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 undes irable, on automatic control systems. Students can quickly learn the intuit ive aspects of feedback early in their study of control systems before they enter, and perhaps become lost in, the world of intense mathematical analy sis and design applied to feedback. The illustrative example presented in t his paper, which is designed to match the preferred learning style of most engineering students, can be used to form coordinated numerical and analyti cal exercises in lecture, recitation, or laboratory portions of the course. Our students say that they enjoy and benefit from the many learning aspect s of these discovery exercises.