TEXT 1A. Control Engineering Practice

Control engineering is concerned with the analysis and design of goal-oriented systems. Therefore the mechanization of goal-oriented policies has grown into a hierarchy of goal-oriented systems. Modern control theory is concerned with systems with the self-organizing, adaptive, robust, learning and optimum qualities. This interest has aroused even greater excitement among control engineers.

The control of an industrial process (manufacturing, production, and so on) by automatic rather than human means is often called "automation". Automation is prevalent in the chemical, electric power, paper, automobile, and steel industries, among others. The concept of automation is central to our industrial society. Automatic machines are used to increase the production of a plant per worker in order to offset rising wages and inflationary costs. Thus industries are concerned with the productivity per worker of their plant. "Productivity" is defined as the ratio of physical output to physical input. In this case we are referring to labour productivity, which is real output per hour of work. For example, in a study conducted by the US Commerce Department it was determined that labour produc­tivity grew at an average annual rate of 2,8 % from 1988 to 2004. In order to continue these productivity gains, expenditures for factory automation are expected to rise from 5 billion dollars in 1998 to 8 bil­lion dollars in 2014. The US manufacturers currently supply approxi­mately one-half of world-wide control equipment. The transformation of the US labour force in the country's brief history follows the pro­gressive mechanization of work that attended the evolution of the agrarian republic into an industrial world power.

The easing of human labour by technology, a process that began in prehistory, is entering a new stage. The acceleration in the pace of technological innovations inaugurated by the Industrial Revolution has until recently resulted mainly in the displacement of human muscle power from the tasks of production. The current revolution in computer

technology is causing an equally momentous social change: the exten­sion of information gathering and information processing as computers extend the reach of human brain.

Control systems are used to achieve 1) increased productivity and 2) improved performance of a device or system. Automation is used to improve productivity and obtain high quality products. Automation is the automatic operation or control of a process, device or system. We utilize automatic control of machines and processes to produce a prod­uct within specified tolerances.

The term "automation" first became popular in the automobile in­dustry. Transfer lines were coupled with automatic machine tools to create long machinery lines that could produce engine parts, such as the cylinder block, virtually without operator intervention. In body-parts manufacturing, automatic-feed mechanisms were coupled with high speed stamping presses to increase productivity in sheet-metal forming. In many other areas where designs were relatively stable, such as radiator production, entire automated lines replaced manual operations.

With the demand for flexible, custom production emerging in the 1990s, a need for flexible automation and robots is growing.

There are about 150,000 control engineers in the United States and also in Japan, and over 100, 000 control engineers in Russia. The theo­ry, practice and application of automatic control is a large, exciting, and extremely useful engineering discipline. One can readily understand the motivation for a study of modern control systems.

TASK 2. Read and translate the following words:

hierarchy ['haiara:ki], ratio ['reijisu], expenditure, surface, acceler­ation, virtually, entire, emerging, extremely.

TASK3. Complete the chart and translate the words.

A.

B.

TASK 4. Find in the text a word that has the opposite meaning to the following:

out-of-date, to decrease, falling, to finish, long, regressive, com­plexity, partly, permanent, useless.

TASK 5. A. Translate the following word combinations:

goal-oriented system, rising wages and inflationary costs, average annual rate, productivity gains, world-wide control equipment, easing of human labour, pace of technological innovations, displacement of human muscle power, specified tolerances, entire automatic lines. B. Compose sentences with them.

TASK 6. Complete each sentence with the most appropriate ending.

1. The mechanization of goal-oriented policies.

2. Automatic machines are used

3. To continue these productivity gains, expenditures for factory automation

4. The easing of human labour

D. has grown into a hierarchy of
goal-oriented control systems.

E. to create long machinery
lines.

F. are expected to rise.

TASK 7. Translate the following sentences paying attention to the un­derlined words.

1. Moreover, computers and software have changed the way engi­neering design is done.

2. Despite the seemingly obvious requirement of control systems, it was only in the early 1980s that control researchers developed mathematical techniques to cope with the problem.

3. The approach in these latter formulas is mathematical rather than graphical.

4. It must be kept in mind that a control engineer's role is not merely one of designing control systems for fixed plants.

5. For this reason it is important that a theory of feedback not only lead to designs but also indicate directly when the performance objec­tives cannot be met.

TASK 8. Translate the sentences with the infinitive as an adverbial modifier of purpose (чтобы). Remember that in this function the in­finitive can be introduced by "in order» or "so as» (formal style).

1. To deal with the problem perfectly, we must investigate it thor­oughly.

2. In order to define the concept "productivity" we should know the difference between physical output and physical input.

3. So as to enlarge the number of control engineers, universities stress the importance of this useful engineering discipline.

4. The article was written to formulate a precise problem of the theory of feedback control system design.

TASK 9. Find in the text the sentences with the infinitive as an adver­bial modifier of purpose and translate them.

TASK 10. The infinitive can be also used as an adverbial modifier of

result with "too" (слишком) and "enough" (достаточно). Combine

two sentences into one according to the example.

Example A: The results are reliable. They can be published in the

proceedings.

The results are reliable enough to be published in the proceedings.

1. The idea is clear. It can be formulated exactly.

2. The phenomenon occurs very often. It can be observed.

3. The method is good. It can be used in practice.

4. The conclusions are quite reasonable. They account for the above data.

5. The point is quite trivial. It needn't be mentioned.

Example B: The idea is not quite clear. It can't be formulated exactly. The idea is too unclear to be formulated exactly.

1. The measurements are not accurate. They do not contribute the necessary information.

2. The classification is not simple. It can't be used in practice.

3. The research is not done carefully. It has no practical application.

4. The task is not easy. It can't be done without some preliminary work.

TASK 11. Make the following sentences negative using the verb "to fail" + infinitive.

Example. He succeeded in obtaining new data. He failed to obtain new data. 1.1 managed to complete my work in time.

2. The latest data didn't confirm the previous ones.

3. We couldn't increase expenditures for factory automation.

4. We couldn't improve the figures of acceleration which were not stable at that moment.

TASK 11. Read and translate the text.