Human Control of Aerospace Systems

Peter Grant

Chapter 1
Review of Classical Linear
Control
1.1

Introduction

Since students come with such varied control backgrounds, a brief review is
provided on control theory with particular emphasis on the tools that are
going to be needed for this course.

1.2

Linear Ordinary Differential Equations

Lets begin by looking at LODEs. Consider a 2nd-order spring-mass-damper

system shown in the figure below:
3

CHAPTER 1. REVIEW OF CLASSICAL LINEAR CONTROL

f(t)

Summing all the forces,

m
x + cx + kx = f (t)
This is a constant coefficient linear ordinary differential equation which has
the general solution:
x = x p + xc
where:
xc is the complementary solution (homogeneous part).
xp is the particular solution (forced by f(t)).
Solution Method:

Step 1. Find xc
Assume ert is a solution and substitute into the differential equation to get:


mr2 + cr + k ert = 0
|
{z
}
characteristic eqn

1.2. LINEAR ORDINARY DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

Find the roots of the characteristic equation (non-trival solution), in this case
there are two r1,2 ,
r1,2 =

c2 4km
2m

and if we define,
p
k/m
r
c2
=
4km

n =

(1.1)
(1.2)

then the characteristic equation becomes

r2 + 2n r + n 2 = 0
and the roots are
r1,2 = n n

p
2 1

and now the complementary solution is then (assuming r1 6= r2 ),

xc = C1 er1 t + C2 er2 t
otherwise if r1 = r2 = r,
xc = C1 ert + C2 xert
Notice that for the complementary solution to decay towards zero as time
increases the real part of r1,2 must be negative.
Step 2 Find xp
Find the particular solution using either the method of undetermined coefficients or the method of variation of parameters. Since we will normally
be dealing with fairly simple forcing functions the method of variation of
coefficients is usually simplest (i.e. assume the solution looks like the forcing
function).

1.2.1

CHAPTER 1. REVIEW OF CLASSICAL LINEAR CONTROL

Laplace Transform Solution of LODE

We can also solve LODE using the method of Laplace transforms,

Z
est x(t)dt
L [x(t)] X(s) =
0

for quiescent initial conditions (x = 0, x = 0,...) we can apply the L[ ] to

both sides of our LODE to get,


ms2 + cs + k X(s) = F (s)
solving for X(s) yields,
X(s) =

F (s)
ms
| +{zcs + k}
2

characteristic eqn

and then we can solve for x(t) using the inverse Laplace transform,


F (s)
1
1
x(t) = L [X(s)] = L
ms2 + cs + k
and the inverse transform can be found using the heaviside expansion theorem
or inverse Laplace transform tables.

1.2.2

Transfer Function

We can capture the basic behavior of the system using the transfer function,
which is given by the Laplace transform of the the output divided by the
Laplace transform of the input (note: we assume quiescent initial conditions
once again)
G(s) =

X(s)
=
F (s)

1
ms
| +{zcs + k}
2

homogeneous part of ODE

1.2. LINEAR ORDINARY DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

In actual fact the transfer function of a linear time invariant system is defined as the Laplace transform of the impulse response, g(t), with all initial
conditions zero. The impulse response is the output of the system when the
input is a unit-impulse function, (t). The Laplace transform of the impulse
is 1. The output of the system for any arbitrary input, u(t) can then be
found from the convolution of the input and the impulse response,
Z
y(t) =
g(t )u( )d

and for a causal system if the input u(t) = 0 for t < 0 then g(t ) = 0 for
> t since an output cannot start before an input and therefore the integral
can be simplified to:
Z

g(t )u( )d

y(t) =
0

The Laplace transform of the impulse response is then the transfer function,
G(s) = L [g(t)]
and the output for an arbitrary input is then,
Y (s) = G(s)U (s)
So a convolution in the time domain is equivalent to a simple multiplication
in the Laplace domain; this is one of the strengths of the Laplace transform.
So for the 2nd-order spring mass damper the transfer function is:
G(s) =

X(s)
1
= 2
F (s)
s + 2n s + n 2

More generally for an n-th order differential equation (we can always eliminate the coefficient in front of the highest derivative),
dn y(t)
dn1 y(t)
dm u(t)
dm1 u(t)
+
a
+
...
+
a
y(t)
=
b
+
b
... + b0 u(t)
n1
0
m
m1
dtn
dtn1
dtm
dtm1

CHAPTER 1. REVIEW OF CLASSICAL LINEAR CONTROL

Assuming zero initial conditions, take L [ ] of both sides,

sn + an1 sn1 + ... + a0 Y (s) = bm sm + bm1 sm1 + ... + b0 U (s)
and in this case the transfer function is,
G(s) =

bm sm + bm1 sm1 + ... + b0

Y (s)
=
U (s)
sn + an1 sn1 + ... + a0

and if n > m the transfer function is strictly proper.

The characteristic equation is found by setting the denominator equal to
zero,
sn + an1 sn1 + an2 sn2 + ... + a0 = 0
now since our equation was a linear ODE Y(s) and U(s) are polynomials in
s.
Just like we saw for the characteristic equation that we derived in the
time domain, the roots of the characteristic equation must have negative
real parts for stability (i.e. it must be in the left half of the complex plane).
Im
Left
Half
Plane
Re

This can be shown in a number of ways. One type of stability is bounded

input, bounded output (BIBO). Basically a system is BIBO stable if the
output is bounded when the input is bounded. Consider the response of the
causal system (with impulse response g(t) ) to an input u(t) that is zero for

1.2. LINEAR ORDINARY DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

t < 0,
t

u(t )g( )d

y(t) =
0

This equation holds for all t (including t ). Take the | | of both sides
Z t



|y(t)| =  u(t )g( )d 
0

but from the Schwartz inequality,

Z
|y(t)|

|u(t )||g( )|d

0

and if u(t) is bounded then,

|u(t)| M for all t and finite M
so,
t

Z
|y(t)| M

|g( )|d
0

for all t. So if,

Rt
0

|g( )|d is bounded and therefore less than some finite

value P , y(t) is bounded by,

|y(t)| M P
Now we will show what this implies for the roots of the characteristic equation. Given that the transfer function for the system described by g(t) is
given by,
Z
G(s) = L[g(t)] =

g(t)est dt

(1.3)

taking the absolute value of both sides and using the Schwartz inequality,
Z
 Z


st
|G(s)| = 
g(t)e dt 6
|g(t)||est |dt
(1.4)
0

10

CHAPTER 1. REVIEW OF CLASSICAL LINEAR CONTROL

Since s = + j then the magnitude of the exponential is given by (since

magnitude of complex part is always 1),
|est | = |et |

(1.5)

When s is pole of G(s) (root of the characteristic equation), then G(s).

So from Equations 1.3, 1.4, and 1.5 the inequality at a pole becomes,
Z

|g(t)||et |dt
0

now if the root was in the right hand plane ( = +ve) then |et | would
be bounded and there would be no way for this inequality to hold unless
R
|g(t)|dt is unbounded. But this violates our condition for stability there0
fore all must be in the left hand plane for BIBO stability.
If we factor Y(s) and U(s) we get,
G(s) =

bm (s + a1 )(s + a2 )...(s + am )
(s + b1 )(s + b2 )...(s + bn )

where:
zi = ai zero of G(s)
pi = bi pole of G(s)
For stability all the real parts of pi must be negative (hence ai must be
positive). For a minimum phase system the real parts of zi must also be
negative.

1.2.3

Frequency Response

If the input into a stable linear system is sinusoidal then the output will
approach a sinusoid (as t ) at the same frequency but generally with

1.2. LINEAR ORDINARY DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

11

a different phase and amplitude. Recall the homogeneous solution will be

yc = c1 er1 t + c2 er2 t ... where the real parts of r1 , r2 ... are all negative so as
t these will decay to zero and only the particular response (i.e. forced
response) will be left. So in this case for an input such as:

i(t) = Rsin(t)

the output will approach,

o(t) = Qsin(t + )

The magnitude response is given by the ratio of the amplitudes Q/R and
the phase is given by . The amplitude ratio and phase characteristics of a
linear system as a function of frequency is called the frequency response. For
a linear system the frequency response can be analytically determined from
the transfer function by replacing s by j,

G(j) - Frequency Response

|G(j)| - amplitude or magnitude ratio

imag
G(j) - phase = tan 1
real

The Frequency response can be displayed on a Bode plot as shown below,

12

CHAPTER 1. REVIEW OF CLASSICAL LINEAR CONTROL

Bode Diagram

Magnitude (dB)

10
0
10
20
30

Phase (deg)

40
0
45
90
135
180
1
10

10
Frequency (rad/sec)

10

Remember this plot only shows the steady-state response of a stable linear
system to a sinusoid, or using superposition, a sum of sinusoids. The amplitude ratio is often given in dBs which is given as 20 log10 (Q/R) and the
phase () is usually given in degrees. The frequency is usually plotted on a
log scale. When drawn in this way the transfer function of a pure integrator
(1/s) has a slope of -20db/decade and a double integrator (1/s2 ) has a slope
of -40dB/decade. This figure was created using the following MATLAB code:
%
% generate bode plot for class notes
%

1.3. FEEDBACK CONTROL SYSTEMS

13

set(0,DefaultTextFontSize,12);
set(0,DefaultAxesFontSize,12);

lowpass = tf([1],[1 2*0.5*1 1]);

h = figure(1);
bode(lowpass,k-,{0.1,10});
grid on;
%
% print out plot
%
width = 4;
height = 4;
set(h,Units,inches);
set(h,Position,[1,1,width,height]);
set(gcf,PaperPositionMode,auto);
print -depsc bodefig.eps

1.3

Feedback Control Systems

If we have some system (or plant), G(s), and we would like the output to
follow the input we can use feedback. So if we feedback the output and
subtract it from the input to generate an error signal, then the plant is feed
the error signal.

14

CHAPTER 1. REVIEW OF CLASSICAL LINEAR CONTROL

i

o
G(s)

H(s)

Examining the diagram we can see the following relationships between signals:
e = i oH(s)

(1.6)

o = eG(s)

(1.7)

A few defintions are in order:

Open Loop Transfer Function: Cut the loop just before the feedback
and get the transfer function between the input and the feedback signal.
So in this case OL(s) = G(s)H(s)
Closed Loop Transfer Functions: There are two TFs that are of potential interest:
the error (e) relative to the input. Using the relations from above
we get
e
1
=
i
1 + G(s)H(s)
the output relative to the input (simply called the closed-loop
transfer function),
CL(s) =

o
G(s)
=
i
1 + G(s)H(s)

1.3. FEEDBACK CONTROL SYSTEMS

15

Example: Fly by Wire Elevator

Lets consider an example to demonstrate the usefulness of feedback control.
Assume the elevator on an aircraft behaves like a spring mass damper where
the natural frequency and damping result from aerodynamic effects and are
therefore a function of airspeed(v):
T (t)
+ 2(v)n (v) + n2 (v) =
I
where T (t) is the applied torque and I is the inertia. First lets try simple
open loop control,
Column
Sensor

1
IR(s)

Power
Boost, K

Where,
R(s) = s2 + 2(v)n (v)s + n2 (v)
so we can find the ratio of the elevator angle to the column sensor,
K
(s)
=
(s)
IR(s)
Lets examine the response to a step input in column deflection 0 ,
(s) =

0
s

Using the final value theorem,


lim (t) = lim s
s0

= lim

s0

0 K
sIR(s)

0 K
2
I(s + 2(v)n (v)s + n2 (v))

K0
In2 (v)

(1.8)

(1.9)
(1.10)

16

CHAPTER 1. REVIEW OF CLASSICAL LINEAR CONTROL

but since n varies with airspeed the control effectiveness varies with airspeed
as well! Now lets see what happens when we close the control loop around
the hydraulic power boost and elevator dynamics,

Column
Sensor

Power
Boost, K

1
IR(s)

The error, e = and the closed loop transfer function is,

K

=

IR(s) 1 +

K
IR(s)

=

K
IR(s) + K

And the response to a step input is,

 
lim (t) = lim s

s0

0 K
2
sI(s + 2(v)n (v)s + n2 (v)) + sK

0 K
2
In (v) +


(1.11)
(1.12)

and if K  In2 then () 0 so the elevator angle doesnt depend on

the speed of the aircraft. Of course the gain K, required to achieve this may
cause stability problems.
This was a simple example where the hydraulic boost system was modelled as a simple gain in reality it will have dynamics so that the elevator
angle will typically lag behind the column sensor and will have a gain that
varies as a function of frequency. Feedback gain in this case can often be
used to reduce the effects of the hydraulic system dynamics.

1.3. FEEDBACK CONTROL SYSTEMS

1.3.1

17

Closed Loop System Stability

The loop is closed around plants to achieve improved performance or to

achieve a particular task. Of course there will only be an improvement if the
resulting system is stable. Many techniques have been developed to analyze
the stability of feedback control systems. Today with computer environments like MATLAB stability can usually be studied by simply examining
the closed-loop poles of the system (at least for time invariant linear systems
without pure delays). However many of the classical techniques still provide insight into system stability that cant be gained by simply examining
the poles of the closed-loop system, so will examine a few of the classical
techniques. It should be noted that many of the techniques rely on the openloop system being minimum phase (i.e. initial slope of response is in same
direction as final response).

Root Locus
The root locus is a useful technique for graphically analyzing the stability
of a closed loop system as the poles change with system parameters (usually
the feedback gain). So given the system,

o
G(s)

18

CHAPTER 1. REVIEW OF CLASSICAL LINEAR CONTROL

The closed-loop transfer function between the output and input is given by,
o
G(s)
=
i
1 + KG(s)
The closed loop poles (which determine the system stability) are given by,
1 + KG(s) = 0

(1.13)

and if we split G(s) into its denominator and numerator,

G(s) =

G (s)
G (s)

For 1.13 to be zero then,

1
G (s)
=
G (s)
K

(1.14)

We construct the root locus by letting K vary from 0 to . If K = 0 then

1.14 can only be satisfied if G (s) = 0. This is actually easier to see if we
rearrange the closed loop using the definition of G,
G (x)
G(s)
=
1 + KG(s)
G (s) + KG (s)
and if K = 0 then for the denominator to be zero G (s) must be zero. So
the root locus starts at the open loop poles (makes sense since this is really
just the open loop case). Now as K then 1/K 0 so from 1.14,
G (s)
0
G (s)
One way for this to be true is for G (s) = 0 which describes the open loop
zeros (open-loop transfer function is KG(s)). However, if the number of open
loop zeros is less than the number of open loop poles, as is the case for a
strictly proper transfer function, then the denominator has a higher power
of s, so as |s| , G(s) will also go to zero. In fact there will be exactly
(n-m) branches at |s| = . So for K , the root locus has,

1.3. FEEDBACK CONTROL SYSTEMS

19

m - branches from the zeros of G(s), G (s) = 0.

n-m branches which go off to infinity (somewhere in the complex plane) from
|s| .
Constructing a Root Locus
1. As K is increased from 0 to , m root locus branches go from open
loop poles to open loop zeros (or |s| ) and n-m branches go off to
infinity in the complex plane
2. The number of branches is equal to the order of polynomial G (s).
3. Real-axis rule. Segments of the real axis to the left of an odd number
of poles and zeros form part of the root locus.
4. The (n-m) closed loop poles that tend to infinity in the s-plane do so
asymptotically along the following straight lines.
= ( c ) tan i

for i = 0, 1, 2.., n m 1

where
s = + j
see the figure below,

20

CHAPTER 1. REVIEW OF CLASSICAL LINEAR CONTROL

and c is found from,
Pn
c =

Pm
p

i
i=1
i=1 zi
nm

and
i =

(2i + 1)
for i = 0, 1, 2, ...n m 1
{z
}
|
nm
n-m of these

5. A breakaway point satisfies

(s = b )

n
X
i=1

X 1
1
=
b pi
zi
i=1 b

6. The root loci are symmetric with respect to real axis.

7. The roots at a breakaway point come in at an angle relative to each
other
180
(number of roots/2)

Lets look at an example.

i

o
Ks

So for this block diagram,

G(s) =

s2

s
s+1

1.3. FEEDBACK CONTROL SYSTEMS

21

and this transfer function has:

zeros: z1 = 0

1
3

i
poles: p1,2 =
2
2

(1.15)
(1.16)

Notice that the two poles are unstable (positive real parts). If we use rule 1
then we can start our diagram,

But from rule 2,since there are two open loop poles there must be two closed
loop poles,
s = 0 is one,
|s| is the other.
But how does it go to (in the s-plane this can be in any direction)? We
can use rule 4 to determine how. So the number of poles is 2 (n=2) and the
number of zeros is 1 (m=1) and from rule 4 we know,
i =

(2i + 1)
for
nm

i| =
{z 0}
n-m of these

0 = , so it must be along the real axis going in the negative direction.

So lets update our sketch with this new information.

22

CHAPTER 1. REVIEW OF CLASSICAL LINEAR CONTROL

Now lets find the breakaway point using rules 3 and 5 (two poles and one
zero so it is to the left of s = 0)
1
b ( 12 +
|

3
i)
2

b ( 12
{z
poles

3
i)
2

1
b
|{z}
zero

Solving this equation we find b2 1 = 0, so b = 1 but by rule 4 it must

be to the left of 0 so b = 1. The angle that the branches will enter the
breakaway point is found from rule 6 to be 180/(2/2)=180. Now the figure
becomes,

1.3. FEEDBACK CONTROL SYSTEMS

23

Now we can find the intersection with the imaginary axis,

0 = 1 + KG
Ks
0 = 1+ 2
s s+1
2
s s + 1 + Ks
0 =
s2 s + 1
0 = s2 + (K 1)s + 1 = 0

(1.17)
(1.18)
(1.19)
(1.20)
(1.21)

and the roots of this equation are given by,

p
(K 1) (K 1)2 4
2
From this equation, when K=1 the roots are purely imaginary and occur at
i 1. So now we can finish the root locus sketch,

Of course we can always just use the MATLAB function rlocus

%
% generate rlocus
%

24

CHAPTER 1. REVIEW OF CLASSICAL LINEAR CONTROL

%
% ROOT LOCUS EXAMPLE
%
G = tf([1 0],[1 -1 1]);
rlocus(G);
axis([-2 1 -1.5 1.5]);
%grid; need to turn the grid on using Axis properties

Root Locus
1.5

Imaginary Axis

1
System: G
Gain: 0
Pole: 0.5 + 0.866i
Damping: 0.5
Overshoot (%): 613
Frequency (rad/sec): 1

0.5

0.5

System: G
Gain: 3
Pole: 0.999 0.0209i
Damping: 1
Overshoot (%): 0
Frequency (rad/sec): 1

1.5
2

1.5

0.5
Real Axis

0.5

But rlocus does not always work and you get a better understanding of what
the figure means if youve sketched a few yourself.

Nyquist Diagram
For the closed loop system shown below,

1.3. FEEDBACK CONTROL SYSTEMS

i

25
o

G(s)

H(s)

The closed loop system is stable if the roots of the characteristic equation
have negative real parts. Equivalently, the poles of the closed-loop transfer
function, or the zeros of the denominator,
1 + G(s)H(s)
of the closed-loop transfer function must lie in the left hand plane. The
Nyquist Stability Criterion determines the number of zeros of 1 + GH in the
right hand plane directly from a Nyquist Stability Plot of GH. Once the plot
is made the stability is determined as follows: The closed-loop control system
whose open-loop transfer function is G(s)H(s) is stable if and only if:
N = P0 0
where:
P0 number of poles of GH in RHP( 0)

(1.22)

N total number of clockwise encirclements of the (-1,0) point

(1.23)
If N > 0 the number of zeros, Z0 , of 1 + GH in the right hand plane is given
by
Z 0 = N + P0

26

CHAPTER 1. REVIEW OF CLASSICAL LINEAR CONTROL

So obviously we do not want any zeros in the right hand plane or the closedloop system is unstable (remember we are examining the denominator). The
traditional method of creating a Nyquist Stability Plot of GH is to plot the
contour of GH(s) as s is varied to cover the entire right hand plane. This is
done by running in a straight line along the imaginary axis from -i to i
(moving around any poles or zeros of GH on the imaginary axis since these
will cause GH to diverge) then going around an infinite semi-circle from 90
degrees to -90 degrees. This describes a closed contour that is traced in
a clockwise direction. The previously described properties of this contour
determine the closed loop stability. There is a more straightforward method
for determining the stability of minimum phase, proper systems, however.
Minimum Phase Systems A contour is plotted for the open-loop transfer function (GH) as s is varied from i0 to i (going around zeros or poles
on the imaginary axis). If the critical point (-1,0) is not enclosed then the
system is stable. Enclosed means the point is to the right of the trajectory
as we go from i0 to i.
Example:
i

o
G(s)

G(s) =

1
s(s + 2)(s + 10)
H(s) = K

(1.24)
(1.25)

1.3. FEEDBACK CONTROL SYSTEMS

27

The total open-loop transfer function is then

GH(s) =

K
s(s + 2)(s + 10)

set = 0
K
+ i(20 3 )
GH(i0) = 90 deg

GH(i0) = lim

0 12 2

(1.26)
(1.27)

set
GH(i) =

lim

12 2

K
+ i(20 3 )

GH(i) = 090 deg

(1.28)
(1.29)

find intersection with real-axis

K [12 2 j(20 3 )]
144 4 + 2 (20 2 )2


K 12 j(20 2 )
GH(j) =
144 2 + (20 2 )2

GH(j) =

(1.30)
(1.31)

Now set the imaginary part to zero,

K(20 2 )
=0
(144 2 + (20 2 )2 )

One solution is and the other is = 20 (only need positive

one). The open loop transfer function at this point is,

12K
= 0.004167K
GH(i 20) =
2880
And if we now look at the plot of the contour we get for K = 240 and K = 30,

28

CHAPTER 1. REVIEW OF CLASSICAL LINEAR CONTROL

Nyquist Diagram
0.5
0
0.5

K=240

Imaginary Axis

1
1.5
2
2.5

K=30

3
3.5
4

5
5

!=0

!=0

4.5

4.5

3.5

2.5
Real Axis

1.5

0.5

At K = 240 the contour passes through (-1,0) and the system is neutrally
stable. For K > 240 the point (-1,0) is enclosed and the system is unstable.
How close the contour comes to the (-1,0) point gives an indication of system
(in)stability. There are two measures for this:

Phase Margin - how much more pure phase lag could be added before the
(-1,0) point is just enclosed. This is usually expressed in degrees.

Gain Margin - how much pure gain can be added before the (-1,0) point is
just enclosed. This is often expressed in dB.

1.3. FEEDBACK CONTROL SYSTEMS

29

A few more definitions are in order,

Gain Cross-over Frequency - frequency () at which the gain of GH(j)
reaches a gain of 1

Phase Cross-over Frequency - frequency () at which the phase angle of

GH(j) reaches 180deg.
When you use the Nyquist command in MATLAB it does exactly what is
described here so for a minimum phase system you can simply look at the
enclosure of the (-1,0) point on the resulting contour.

30

CHAPTER 1. REVIEW OF CLASSICAL LINEAR CONTROL

Non-minimum Phase Systems (NMPS)

Nyquist diagrams can still be used to analyze the stability of closed loop
systems that have non-minimum phase open-loop transfer functions but the
procedure is a little different. To check for stability in a NMPS the (-1,0)
must not be enclosed and the angle traversed by the Nyquist plot around
(-1,0) as goes from 0 to must be equal to:

= (0.5Pw + PRH )180 deg

where:

Pw - number of poles of open-loop transfer function on the imaginary axis

PRH - number of open-loop poles in the right half plane

Lets look at the elevator example again. In this case the open-loop transfer
function is,

GH(s) =

Ks
s2 s + 1

and for K = 0.9, K = 1.0, and K = 1.1 the Nyquist plot looks like,

1.3. FEEDBACK CONTROL SYSTEMS

31

Nyquist Diagram
0.8
K=0.9
K=1.0
K=1.1

0.6

Imaginary Axis

0.4

0.2

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

0.8

0.6
0.4
Real Axis

0.2

0.2

So when K > 1 then the circle will not enclose the critical point (-1,0). We
must also check the angle traversed,
PRH = 2

(1.32)

Pw = 0

(1.33)

= 2(180)

(1.34)

= 360

(1.35)

Examining the diagram we see that the contour traverses 360 degrees as
goes from 0 to . The following MATLAB code can be used to generate the

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CHAPTER 1. REVIEW OF CLASSICAL LINEAR CONTROL

Nyquist diagram for this system. Note that the MATLAB Nyquist diagram
is generated as goes from - to by default, this is the same direction so
the enclosed area is still on the RHS. You can turn off the negative frequencies
using the Properties panel. If you plot the negative frequencies make sure
you dont include them in the angle traversed.
%
% Nyquist Non-minimum phase
%
G1 = 0.9*tf([1 0],[1 -1 1]);
G2 = 1.0*tf([1 0],[1 -1 1]);
G3 = 1.1*tf([1 0],[1 -1 1]);

Nyquist(G1,g-,G2,b-,G3,r-);
legend(K=0.9,K=1.0,K=1.1);
axis([-1.2 0.3 -0.8 0.8]);
One word of warning, MATLAB does not go around zeros and poles on
the imaginary axis. It will avoid them by picking frequencies that dont lie
right on the pole but depending on the exact nature of the problem this can
in effect make an erroneous Nyquist plot. This rarely effects the stability
analysis, however. If in doubt the way to be sure is simply to find the poles
of the closed loop system using the MATLAB function pole(G).
Magnitude and Phase Margin on Bode Plot
The Bode plot that was used to plot the frequency response of a system can
also be used to analyze the closed-loop stability of minimum phase systems.

1.3. FEEDBACK CONTROL SYSTEMS

33

The phase margin and gain margin previously determined for the Nyquist
diagram can also be determined from a Bode plot of the open-loop transfer
function. See the figure below for the measurement of Gain Margin, Phase
Margin, Gain Cross-over frequency and Phase Cross-over frequency.

20

Magnitude (dB)

10

Gain Margin

10
Gain Cross Over
20

30
0
Phase Margin

Phase (deg)

90
180
270
Phase Cross Over

360
450
1
10

10

10

Note that the Nyquist and Bode plots are plotting the same information but
in a different way. The Nyquist method allows the stability analysis of open
loop systems with zeros and poles in the RHP. If we look at the elevator
example open loop transfer function with a feedback gain of 1.1 on a Bode
plot we see,

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CHAPTER 1. REVIEW OF CLASSICAL LINEAR CONTROL

Bode Diagram
5

Magnitude (dB)

0
5
10
15
20
180

Phase (deg)

225
270
315
360
405
1
10

10
Frequency (rad/sec)

10

and from this plot it looks unstable where in actual fact we know it is stable.

Magnitude Phase Plots

If we map the imaginary axis through the open-loop transfer function and
plot the Gain versus the phase the result is the magnitude phase plot. This
is equivalent to plotting the Gain versus the Phase from the Bode plot. Once
again the Gain Margin and Phase Margin are directly available on the plots.
An example of a magnitude phase plot is shown below.

1.3. FEEDBACK CONTROL SYSTEMS

35

Nichols Chart
The final graphical technique we will examine is the Nichols chart. It is
essentially the magnitude phase plot with contours of closed loop gain added.
The contours of constant gain are calculated assuming a system with unity
feedback as shown below,

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CHAPTER 1. REVIEW OF CLASSICAL LINEAR CONTROL

The closed loop transfer function is then,

L(s) =

G(s)
1 + G(s)

so the magnitude of the frequency response is,



 G(j) 

|L(j)| = 
1 + G(j) 
If we say G(j) = x + iy, then
p
x2 + y 2

|L(j)| = p
(1 + x)2 + y 2
If M |L(j)| then,
M

p
p
(1 + x)2 + y 2 = x2 + y 2

squaring both sides,



M 2 (1 + x)2 + y 2 = x2 + y 2
rearranging,
(1 M 2 )x2 + (1 M 2 )y 2M 2 x2 = M 2
2

divide by (1 M 2 ) and add (M 2 /(1 M 2 )) to both sides,

2



M
M2
2
+y =
x
1 M2
1 M2
This is the equation for a circle with the center point at,
x=

M
, y=0
1 M2

and a radius of,



 M 

R = 
1 M2 

1.3. FEEDBACK CONTROL SYSTEMS

37

So constant closed loop gains form circles in complex plane. These could be
added directly to the Nyquist plot, by plotting the circle defined by the x
and y coordinates in the complex plane, but it is more useful to add these to
the magnitude phase plot to create the Nichols plot. The complex numbers
that describe the M-circles must be converted to magnitude and phase and
then they can be added to the magnitude and phase plot. An example is
shown below,

The smallest M contour that the system curve just touches (is tangent
to), determines the maximum closed-loop gain of the system, Mr .

The frequency at which this occurs can also be found

38

CHAPTER 1. REVIEW OF CLASSICAL LINEAR CONTROL

the bandwidth of the closed-loop controller can also be found by finding

the frequency at the intersect of the system curve and the M=-3dB
contour.
So from the Nichols chart the phase margin, gain margin, maximum closedloop gain, and closed-loop bandwidth can all be determined. This can be
extended to a non-unity feedback system by considering the total open-loop
transfer function and dividing the resulting maximum gain by the magnitude
of the feedback system. Similar considerations must be used when finding
the bandwidth.