Simulation and Dimensional Analysis of a Stepping Extremum Control System

Abstract

The paper describes a digital computer simulation of a class of discrete-time, single-input, stepping extremum control systems with input disturbance and output measurement noise and with an easily instrumented control law. The results of the simulation provide both design equations and quantitative information about the best results that can be achieved with the class of systems considered. Two features of the simulation that are of interest are an automatic procedure that is used to reduce statistical errors to a specified level, and the use of dimensional analysis to reduce the number of variables that need be considered to two.