Graphical visualization of control system performance

University courses on control system design have traditionally relied on the root locus approach to predict transient system output. However, the increasing speed of personal computers has made it practical to design control systems by simulating their time and frequency responses. This thesis presents an interactive Matlab program for control system analysis and design. The system is defined in Simulink with a user-specified gain parameter of variable magnitude. The gain parameter is automatically varied by the program within user-specified bounds. Several surface and performance plots are produced which describe system time-domain and frequency-domain performance. The system root locus is also presented with pole loci corresponding to the gain values under scrutiny. The locus at a specific gain value can be selected for determination of system performance using standard assessment parameters. This program can be applied in both an educational setting and as a design tool for practicing engineers