Teaching with Simulink (MATLAB News and Notes)

Teaching with Simulink



Science and engineering instructors describe how they use Simulink to actively engage students in solving real-world modeling and analysis problems.




Teaching system dynamics and controls

by Thomas J. Connolly, PH.D
Senior Lecturer, Department of Mechanical Engineering & Biomechanics,
University of Texas, San Antonio

I teach a senior-level laboratory course in Mechanical Measurements and Dynamics and Controls in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Biomechanics at the University of Texas at San Antonio. A primary course objective is for the students to develop a practical knowledge of system dynamics and control by performing experiments and computer-based simulations of engineering systems.

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Teaching Physiology with Simulink

by Lena H. Ting and Robert H. Lee
Biomedical Engineering Department,
Emory University School of Medicine and Georgia Institute of Technology

In the Modeling and Systems course, Simulink labs introduce students to quantitative modeling and analysis in a biological context. These labs are designed to be open-ended and challenging. The Simulink environment provides both a virtual experimental environment and a modeling and analysis tool.

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Teaching system dynamics and controls

by Thomas J. Connolly, PH.D.,
Senior Lecturer, Department of Mechanical Engineering & Biomechanics,
University of Texas, San Antonio

I teach a senior-level laboratory course in Mechanical Measurements and Dynamics and Controls in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Biomechanics at the University of Texas at San Antonio. A primary course objective is for the students to develop a practical knowledge of system dynamics and control by performing experiments and computer-based simulations of engineering systems. We spend about six weeks learning Simulink and applying it as part of a short-term project.
In teaching the corresponding theory-based course, I find that we have little time to cover more detailed design problems that involve computer-based solutions. The students greatly benefit from solving these problems by applying what they have learned to more detailed applications in a simulation-based design environment. Simulink has been instrumental in realizing this goal.

Figure 1: Unity feedback control system for aircraft bank angle. Click on image to see enlarged view.

My students rarely have any prior experience with Simulink, so we spend two weeks going through tutorials and practice problems. For tutorial materials, we use Mastering Simulink, which is an excellent reference text. For additional practice, I take theory-based problems from the textbook Modern Control Systems and adapt them for solution with Simulink. For example, students work iteratively, finding control system parameters to reach an optimum solution that satisfies particular design requirements (Figure 1).
From Modern Control Systems, which contains many problems that are based on actual engineering control systems, I have compiled a list of potential Simulink project problems. Working in pairs, students select a problem from the area in which they are most interested. The problems cover a variety of areas, including:

• Aircraft and spacecraft control
• Manufacturing processes
• Vehicle dynamics
• Biomedical applications
• Electromechanical systems

In addition to working on the project outside of class, the students get two weeks of lab sessions as working sessions, during which I am available to answer software-related questions, help them work out unforeseen problems, and make suggestions for further analysis.
Each student team writes a ten- to fifteen-page report on their project, in which they define the problem, explain the process of implementing their computer-based solution, discuss any problems or challenges they faced, and present their results.
I have done this for three semesters and it has been very successful. I have found that the students enjoy working on a unique project in an area of interest while learning to use Simulink, and that they gain a better understanding of system dynamics and control systems engineering.
For more information visit:

• Simulink www.mathworks.com/nn_simulink
• Mechanical Systems and Control Laboratory (ME 4702) http://engineering.utsa.edu/me/
• Thomas Connolly, Ph.D. http://engineering.utsa.edu/me/connolly.html
• Dabney, J. and T. Harman (2004) Mastering Simulink, Prentice Hall. www.mathworks.com/nn_mastering
• Dorf, R., and R. Bishop, (2001) Modern Control Systems, Prentice Hall. www.mathworks.com/nn_modern

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Teaching Physiology with Simulink

by Lena H. Ting and Robert H. Lee,
Biomedical Engineering Department,
Emory University School of Medicine and Georgia Institute of Technology

The Biomedical Engineering Department is a joint venture between the Emory University School of Medicine and the Georgia Institute of Technology College of Engineering. We developed and implemented an innovative new Ph.D. program in 1999 that integrates graduate students with diverse backgrounds in the biological sciences and engineering. Simulink is an essential tool in both the introductory engineering course and the capstone physiology course.

Quantitative Modeling and Analysis

In the Modeling and Systems course, Simulink labs introduce students to quantitative modeling and analysis in a biological context. These labs are designed to be open-ended and challenging. The Simulink environment provides both a virtual experimental environment and a modeling and analysis tool. Students are introduced to the Simulink environment in the first lab session by demonstrating drug concentration in the bloodstream as a function of time. Drug metabolism is modeled as a simple electrical circuit analog, as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Electrical circuit model of drug metabolism.

Exploring Feedback Loops

In the Physiologic Systems course, second-year students integrate their engineering and biology backgrounds to build new Simulink models of physiological processes. The course focuses on control and feedback regulation in the body.While feedback control has been recognized for centuries as one of the most critical aspects of physiologic function, biologists have typically used static descriptions of feedback processes for even very complex and nested control loops. Simulink provides an ideal environment for students to explore the dynamic and temporal aspects of long and slow feedback loops. As part of the final project, students generate a Simulink model of a physiologic function, usually related to their research area. Recent projects include hormonal regulation of bone density, neural mechanisms of pain modulation, and mechanisms for drug delivery to tumor cells. See Figure 2 for an example of the nonlinear model of a knee-jerk reflex.

Figure 2: Simulink knee-jerk reflex model with feed-forward control. Click on image to see enlarged view.

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