Abstract
This paper describes a simple proportional and integral control algorithm for a swirl motor controller and its application. The control algorithm may be complicated in order to have desired performance, such as low steady state errors, fast response time, and relatively low overshoot. At the same time, it should be compact so that it can be easily implemented on a low cost microcontroller, which has no floating-point calculation capability and low computing speed. These conflicting requirements are fulfilled by the proposed control algorithm which consists of a gain scheduling proportional controller and an anti-windup integral controller. The mechanical friction, which is caused by gears and a return spring, varies very nonlinearly according to the angular position of the system. This nonlinear static friction is overcome by the proportional controller, which has a two-dimensional look up gain table. It has error axis and angular position axis. The integral controller is designed not only to minimize the steady state error but also to avoid the windup effect, which may be caused by the saturation of a motor driver. The proposed control algorithm is verified by use of a commercial product to prove the feasibility of the algorithm.
