Bode' Plots
Bode' Plots
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Bode plots are the most widely used means of displaying and communicating
frequency response information. There are many reasons for that.
Bode' plots are really log-log plots, so they collapse a wide range of
frequencies (on the horizontal axis) and a wide range of gains (on thevertical
axis) into a viewable whole.
You may have used Bode' plots without knowing it. Stereo equipment - amplifiers,
speakers, microphones, headsets, etc. - often have frequency response specifications,
and when you buy that kind of equipment, you may have seen a Bode' plot used to
communicate frequency response specifications.
All in all, Bode' plots are widely used, not just to specify or show a frequency
response, but they also give useful information for designing control systems. Stability
criteria can be interpreted on Bode' plots and there are numerous design techniques
based on Bode' plots.
You need to know how to use Bode' plots when you encounter them in those
situations, so this lesson will help you to understand the basics of Bode' plots.
What do you need to learn about Bode' plots? Here is a short summary:
What is a Bode' plot?
How is magnitude plotted? (dbs)
How is phase plotted? (degrees)
How is frequency plotted? (on a logarithmic scale)
Given a Transfer Function:
Be able to plot the Bode' plot, manually or with a math analysis program.
Know that the Bode' plot you generated "makes sense".
Given a Bode Plot for a System:
Determine the transfer function of thesystem represented by the Bode'
plot.
Plots of frequency response. Gain and phase are displayed in separate
plots.
Logarithmic plots.
The horizontal axis is frequency - plotted on a log scale. It can be either
f or w.
The vertical axis is gain, expressed in decibels - a logarithmic measure of
gain.
Sometimes, the vertical axis is simply a gain on a logarithmic scale.
Given these characteristics, you still need to know what a Bode' plot looks like.
Our strategy in this lesson will be to examine some simple systems - first order and
second order systems - to see what Bode' plots for the frequency response of those
systems look like. We'll start with the simplest system first, and work from there.
We will end by looking at how those simple systems can be combined to make more
complex systems with more complex Bode' plots. Remember one of our goals above.
That's what we will start with for first order systems.
In this section we will work on that general goal for first order systems. Let's
look at an example Bode' plot for a first order system. Here's a plot for a sample
transfer function.
G(j) = 1/(j+ 1) with = .001
Here's the Bode' plot. Examine the following points for this plot.
The low frequency asymptote,
= 1
That's at f = 159 Hz.
Let's look at the low frequency asymptote first. Here's the transfer function.
G(j) = 1/(j+ 1)
If is small, then the imaginary term in the denominator is small, and we have:
G(j) ~= 1/(j0 + 1) = 1
The low frequency behavior of the plot shows that the plot is flat at a value of 1.
Now, let's look at the high frequency asymptote. Here's the transfer
function.
If is large, then the imaginary term in the denominator dominates, and we have:
G(j ) ~= 1/j
|G(j)| ~= 1/
The gain drops off inversely with frequency, but the Bode' plot drops off as a
straight line. Hmmmm? That's very interesting - that it is a straight line. The straight
line high frequency asymptote shouldn't be cause for consternation. If we have:
|G()| ~= 1/
Remember that the Bode' plot is log gain vs log frequency, so let's look at the
logarithm of the magnitude of the gain.
log(|G(j)|) = log(1/)
= -log()
= -log() - log()
So, log gain depends linearly upon the log of frequency () for higher frequencies.
That's an important point to remember, and it is also a reason Bode' plots are
used so much. When the asymptotic behavior - both at high frequencies and low
frequencies - is straight line behavior, it makes Bode' plots easier to sketch and easier
to understand.
Actually, we need to note that the slope of this plot - at high frequencies - is just
-1. Look again at the asymptotic high frequency relationship between the gain and
frequency.
Check that conclusion on the plot to be sure you understand what it means.
Does the gain decrease by a factor of 10 when the frequency increases by a
factor of 10?
The last point we need to examine is the behavior of the frequency response for
frequencies between high frequency and low frequency - what we referred to as the
mid-point earlier. If the frequency response function is given by:
G(j) = 1/(j + 1)
G(j) = 1/(j + 1)
~= 0.707
This point is at = 1000, or f =159Hz.
There are some interesting things to note about this frequency response. Consider
the interactive graph below. On that graph you can see the low frequency asymptote,
the high frequency asymptote and the point where the gain is .707 of the low frequency
gain.
Problem 1 What is the corner frequency for a system with this transfer function?
G(s) = 22/( 17 s + 1)
Enter your answer in the box below, then click the button to submit your answer. You
will get a grade on a 0 (completely wrong) to 100 (perfectly accurate answer) scale.
Check My Answer
Problem 2
Here is a Bode' plot like the one we have been examining. Determine the corner
frequency, in Hz, for this system.
Enter your answer in the box below, then click the button to submit your answer.
Check My Answer
Problem 3
Here is another Bode' plot like the one we have been examining. Determine the
corner frequency, in Hz, for this system.
Enter your answer in the box below, then click the button to submit your answer.
Check My Answer
There's one last point to observe regarding first order systems. The general first
order system has a transfer function of this form.
G(j) = Gdc/(j + 1)
The point to note is that there is a DC gain term in the numerator. This really is
the DC gain. Let the frequency, , be zero:
G(j0) = Gdc/(j0 + 1) = Gdc
The effect of DC gain is to raise or lower the entire plot. You need to understand the
effect of a DC gain on a Bode' plot. Let's look at the entire transfer function.
G(j) = Gdc/(j + 1)
log(|G(j)|) = log(Gdc) log(1/(()2 + 1))
Here is a movie where you can set the gain and see how the gain changes the
Bode' plot.
We have looked exclusively at the magnitude portion of the Bode' plots we have
examined. We need to look at the phase plot as well.
We will plot the phase for this transfer function- the one used earlier in this section:
Any transfer function is a ratio of polynomials - and those polynomials have real
coefficients.
Polynomials with real coefficients have real roots - first order factors - and
complex conjugate pairs of roots - second order factors.
Our discussion of this first order system model is really only addressing systems
with one pole - one real root - in the denominator.
More interesting systems have second order factors.
We'll start with second order factors in the denominator, i.e. second order poles.
We're not done with Bode' plots. Remember:
Our Bode' plots so far were all plotted with a log scale on the vertical (gain) axis.
Decibels are more often used and you need to learn about them.
Second order systems have interesting Bode' plots - and it is important to know
about them. Click here to look at Bode' plots for second order systems.
If a system had an output power, Po, and an input power, Pi, then the ratio
of output power to input power - the power gain - is:
Po/Pi
The decibel gain is proportional to the logarithm - to the base ten (10) - of
the power gain
The gain can be expressed as the logarithm - to the base ten (10) - of the
power gain
Gain = log10(Po/Pi)
Gaindb = 10 log10(Po/Pi)
Alexander Graham Bell did a lot of work with the deaf, and he was
recognized for his work with an honorary doctorate in 1880 by
Gaulladet College in Washington, D.C.(and he also delivered the
commencement address) He is more famous for his founding of
the National Geographic Society, and other work he did.
Alexander Graham Bell was also honored by having a unit named in his honor
- the bel.
Today, the decibel is a commonly used unit to measure sound intensity and
it is well known that high decibel levels contribute to deafness - a very ironic
closing of the circle.
Today, power is not so much an issue. We're more interested in voltage gain
of an amplifier. There's an interesting transition from power to voltage that
will help us understand how gain - expressed in decibels - is viewed today.
In an amplifier, if the amplifier has an input resistance R1, then the power
input to the amplifier is given by:
Power In = V12/R1
= 10 log10(Vo2/Ro)/(Vi2/Ri)
The final result has a term in it that depends upon the resistors.
Today, engineers are often more concerned with things like voltage gain. The
resistances and power involved are not a concern at all when analyzing control systems,
so the resistance term is ignored, and we take the gain, in db, of a system to be:
Gaindb = 20 log10(Vo/Vi)
We should realize that we can plot gain, in db, for a system as a function of
frequency. The ratio of output voltage to input voltage is simply the ratio of output
amplitude to input amplitude at some frequency - our old friend, frequency response.
OK! You know about decibels. But there's some other things you need to know
about Bode' plots. The vertical axis on a true Bode' plot is scaled in db. The horizontal
axis is scaled using a logarithmic frequency scale. Here's some not-so-obvious facts
about the frequency scale.
Wrong! Octave refers to eight, not two. The reason a doubling of frequency is
called an octave is that the musical world defined the term far earlier than we ever
thought of it. An octave is a doubling of frequency, but it's eight notes in the scale to
go up an octave.
Ok, now we're going to put this all together. Here's a Bode' plot for a first order
system. It has a DC gain of 20db, and a corner frequency near f = 80 Hz. Now, look at
the slope of the high frequency portion of the plot.
Check that this is the slope for any decade, from 1000 to 10,000 or from 3000 to
30,000 Hz.
If we go back to the transfer function for a first order system, we can re-
examine the high frequency behavior. Here's the transfer function.
G(j) = 1/(j+ 1)
If is large (and only if it is large!), then the imaginary term in the denominator
dominates, and we have:
G(j) ~= 1/j
|G(j)| ~= 1/
log(|G(j)|) = log(1/)
= -log()
= -log() - log()
Now, if we start with some frequency, o, we can calculate the gain at the frequency.
Gaindb(10o) - Gaindb(o)
Gaindb(10o) - Gaindb(o)
Reflecting on the derivation above, we realize that this derivation says that the
slope is -20 db/decade for the high frequency asymptote in the Bode' plot. It's also
possible to express that another way. If we consider two frequencies that are an
octave apart, we can see that the slope can also be said to be -6db/octave.
The difference in the frequency response between the two frequencies is:
Gaindb(2wo) - Gaindb(wo)
It's time to leave this topic. However consider this. We've only looked at one
first order system. Higher order systems - even second order systems - are bound to
have some differences in their Bode' plot behavior. High frequency asymptotes will
drop off at different slopes, for example, although we'll find that they drop off at
integral multiples of -20db/decade or -6 db/octave.
There are lots of interesting things you need to know, and you can start looking at
second order systems now.
We've looked at first order systems. Remember our general goal:
Second order systems exhibit behavior that you will never see in a first order
system. We're going to work on that goal for second order systems - systems that have
this general transfer function.
Here's a Bode' plot for a second order system. This system has the following
parameters:
That means that the high frequency gain drops off at -40 db/decade.
We will start by looking at the interesting things that happen at the intermediate
frequencies. Here's the transfer function again, with s replaced now by j.
At the natural frequency, the (j)2 term becomes -n2, cancelling out the last
term in the denominator, the n2 term, since j2 = -1.
Now, the really interesting things start to happen. When those terms cancel the
denominator just has one term left, and we have:
Now we can find an explanation for the hump in the frequency response.
The only term that involves the damping ratio is the one left in the denominator
when = n.
The damping ratio is in the denominator, so the smaller the damping ratio, the
larger the frequency response is going to be.
At = n, the magnitude of the frequency response function is:
The formula for the gain of the frequency response at = n is interesting because:
It depends only upon the DC gain and the damping ratio, and, the smaller the
damping ratio, the higher the gain at the natural frequency.
Now, recall the other important behavior at low frequencies and high frequencies.
And, we can insert the point at the resonant frequency, using our formula.
G(jn) =Gdc/j2
so this works out to be a gain of 50 at the resonant peak, the equivalent of 34 db. Do
we have a problem here?
The peak is well above either of the asymptotes at the natural frequency.
We should believe all of the math we've done.
Is there really a problem here? Should we look at the actual frequency response?
Here it is. There's the peak. It does exist.
Let's examine the parameters here again to be sure that his all hangs together.
The system parameters were:
Gdc= 10,
= 0.1,
n = 2 20, (since that natural frequency was 20 Hz.)
All of these observations confirm the calculations, and they really point out that it
can be important to understand how the resonant peak depends upon the damping ratio.
To make that correspondence between resonant peak and damping ratio as clear as
possible, we have here an example of a frequency response for another system. We'll
let you control the damping ratio, but we're going to set the DC gain and the natural
frequency. Hopefully, you'll see how this peak depends upon the system's damping
ratio. Use the right and left arrow controls to step the movie a single step forward or
backward.
Gdc = 1.0.
Natural frequency = 159 Hz.
Damping ratio - variable and controllable by user.
What should we note about the second order system response in the movie?
Finally, we have to deal with the phase. A Bode' plot isn't complete until you have
the phase plot. Here's a phase plot for a system with:
How the phase plot depends upon damping ratio is something you should know.
Next, we have a movie of phase shift as a function of damping ratio.
Gdc = 1.0.
Natural frequency = 159 Hz.
Damping ratio - variable.
Now, at this point you've seen Bode' plots for second order system with complex
poles. Second order systems with real poles are really combinations of two first order
systems, and they will be covered in the next section.
At this point, one direction to continue would be to continue to the next section.
However, you might want to go in the direction of looking at Nyquist plots for the
systems discussed above. In that case, use this link to go to the lesson on Nyquist
plots.
Nyquist Plots
There will be times when you will need to have some sense of what a Bode' plot
looks like for a larger system. A useful skill is to be able to sketch what the plot should
look like so that you can anticipate what you'll get. That's particularly helpful when you
have a complex system and you enter a large transfer function. It's not only helpful.
You can often gain insight by playing "What if?" games with a notepad and pencil.
In this section, we will look at some larger systems and examine some overall
properties of Bode' plots for those systems.
We will start with a system that is not all that large - a second order system with
two real poles. Just for discussion, we'll use the system with the transfer function
shown below.
If we wanted to sketch this Bode' plot we could start by looking at the DC gain.
Remember that the DC gain is just G(jw) with = 0.
Letting = 0 in G(j), we get:
G(0) = 10. (20db)
At low frequencies, the (.002s + 1) term in the denominator will still look pretty
much like 1.0.
However, as we go up in frequency, the (.01s + 1) term will have an effect.
The (.01s + 1) term introduces a corner frequency which we discussed earlier in
the section on Bode' plots for first order systems.
The corner frequency is at:
f = 100/2 = 15.9Hz.
At slightly higher frequencies, the (.002s + 1) term will start to have an effect.
The (.002s + 1) term will add another -20db/decade slope to the plot, for a total
of -40 db.decade.
We get -40 db/decade because we now have two poles contributing to the roll-
off, and 2*(-20db/dec) = -40 db/dec.
The second corner frequency is at f = 500/2p = 79.5Hz.
The straight line approximation is high at the corners, but gives a pretty good
idea of where the actual Bode' plot lies.
Now, let us make this slightly more complicated. Here's another transfer
function.
The straight line approximation is off at the corners, but gives a pretty good idea
of where the actual Bode' plot lies.
You should be able to sketch even higher order systems. Real poles and zeroes
give rise to straight forward corner frequencies - either pole or zero factors - and you
can account for them. Problems could arise if the corner frequencies were more
"bunched" than they were in the examples. We deliberately chose two examples which
had some separation between corner frequencies and that allowed the Bode' plots to
straighten out between corners.
We have yet to talk about two other topics - phase plots and second order factors
with low damping - i.e. with resonant peaks. We will first look at resonant peaks on
Bode' plots.
We'll work with an example related to the one we've done with real poles. The
transfer function is shown below.
Finally, you can compare what we have generated with what a detailed plot shows.
It's amazing how it all fits together, isn't it?
Again, we are off at the corner frequency, but overall, the straight line gives a
good idea of where the Bode' plot lies.
There are numerous other kinds of examples we should examine. One simple
example is a case in which the resonant peak is below the corner frequency. You should
be able to predict what happens in that case. But just in case you can't we'll examine
that situation. Here's a transfer function of that type.
We've shown the asymptotes, We also can figure the damping ratio. We need to
do that because we know there is a resonant peak. We have the following:
n2 = 10,000, so n = 100
2n = 10, so = 10/200 = .05
Knowing the damping ratio allows us to predict how high the resonant peak will be
above the straight line approximation.
Gain above approximation = 1 /j2
If the damping ratio is .05, then this works out to a gain of 10, which is
equivalent to 20 db.
That allows us to add one more point to our approximate Bode' plot. Here's
the plot.
From the straight line approximation you could generate a fairly accurate Bode' plot.
You actually get a lot of insight about the shape of the plot if you can sketch it.
The visualization helps a great deal.
There are times when a plot might surprise you, and you now have a technique that
can eliminate those surprises.
We haven't covered all of the ground. There's more yet.
Problems
Problems