory Reports ...................................... 75%
Laboratory Participation ............................. 10%
TOTAL........................................................ 100%
A standard 10 point scale will be used. Any questions about grading must be brought to the
attention of the appropriate graduate teaching assistant within 1 week of the date the
material was returned. After such time, no grades will be changed.
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II. Laboratory Logistics
The Control Systems Laboratory, with a course value of 1 semester hour, is designed to
provide the student with practical hands on experience in obtaining device models and
observing the limitations of such models. In addition, the student will gain experience in the
design and implementation of closed-loop control systems to meet specific performance
criteria. The laboratory exercises have been designed to provide reinforcement and greater
in-depth understanding of the topics covered in ECE 475, Control Systems Analysis.
The first laboratory session will be introductory in nature. You will be briefed on the
layout of the facilities and on operation of the equipment. No reports will be required from
the lab introduction session. Each lab section will be divided into groups during the first
laboratory period. Experiments will be performed in these groups.
The ECE 476 laboratory equipment, manufactured by Quanser, is based on the National
Instruments ELVIS platform used in other ECE laboratories. Quanser has provided a great
deal of documentation on their hardware and software, and they have provided a number of
laboratory experiments that will be used throughout the semester. The documentation is
available to you when you are logged on to the College of Engineering network. A drive will
appear under “My Computer” as Elvis on ‘Watto’(Z:). When you expand the drive, a
folder entitled QNET and Q-Guide CD for v1.10 for LabVIEW 8.2.1 will be available.
Expanding this folder will make available a sub-folder entitled QNET Interactive
Learning Guide. Opening this sub-folder will make available the interactive HTML
document entitled qnet_interactive_guide. When opened, this will make available all of
the necessary documentation in a well-structured format thought Microsoft Internet
Explorer.
Prior to your first laboratory meeting, you should review several portions of the Quanser
documentation. When you initiate the interactive guide, you should go to the Overview
page. From this page, you should go to an review the Introduction, Getting Started, Control
Practice, LabVIEW, and Motion Control sections.
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III. Laboratory Safety Rules
The Control Systems Laboratory constitutes a hazardous environment. As such, the
following safety rules are to be stringently adhered to. Violation of any of these rules can
result in serious injury to yourself or others. Laboratory instructors will enforce these rules
to the utmost of their ability. However, the final burden rests with you, the student.
Remember to always think SAFETY FIRST.
1)
Never energize a laboratory setup without the instructors acknowledgment.
2)
Always assume that a circuit is energized until you have verified otherwise.
3)
Use only one hand to make electrical connections.
4)
Do not touch bare metal in energized circuits.
5)
Never enter the laboratory with wet or moist hands or feet.
6)
In the event of an accident, take immediate action to de-energize any active circuits
without jeopardizing your own safety.
7)
Bring no food or drink into the lab.
8)
No tobacco of any kind is allowed in the lab.
9)
Do not wear loose clothing or dangling jewelry into the
removed, and long hair should be tied up.
10)
No horseplay will be tolerated.
11)
Never work on a cluttered lab bench.
12)
When finished with a piece of equipment, return it to the place where it belongs,
regardless of who got it out.
13)
Never touch moving parts of machinery.
14)
Do not stand in the plane of rotation of belts, chains, drums, etc.
15)
Consider the consequences of closing or opening a switch before you do it.
lab.
Neckties should be
Again, this list of regulations can not replace good common sense. Please use the utmost
caution in the electric machines lab.
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IV. Laboratory Reports
You will be preparing informal laboratory reports for each experiment in this course.
Although they are informal, laboratory reports should be word processed an contain suitable
graphics and other technical features as appropriate. Reports should be stapled in the upper
left hand corner. Each informal report should follow the outline provided below:
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
Cover Page
A.
Experiment Title
B.
Date
C.
Name and Student Number
D.
Lab Section and Group
E.
Names of Lab Partners
F.
Signature
Abstract (one page or less)
A.
Objectives of Experiment
B.
Description of Procedure
C.
Summary of Conclusions
Procedure (presented in the order performed, probably as a numbered list with all
necessary explanatory text)
A.
Circuit Figures
B.
Data Collected (graphs and plots are often useful)
C.
Answers to Questions Posed in Procedure Section of Lab Handout
Conclusions
A.
Responses to Objectives
B.
Unexpected Results
C.
Correlation of Data
Question Responses (solution only, but include explanations as needed)
Laboratory reports will be graded out of 100 points. You will be graded based on
technical accuracy, presentation style and quality, and completeness. Note that grammar,
spelling, punctuation, etc., will be considered.
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