University of Tikrit

College of Engineering

Electrical Department

Control Systems laboratory

EXP(8)
Analogue Computer

By
Hamza OSAMA

Supervisor

Assist.Prof.Dr.KHALAF SALLOUM GAEID

INTRODUCTION
An operational amplifier ("op amp") is a direct-coupled,
differential-input, high
gain voltage amplifier, usually packaged in the form of a small
integrated circuit. The
term "operational" dates back to the early days of analog computers
when these devices
were employed in circuits that performed mathematical operations
such as addition,
subtraction, integration, and the solution of differential equations.
Today's op amps are
used in a much wider variety of circuits and operate at considerably
lower voltages and
powers; however, the name remains.
The linear circuit which forms the heart of the operational amplifier
is a fairly
complicated device consisting of many (30 or more) active and
passive devices integrated
into silicon. (See schematic diagram in Section 9.11 at the end of this
exercise). Such a
complex device requires a team of experienced engineers many
months to design! The
beauty of operational amplifiers, however, is that to first order the
input-output
characteristics are very simple; the circuit designer using the op amp
need not be overly
concerned with the inner workings of the thing and can treat it like a
"black box" with
certain specified and very desirable properties. As such, the modern
operational
amplifier is a very useful and versatile building block for thousands
of circuits in
applications as diverse as audio, video, communications, process
control,
instrumentation, and biomedicine
Objective:
 To construct a simple analog computer and study its
properties.
 To simulate the analog computer using SimuLink and
MATLAB.
Theory:
Analogue computers are electronic circuits designed to solve
specific problems. They are commonly found in control systems,
where they are used to solve differential equations. To solve any
linear differential equation with constant coefficients, it is necessary
only to make use of the processes of integration, summation, and
multiplication by constant.
A common differential equation is described by:
̈ ̇
is the response of the system to a forcing function . This
equation can be simulated by an electronic circuit that employs
summer, two integrators, constructed with operational amplifiers,
and potentiometer to control thee values of constants a, b, and c.
This laboratory experiment will illustrate how an op-amp
circuit (acting as a basic analog computer) can be configured to solve
a differential equation.
Operational Amplifiers:
The fundamental building block of the analogue computer is
the operational amplifier (Op-Amp) which can be configured to
realize most mathematical functions: addition, subtraction,
multiplication, division, integration, differentiation, and logarithm.
Figure (1) shows the pin configuration of the op-amp used in
this experiment, thee 741. This type of op-amp is an integrated circuit
(IC) in a mini-DIP (Dual In-line Package).
Figure (1): pin configuration of the 741 op-amp as viewed from the
top.
 V- (Pin2) is the inverted input; all input signals at this pin
will be inverted at output pin 6.
 V+ (pin 3) is the non-inverted input; all input signals at this
pin will be processed normally without inversion.
 Vout (pin 6) is the output; output signal’s polarity will be
the opposite of the input’s when thus signal is applied to the
op-amp’s inverting input.
 +Vcc (pin 7) and –Vcc (pin 4) are the two power supply
voltages needed to power the op-amp. For the 741, +Vcc is
+15V and –Vcc is -15V. the two supply voltages limit the
output voltage range (from +Vcc to –Vcc). If the gain would
yield an output voltage above +Vcc or below –Vcc, then the
output “saturates” at +Vcc or –Vcc, respectively.
 Offset Null (pin1 and pin 5); used to compensate for
irregularities in the operational amplifier manufacturing
process which may cause an offset. Consequently, a null
potentiometer is recommended for critical applications.
Simulation of Transfer Function:
Consider the transfer function:

̈ ̇
 ̈ ̇
The analogue computer block diagram of the above differential
equation is shown below in fig. (2). Instead of using separate
summers, amplifiers, and integrators, we used summer-integrators,
this allowed us to greatly cu down on the number of components
needed.

Figure (2): analogue computer block diagram of system modeled by

differential equation (1).
The electrical equivalent can be constructed with a few
operational amplifiers (Op-Amps ) and some passive linear
components; all measurements can be taken directly with an
oscilloscope.
The circuit diagram for this analogue computer is shown below
in fig. (3). The constants of thee differential equation that this circuit
model cannot be individually set. Instead, the three potentiometers
allow the ratios between them to be adjusted.

IDEAL CHARACTERISTICS
In this experiment, we will be concerned only with the "ideal"
operational amplifier. It is
this model, which is the simplest to analyze and which describes the
operation that the
circuit designer would consider "perfect" were it not for real-world
limitations. The
symbol for an operational amplifier is shown in Figure 3. V+ and V-
are the input
 Figure 3: Operational amplifier symbols. Pin numbers are
those of a 741 eight pin dual-inline package.

voltages and Vo is the output voltage. These are related by the simple
expression
Vo = Ao (V+ - V-), (3)
where Ao is the open-loop voltage gain and +VCC and –VCC are the
positive and negative
DC power supply voltages, respectively. There is no internal
"ground" or "common"
connection; voltages are measured relative to the common connection
of the two power
supplies. The numbers on the diagram refer to the pin numbers on
the 741 integrated
circuit (IC) package as shown in Figure 3. The pin numbers and the
supply voltages are
usually omitted in circuit diagrams as long as there is no ambiguity.
Pin 8 is not used.
Pins 1 and 5 do serve a useful purpose, but they will not be
considered in this lab.
Apparatus:
1. Power supply ( 18) V dc.
2. Function generator.
3. Oscilloscope.
4. Discrete components (op-amps, resistors, capacitors).
5. Computer and MATLAB program).
Procedure:
1. Connect the circuit shown in fig. (1) that represents equation
(1), using 741 op-amps and standard components available in
the lab.
2. Use thee function generator to supply a square wave (step)
signal of amplitude 2V pk-pk and find the output response
.
3. Construct equation (1) using Simulink and find the output
response
.
Discussion:
1. Compare experimental response with simulated outpt
response.
It would be rather surprising if despite these similarities
there were no differences between simulations and
experiments. For, if there were no substantial differences
why would people still invest large sums into highly
sophisticated experimental set-ups like that of a particle
collider when they could just as well buy a super computer?
Some philosophers believe that it is rather difficult to draw
a sharp line between simulations and experiments
(Morrison 2009, Winsberg 2010, Parker 2009), but we
believe there are at least three fundamental differences
between simulations and experiments which are highly
relevant for the epistemic status of either category.
First of all, experiments can provide us with new empirical
data, computer simulations cannot. While it is true that
computer simulations deliver results that may not have been
known or expected by us beforehand, computer simulations
can by their very nature only produce results that are
implied by the premises on which the simulation is built. It
is important here to understand the difference between
a) things that are not logically implied in our prior
knowledge,
b) things that are logically implied in our prior knowledge
but unknown to us and
c) things that are logically implied in our prior knowledge
and also known to us. For category a, simulations cannot
help us; only experiments can help. For category b,
simulations and experiments can help us. And for category
c, neither is needed, because we know it already. Another
way of putting it would be to say that simulations can only
deliver us results that fall within the deductive closure of
our prior knowledge.
Therefore, if the term “empirical data” is understood as
data of empirical origin then computer simulations do not
generate new empirical data. Sometimes the term
 “empirical” is used in a wider sense. Barberousse et al.
(2009, p. 560), for example, speak of the data that is
generated by simulations as data about empirical systems.
But they, too, do not consider it to be new data of empirical
origin.
Another important difference is that some experiments
operate directly on the target system, while computer
simulations never do. More precisely, the kind of relation
that subsists between the experimental object and the target
system is typically one of the following: identity, being an
instance, being a part. For example, if a car tester wants to
know whether a car can drive faster than 100 mph and, in
order to find out, accelerates the car to that speed then the
object is identical with the target system. If physicists want
to know whether white light is composed of different colors,
they can let a beam of light fall through a prisma to find out.
In this case the object (a particular beam of light) is an
instance of the target system (light). If an archaeologist
intends to determine the age of an old building and takes a
stone of that building to submit it to certain tests than the
object is a part of the target system.
There are also experiments that do not operate directly on
the target system. If one experiments with an electrical
harmonic oscillator in order to learn something about a
mechanical oscillator (Hughes 1999, p. 138), then this
experiment does not operate on the target system itself. But
the fact that some experiments operate on the target system
or on an instance or a part of the target system, suffices to
set the two categories of experiment and simulation apart.
Because experiments can operate on the target system, the
experimental method has an epistemic reach beyond that of
simulations.
2. Explain the effect of changing the value of potentiometer of
the system response.
When the potentiometer resistance is decreased (the wiper
moves downwards) the output voltage from pin 2 decreases
producing a smaller voltage drop across R2. Likewise, when
the potentiometer resistance is increased (the wiper moves
 upwards) the output voltage from pin 2 increases producing
a larger voltage drop. In a potentiometer, the entire input
voltage is applied across the whole length of the resistor, and
the output voltage is the voltage drop between the fixed and
sliding contact as shown below. A potentiometer has the two
terminals of the input source fixed to the end of the resistor.
Appendix:
Summer (adder)

Feedback resistor (R) is added to prevent the capacitor from

becoming charged by any small leakage current. This is called Miller