Bode Plot

Bode Plot is a type of a frequency plot primarily used to calculate stability margins in a
control system.
Bode plots show the frequency response, that is, the changes in magnitude and phase of
the sinusoidal transfer function as a function of frequency. This is done on two semi-
log scale plots. The top plot is typically magnitude or “gain” in dB. The bottom plot is
phase, most commonly in degrees. The horizontal axis is log(frequency) and is common
to both the plots.
Important Points to Remember
1. Bode plot is only drawn for minimum phase systems. These are the systems for
which all the poles are located on the L.H.S of the s-plane.
2. Any magnitude value (A) can be converted to dB by using the formula:
20 log10 𝐴.
3. The slope on Bode plot is measured in dB/decade where one decade means a 10
times change in frequency. For e.g., if frequency changes from 1 rad/sec to 10
rad/sec, it is a rise of one decade and if frequency falls from 10 rad/sec to 1
rad/sec, it is a fall of one decade.
4. Poles and zeroes in a control system contribute to slope in the magnitude plot. A
pole contributes a slope of -20 dB/decade and a zero contributes a slope of +20
dB/decade.
5. Poles and zeroes in a control system contribute to phase in the phase plot. A pole
contributes a slope of -20 dB/decade and a zero contributes a slope of +20
dB/decade.

Steps to draw the Bode plot

1. Write the Open Loop Transfer Function in the standard form.
𝑠 𝑠
𝐾(1+ )(1+ )
𝑎 𝑏
The standard form is: 𝐺 (𝑠) = 𝑠 𝑠
(1+𝑝)(1+𝑞)
In the standard form, K is gain and a, b, p & q are called corner frequencies. If
the open loop transfer function has zeroes and/or poles at origin, 𝜔 = 0 is also
considered as a corner frequency.

14400(𝑠+5)
For example, if: 𝐺 (𝑠) =
𝑠2 (𝑠+20)(𝑠+100)
This can be converted into standard form by:
 𝑠
14400 × 5 (1 + )
𝐺 (𝑠 ) = 5
𝑠 𝑠
𝑠 2 × 20 × 100 (1 + ) (1 + )
20 100
𝑠
36 (1 + )
𝐺 (𝑠) = 5
𝑠 𝑠
𝑠 2 (1 + ) (1 + )
20 100
This is now in standard form. Here, gain K = 36 and corner frequencies are
located at 𝜔 = 0 (due to poles at origin), 𝜔 = 5, 20 & 100 rad/sec.

2. Obtain the slope of first line of Bode plot from poles and zeroes at the origin.
If there are n number of poles located at origin in the open loop transfer function, the first line
will have a slope of -20n dB/decade.
If there are m number of zeroes located at origin in the open loop transfer function, the first
line will have a slope of -20m dB/decade.

3. Obtain the gain of the first line of Bode plot from the equation: 𝟐𝟎𝒍𝒐𝒈𝟏𝟎 𝑲.
Here, K is the open loop gain from the standard transfer function obtained in step-1. The value
of this gain is marked at 𝜔 = 1 rad/sec.

4. Arrange all the corner frequencies (including 𝝎 = 𝟎) in ascending order and

write the individual slope contribution and calculate cumulative slope.

5. Convert the given OLTF to sinusoidal transfer function and obtain the phase
equation to calculate variation in phase with frequency.

6. Combine steps 1 to 4 and obtain the magnitude plot. Use step 5 to obtain the
phase plot.

Bode plot is a very useful tool as it only needs the open loop transfer function (𝐺(𝑠))
to decide whether the given system is stable or not.

To comment on stability using Bode Plot, we need the following:

1. Gain crossover frequency (𝜔𝑔𝑐 ): This is the frequency at which the
magnitude plot hits 0 dB. Mathematically this is the frequency at which
the magnitude of sinusoidal transfer function is equal to 1 or 0 dB.
2. Phase crossover frequency (𝜔𝑝𝑐 ): This is the frequency at which the
phase plot hits −180° . Mathematically this is the frequency at which
the phase of the sinusoidal transfer function is equal to −180° .
3. Gain Margin (GM): This is measured from the magnitude plot. GM is
equal to the difference between the 0 dB line and the value of
magnitude in the magnitude plot at 𝜔 = 𝜔𝑝𝑐 , i.e.
𝐺𝑀 = 0 𝑑𝐵 − |𝐺(𝑗𝜔𝑝𝑐 )| = −|𝐺(𝑗𝜔𝑝𝑐 )|.
4. Phase Margin (PM): This is measured from the phase plot. PM is equal
to the distance between the value of phase at 𝜔 = 𝜔𝑔𝑐 and the −180°
line in the phase plot, i.e.,
𝑃𝑀 = ∠𝐺(𝑗𝜔𝑔𝑐 ) − (−180° ) = ∠𝐺(𝑗𝜔𝑔𝑐 ) + 180° .

Stability from Bode Plot:

Condition Stability
𝐼𝑓 𝜔𝑝𝑐 > 𝜔𝑔𝑐 STABLE
𝐼𝑓 𝜔𝑝𝑐 < 𝜔𝑔𝑐 UNSTABLE
𝐼𝑓 𝜔𝑝𝑐 = 𝜔𝑔𝑐 MARGINALLY STABLE

OR

Condition Stability
𝐼𝑓 𝑏𝑜𝑡ℎ 𝐺𝑀 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑃𝑀 are
STABLE
positive
𝐼𝑓 𝑏𝑜𝑡ℎ 𝐺𝑀 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑃𝑀 are
UNSTABLE
equal to zero
𝐼𝑓 𝐺𝑀 𝑎𝑛𝑑/𝑜𝑟 𝑃𝑀 are/is MARGINALLY
negative STABLE
 𝟑𝟎
Example No. 1: Sketch the Bode plot for: 𝑮(𝒔) = and comment
𝒔(𝟏+𝟎.𝟓𝒔)(𝟏+𝟎.𝟎𝟖𝒔)
on the stability of the system.

Solution:
1. First convert to standard form:
𝟑𝟎
𝑮(𝒔) =
𝒔(𝟏 + 𝟎. 𝟓𝒔)(𝟏 + 𝟎. 𝟎𝟖𝒔)
𝟑𝟎
𝑮(𝒔) = 𝒔 𝒔
𝒔 (𝟏 + ) (𝟏 + )
𝟐 𝟏𝟐. 𝟓
So: gain, K = 30 and corner frequencies are located at 𝝎 = 𝟎, 𝟐 & 𝟏𝟐. 𝟓 rad/sec.

2. Obtain the slope of first line in Bode plot by looking at number of poles and
zeroes at origin in the open loop transfer function. Here we have no zeroes and
one pole located at origin.
So the slope of first line in Bode plot = -20 dB/decade.

3. Obtain the gain of first line of Bode Plot at 𝜔 = 1 𝑟𝑎𝑑/𝑠𝑒𝑐.

𝟐𝟎 𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝟏𝟎 𝑲 = 𝟐𝟎 𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝟏𝟎 𝟑𝟎 = 𝟐𝟗. 𝟓

4. Arrange all the corner frequencies (including ω=0) in ascending order and write
the individual slope contribution and calculate cumulative slope.

Corner Individual Slope Cumulative

Pole/Zero
Frequency (𝝎) Contribution Slope
0 Pole -20 dB/decade -20 dB/decade
2 Pole -20 dB/decade -40 dB/decade
12.5 Pole -20 dB/decade -60 dB/decade

5. Convert the given open loop transfer function (OLTF) to sinusoidal transfer
function and obtain the phase equation to calculate variation in phase with
frequency.
Replace 𝑠 by 𝑗𝝎 to obtain the sinusoidal transfer function:
 𝟑𝟎
𝑮(𝒋𝝎) =
𝒋𝝎 𝒋𝝎
𝒋𝝎 (𝟏 + ) (𝟏 + )
𝟐 𝟏𝟐. 𝟓
Phase of this transfer function is:
𝟎 𝝎 𝝎 𝝎
∠𝑮(𝒔) = 𝐭𝐚𝐧−𝟏 ( ) − 𝐭𝐚𝐧−𝟏 ( ) − 𝐭𝐚𝐧−𝟏 ( ) − 𝐭𝐚𝐧−𝟏 ( )
𝟑𝟎 𝟎 𝟐 𝟏𝟐. 𝟓
𝝎 𝝎
∠𝑮(𝒔) = 𝟎° − 𝟗𝟎° − 𝐭𝐚𝐧−𝟏 ( ) − 𝐭𝐚𝐧−𝟏 ( )
𝟐 𝟏𝟐. 𝟓
𝝎 𝝎
∠𝑮(𝒔) = −𝟗𝟎° − 𝐭𝐚𝐧−𝟏 ( ) − 𝐭𝐚𝐧−𝟏 ( )
𝟐 𝟏𝟐. 𝟓
Now obtain the values of phase by using the above equation for different values
of frequency (5-6 values are enough).

Frequency (𝝎) Phase (∠𝑮(𝒔))

1 −121°
2 −144°
12.5 −216°
25 −239°
50 −254°
100 −262°

6. Steps 1 to 4 will be used for Magnitude plot and step 5 for Phase plot

Finally, the Bode plot looks like:

 From the Bode plot,

1. 𝜔𝑝𝑐 = 5 𝑟𝑎𝑑/𝑠𝑒𝑐
2. 𝜔𝑔𝑐 ≈ 7 𝑟𝑎𝑑/𝑠𝑒𝑐
3. 𝐺𝑀 ≈ 0.5 𝑑𝐵
4. 𝑃𝑀 ≈ −14°

Based on stability criteria, the given system is UNSTABLE.

 𝟑𝟔(𝟏+𝟎.𝟐𝒔)
Example No. 2: Sketch the Bode plot for: 𝑮(𝒔) = and comment
𝒔𝟐 (𝟏+𝟎.𝟎𝟓𝒔)(𝟏+𝟎.𝟎𝟏𝒔)
on the stability of the system.

Solution:
1. First convert to standard form:
𝟑𝟔(𝟏 + 𝟎. 𝟐𝒔)
𝑮(𝒔) =
𝒔𝟐 (𝟏 + 𝟎. 𝟎𝟓𝒔)(𝟏 + 𝟎. 𝟎𝟏𝒔)
𝒔
𝟑𝟔 (𝟏 + )
𝑮(𝒔) = 𝟓
𝒔 𝒔
𝒔𝟐 (𝟏 + ) (𝟏 + )
𝟐𝟎 𝟏𝟎𝟎
So: gain, K = 36 and corner frequencies are located at:
𝝎 = 𝟓, 𝟎, 𝟐𝟎 & 𝟏𝟎𝟎 rad/sec.

2. Obtain the slope of first line in Bode plot by looking at number of poles and
zeroes located at the origin in the open loop transfer function. Here we have no
zero at the origin but there are two poles located at the origin.
So the slope of first line in Bode plot is equal to:
𝟐 × −𝟐𝟎 𝒅𝑩/𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒅𝒆 = −𝟒𝟎 𝒅𝑩/𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒅𝒆.

3. Obtain the gain of first line of Bode Plot at 𝜔 = 1 𝑟𝑎𝑑/𝑠𝑒𝑐.

𝟐𝟎 𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝟏𝟎 𝑲 = 𝟐𝟎 𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝟏𝟎 𝟑𝟔 = 𝟑𝟏. 𝟏

4. Arrange all the corner frequencies (including ω=0) in ascending order and write
the individual slope contribution and calculate cumulative slope.

Corner Individual Slope Cumulative

Pole/Zero
Frequency (𝝎) Contribution Slope
0 2 Poles -40 dB/decade -40 dB/decade
5 Zero +20 dB/decade -20 dB/decade
20 Pole -20 dB/decade -40 dB/decade
100 Pole -20 dB/decade -60 dB/decade
5. Convert the given open loop transfer function (OLTF) to sinusoidal transfer
function and obtain the phase equation to calculate variation in phase with
frequency.
Replace 𝑠 by 𝑗𝝎 to obtain the sinusoidal transfer function:

𝒋𝝎
𝟑𝟔 (𝟏 +
)
𝑮(𝒋𝝎) = 𝟓
𝒋𝝎 𝒋𝝎
(𝒋𝝎)(𝒋𝝎) (𝟏 + ) (𝟏 + )
𝟐𝟎 𝟏𝟎𝟎
Phase of this transfer function is:
𝟎 𝝎 𝝎 𝝎 𝝎 𝝎
∠𝑮(𝒔) = 𝐭𝐚𝐧−𝟏 ( ) + 𝐭𝐚𝐧−𝟏 ( ) − 𝐭𝐚𝐧−𝟏 ( ) − 𝐭𝐚𝐧−𝟏 ( ) − 𝐭𝐚𝐧−𝟏 ( ) − 𝐭𝐚𝐧−𝟏 ( )
𝟑𝟔 𝟓 𝟎 𝟎 𝟐𝟎 𝟏𝟎𝟎

𝝎 𝝎 𝝎
∠𝑮(𝒔) = 𝟎° + 𝐭𝐚𝐧−𝟏 ( ) − 𝟗𝟎° − 𝟗𝟎° − 𝐭𝐚𝐧−𝟏 ( ) − 𝐭𝐚𝐧−𝟏 ( )
𝟓 𝟐𝟎 𝟏𝟎𝟎
𝝎 𝝎 𝝎
∠𝑮(𝒔) = −𝟏𝟖𝟎° + 𝐭𝐚𝐧−𝟏 ( ) − 𝐭𝐚𝐧−𝟏 ( ) − 𝐭𝐚𝐧−𝟏 ( )
𝟓 𝟐𝟎 𝟏𝟎𝟎

Now obtain the values of phase by using the above equation for different values
of frequency (5-6 values are enough).

Frequency (𝝎) Phase (∠𝑮(𝒔))

1 −172°
2 −165°
5 −152°
20 −160°
50 −190°
100 −217°

6. Steps 1 to 4 will be used for Magnitude plot and step 5 for Phase plot

Finally, the Bode plot looks like:

 From the Bode plot,

1. 𝜔𝑝𝑐 ≈ 37 𝑟𝑎𝑑/𝑠𝑒𝑐
2. 𝜔𝑔𝑐 ≈ 8 𝑟𝑎𝑑/𝑠𝑒𝑐
3. 𝐺𝑀 ≈ 12 𝑑𝐵
4. 𝑃𝑀 ≈ 32°

Based on stability criteria, the given system is STABLE.