Logic Control

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Logic controllers are widely used to supervise a safe operation of processes, and to enforce desired operating sequences. In many applications, such controllers are realized by Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) or Distributed Control Systems (DCSs). The course introduces the underlying mathematical models and notions, teaches basic design concepts for logic control, and programming of PLCs. In the tutorials, the students design, implement, and test logic controllers for simple examples. Structure of the course:

1. Introduction: motivation and application examples for logic control
2. Mathematical foundations: Boolean algebra and functions
3. Hardware realization of logic controllers and fundamentals of PLC programming
4. Programming languages according to the international standard IEC 61131-3 (including function block diagrams and the specification of sequential controls by sequential function charts)
5. Mathematical tools for the design and analysis of logic controllers

The students learn the importance of logic control and the state of the art of the technology used to implement such controllers. They can analyse the tasks of a logic controller and can formally specify its behaviour. They are able to implement simple logic controllers. They can evaluate the complexity of a logic control task.