Discovering the effects of feedback on control systems: informative and interesting numerical exercises

A numerical approach to feedback investigations allows students to discover easily and quickly the basic effects of feedback, both desirable and undesirable, on automatic control systems. Students can quickly learn the intuitive aspects of feedback early in their study of control systems before they enter, and perhaps become lost in, the world of intense mathematical analysis and design applied to feedback. The illustrative example presented in this paper, which is designed to match the preferred learning style of most engineering students, can be used to form coordinated numerical and analytical exercises in lecture, recitation, or laboratory portions of the course. Our students say that they enjoy and benefit from the many learning aspects of these discovery exercises.