Introduction to Bode Plot
· 2 plots – both have logarithm of frequency on x-axis
o y-axis magnitude of transfer function, H(s), in dB
o y-axis phase angle
The plot can be used to interpret how the input affects the output in both magnitude and phase over
frequency.
Where do the Bode diagram lines comes from?
1) Determine the Transfer Function of the system:
( )
( )
( )
1
1
s s p
K s z
H s
+
+
=
2) Rewrite it by factoring both the numerator and denominator into the standard form
( 1)
( 1)
( )
1
1
1
1
+
+
=
p
s sp
z
Kz s
H s
where the z s are called zeros and the p s are called poles.
3) Replace s with j? . Then find the Magnitude of the Transfer Function.
( 1)
( 1)
( )
1
1
1
1
+
+
=
p
jw jwp
z
jw Kz
H jw
If we take the log10 of this magnitude and multiply it by 20 it takes on the form of
20 log10 (H(jw)) =
÷
÷
÷
ø
ö
ç
ç
ç
è
æ
+
+
( 1)
( 1)
20 log
1
1
1
1
10
p
jw jwp
z
jw Kz
=
20log 20log 20log ( 1) 20log 20log 20log ( 1)
1
10 1 10 10
1
10 + 10 1 + 10 + - - - +
z
jw p jw z
jw K z
Each of these individual terms is very easy to show on a logarithmic plot. The entire Bode log magnitude plot is
the result of the superposition of all the straight line terms. This means with a little practice, we can quickly sketch
the effect of each term and quickly find the overall effect. To do this we have to understand the effect of the
different types of terms.
These include: 1) Constant terms K
2) Poles and Zeros at the origin | j? |
3) Poles and Zeros not at the origin
1
1
p
jw
+ or
1
1
z
jw
+
4) Complex Poles and Zeros (addressed later)