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An Introduction To The Nyquist Stability CriterionNyquist Stability Criterion

The Nyquist Stability Criterion

The Peculiar Nyquist Criterion Reflecting On Nyquist Plots Applying The Nyquist Stability Criterion What If The System Has A Pole At The Origin? Summary Problems
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The Peculiar Nyquist Criterion

The Nyquist Stability Criterion is a unique method for determining stability of a closed loop system. A closed loop system is stable if all of the closed loop poles are in the left half of the s-plane. That's a very basic fact about a system. What's peculiar is that Nyquist showed that it is possible to get information about closed loop pole location by plotting open loop frequency response data. Now, if you think about it, it might seem peculiar that open loop frequency response behavior would let you glean that kind of information about closed loop time response behavior. Yet, peculiar as it might seem, that's the way it is, and Nyquist's result - the Nyquist Stability Criterion - is widely used in the design and analysis of control systems everywhere. Here's a first goal for this lesson. Given a feedback control system and the Nyquist plot for the open loop system, Determine the gain range for which the system is stable. Later, in other lessons, we will examine some other questions, like this one. Given a feedback control system and the Nyquist plot for the open loop system, Determine the level of stability for a given gain. This second goal will require that we be very good with the first goal. Be warned, getting to the first goal will take us a while, but the result is very powerful! In this lesson we are going to take the following approach. We will give an explanation - a short derivation - of why the Nyquist stability
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criterion works. We'll need that to understand some of the more peculiar cases, like poles at the origin. We will look at some examples of systems of varying order, and learn how to apply the Nyquist stability criterion. We will learn to interpret Bode' plots to determine how the Nyquist criterion applies. We'll consider the question of how stable a system is, and try to give an answer couched in terms of the Nyquist stability criterion, and how closely it comes to not being satisfied. You're going to need some understanding of why the Nyquist stability criterion works. There are systems that are unstable without a control loop. Think of a rocket just after lift-off. Without a control system the rocket would tilt and fall. Those systems have open-loop poles in the right half of the s-plane, and controlling them gets interesting and challenging, but by understanding Nyquist you'll have what you need. There are some systems that have open-loop zeroes in the right half of the s-plane. Controlling them is also interesting, and the Nyquist criterion is very useful there also. Regular old systems with left-half plane poles also need good understanding when you control them to tight specs.

Reflecting on Nyquist Plots

In order to understand the Nyquist stability criterion you need to understand what a Nyquist plot is in as many different senses as may be possible. We already know that a Nyquist plot is the following. A Nyquist plot is a plot of the magnitude of the amplitude gain and phase shift of a system for sinusoidal inputs. Now, that definition of a Nyquist plot seems simple enough. It's straight forward, and it tells you exactly what a Nyquist plot is. Yet, there are other ways to look at a Nyquist plot. A Nyquist plot is a map of the jw -axis in the s-plane using a transfer function, G(s), as the mapping function. If you don't think this last sentence is in English, bear with us, because the concept is important, and we'll try to convince you. Let's stop to consider this new - and different - way of looking at a frequency response function. Consider a transfer function, G(s). It's a function that is defined for complex values of s, and we think of it as defined for any s in an infinite, complex plane. In a Nyquist plot, we consider G(jw ). That means that a Nyquist plot is a plot that
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only considers those values of s that are on the imaginary axis, that is when: s = jw . We can think of a Nyquist plot as a mathematical map of the imaginary axis in the splane. In other words, we take values of s along the imaginary axis, plug them into G(s), and plot the resulting values in another complex plane - the G(jw ) plane - with frequency as a parameter. These considerations give us a different way of looking at a frequency response function. For almost all of the work we will do, G(s) is a ratio of polynomials. G(jw ) can be written as a ratio of polynomials in (jw ) or it can be written in factored form.

The factored form leads to a unique way of viewing the frequency response function. The Nyquist plot can be viewed as a complex number - or vector - multiplication. The complex numbers or vectors can be viewed in the s-plane for each factor in the frequency response function. An individual term, (jw - pi) can be viewed as a vector that starts at pi and ends at s = jw . Here's an example plot in the s-plane.

The system shown has two poles and one zero. If the pole farthest from the origin is pn, then (jw - pn) is the vector that starts at pn and ends at jw . The angle of this vector contributes negatively to G(jw) because it represents a pole factor so it is in the denominator of the transfer function. Vectors from zero factors - like the one shown would contribute a positive angle to G(jw ).
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In one sense, the plot of G(jw ) maps the imaginary axis into a new plane, the G(jw ) plane. You need to consider that concept, and we will start you off with a simple map. We're going to consider a very simple transfer function, 1/(s + 1). Later, We'll generalize to more complex transfer functions, but we'll use 1/(s + 1) for this example. We're going to consider a different contour in the s-plane - not the jw -axis, but another, finite contour. That contour is shown below.We choose this contour because it is finite. The jw -axis is more difficult to start with because it is infinite in both directions. Here's the contour we want to start with. It's just a set of points in the s-plane, and we're going to look at how certain things change in the s-plane as s takes on values along this contour.

Play the clip to see how s is going to vary. Note - and this will be important - there is a part of the jw-axis that is included in the set of points. Now, we are going to examine a transfer function plot. The transfer function is G(s) = 1/(s + 1). The transfer function has a single pole at s = -1. The pole is marked with an x. There's a line drawn from the pole to the point - s - on the contour. That line is a vector representing (s + 1), the term in the denominator of G(s). The angle of G(s) - a complex number! - is the negative of the angle of (s + 1). The angle of G(s) is displayed on the clip. Check the angular change for a complete trip around.

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Now, we have a question for you to answer. For the system above how many degree change did the angle of the transfer function undergo as s went completely around the contour. Make sure you have the correct sign! Now, we are going to change the transfer function. The new transfer function is G(s) = 1/(s + 4.5). The transfer function has a single pole at s = -4.5. The pole is marked with an x. For this system, try to visualize what will happen before you play the clip. We're going to ask you about total angular change again, so check that now.

Now, we have a question for you to answer. For the system above, how many degree change did the angle of the transfer
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function undergo as s went completely around the contour. Make sure you have the correct sign! Now, how about a transfer function with two poles? The new transfer function is G(s) = 1/(s + 1)(s + 4.5). The transfer function has a two poles at s = -4.5 and s = -1. The poles are marked with x's. Visualize, then play. Then we have the usual question about total angular change.

Now, we have the usual question for you to answer. For the system above, how many degree change did the angle of the transfer function undergo as s went completely around the contour? Make sure you have the correct sign! Now, here are some points for you to ponder. For a single pole inside the contour, the total angular change was -360o. For a single pole outside the contour, the total angular change was 0o. For a single pole inside the contour with another pole outside the contour, the total angular change was -360o. Think about why that occurs, and to understand it better, play the last clip again. Pick a point and measure angles by hand to be sure you understand.
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The important observation here is the following. The total angular change depends upon the number of poles inside the contour, -360o. Total angular change does not depend upon the poles outside of the contour. We need to check the generality of the first claim above. If we have two poles, do we get 2 x (-360o)? Reflect on that, and we will look at an example below. Here's a system with two pole inside the contour.

Do the results here confirm what you expected? Yes! Except for the last frame where it should be -720o, (where 0o is repeated in the movie) the total angle goes through a change of-720o. OK! The system with two poles works as predicted. How about a pole and a zero inside the contour? Before you go on think about that, and make a mental prediction. Here's a system with one pole and one zero inside the contour.

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Do the results here confirm what you expected? We hope so! Remember, the zero is in the numerator of the transfer function - frequency response function - and pole angles contribute negatively while zero angles contribute positively, so there's some cancellation. It's time to summarize our conclusions to this point. If a point, s, traverses a closed contour, the total angular change in G(s) depends upon the number of poles and zeroes within the contour, and does not depend upon poles and zeros outside the contour The examples we have used to illustrate this point have all involved contours in which the point, s, traversed the contour in a clockwise direction. Clearly, going counterclockwise would change the sign of the net angular change. We can draw some conclusions about the net angular change. The net angular change in G(s) traversing a contour in the clockwise direction is given by:

The sum is taken over poles and zeroes enclosed within the contour, and poles and zeroes outside the contour are ignored. Poles and zeroes on the contour are a subject for later discussion. Now, we are finally going to start moving toward the contour we really want.
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We really want a contour that encircles the entire right half of the s-plane. We really want the contour to include the jw-axis. Here's a contour that includes part of the jw-axis, and part of the right half of the s-plane. This contour is really a straight line and a semicircle. Whoops! This thing encircles the right half plane counter-clockwise

One thing we can do is to take our contour and make it bigger and bigger, until it encloses - in the limit - the entire right half of the s-plane (RHP). In the limit, we have the jw-axis, and an infinite radius semicircle. When we're all done, if we evaluate G(s) along this contour, and count total angular change, we get the number of poles in the RHP the number of zeroes in the RHP. Play the clip below to see how that occurs. There's a question here as the semi-circle gets to a large radius. Is the clip still playing? How do you know?

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What does this mean? Consider evaluating G(s) along a contour that includes part of the jw-axis and an infinite radius semicircle. The portion of the jw -axis that is included in the contour produces a protion of the Nyquist plot (or maybe a Bode' plot) if you plot the data that way. G(s) will usually get very small along the semicircle for typical transfer functions as the radius gets larger and larger. Typically, G(s) will have more poles than zeroes, or at worst the same number of poles as zeroes. Here's a typical transfer function/frequency response function.

This transfer function has a pole at the origin. As the frequency gets large - as w gets large - the frequency response function will approach the form: G(jw ) -> K/(w n+1-m) for this transfer function This is either very small - going to zero as the frequency gets large, or: It approaches a constant when n + 1 = m. If there are more zeroes than poles, it's an unusual system and we're not going to worry about it. The constant is the same for any angle of s, as long as s gets very large. Think about this claim! So, we come to this conclusion. If we plot G(s) along the jw -axis and the radius of the semi-circle become very large, then, the resultant plot is composed of two parts. The Nyquist plot of G(jw ) and A constant, probably zero. We get this same constant for all infinite values of s, in
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any direction, so we should get this constant for infinite values of frequency - w . So, the plot of G(s) becomes just the Nyquist plot - for all practical purposes. Now, we can say the following: Plot the Nyquist plot of G(jw ). Count the total angular change. It will be an integral multiple of 360o. Call that number NENC, for number of encirclements. Then, NENC = #PolesRHP - #ZeroesRHP, where #PolesRHP = the number of poles in the right half of the s-plane (RHP), and #ZeroesRHP = the number of zeroes in the RHP, and You have to remember that going around the contour in the Nyquist plot direction is traversing the contour in a counter-clockwise direction, so zeroes will contribute negatively to total angular change, and poles will contribute positively. Now, consider the transfer function of a closed loop system. Poles of the closed loop transfer function, Gcl(s), are solutions of: 1 + KG(s)H(s) = 0. In other words, closed loop poles are zeroes of 1 + KG(s)H(s). Poles of 1 + KG(s)H(s) are poles of KG(s)H(s), i.e. open loop poles. Conclusion, if you want to determine closed loop poles in the RHP, plot 1 + KG(jw )H(jw ) and count encirclements, NENC = #PolesRHP - #ZeroesRHP NENC = # Open Loop PolesRHP - # Closed Loop PolesRHP= # Counterclockwise Encirclements. We're going to rephrase this. Let NENC = # Clockwise Encirclements. - NOTE the change to clockwise! NENC = # Closed Loop PolesRHP - # Open Loop PolesRHP In other words: Plot 1 + KG(jw )H(jw ). Count the number of clockwise encirclements. The number of encirclements is the difference between the number of closed loop poles and open loop poles in the RHP. There's still a problem. You have to plot (1 + KG(jw )H(jw )). There's a way to solve that problem. Below is a plot of a transfer function which might be KG(jw )H(jw ) for some system.

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Below is a plot of (1 + KG(jw )H(jw )) for the same system.

There's a simple, expedient way of looking at this. The second plot is the one we care about. We can get the second plot just shifting the entire plot right by 1. Alternatively, we can imagine shifting the axes to the left by -1. In other words: Just plot KG(jw )H(jw ). Then look at encirclements of -1.
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Then, we can restate the Nyquist stability criterion. Plot KG(jw )H(jw ). Note that you need to do this for all w, positive and negative! Let NENC= # Clockwise Encirclements of -1. Note - Clockwise! NENC = # Closed Loop PolesRHP - # Open Loop PolesRHP That's it!

Applying The Nyquist Stability Criterion

In this section, we are going to learn how to use the Nyquist stability criterion. We'll do that by giving you several examples. Some of the examples will require us to think more deeply about the Nyquist stability criterion. Here's one goal for this section. Given a feedback control system and the Nyquist plot for the open loop system, Determine the gain range for which the system is stable. Here's the Nyquist plot for a system.

When we examine these systems: We will assume that the plot is for KG(jw )H(jw ). Do we have enough information to apply the Nyquist criterion? There is one thing that should bother you about this plot and one other thing you should note.
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You can't really see the detail you need to see for high frequency. The -1 point is not apparent! This is a complete Nyquist plot for the Nyquist criterion. It wouldn't be complete without the plot for negative frequency. Here's the plot with the scale changed. Now you can't see the entire plot, but you can see the detail you need to count encirclements.

Now, apply the Nyquist criterion. NENC = # Clockwise Encirclements of -1 = 2 for this case, so there are 2 more closed loop poles than open loop poles in the RHP. How many open loop poles are in the RHP? You need to know the number of RHP poles beforehand. In this case, the plot is for a system with the transfer function below, and K = H = 1. There are zero open loop poles in the RHP.

Is the system - as described - stable? At this point, you can see that applying the Nyquist Criterion is pretty simple, as long as you know two items. How many open loop poles are in the right half of the s-plane? How many times does the plot encircle the -1 point?

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Systems With One or More Poles at the Origin

There are some complications that can arise with the Nyquist stability criterion. For example, an important special case occurs when there is a pole on the imaginary axis. Then, there is a frequency, which may be zero frequency if the pole is at s = 0, at which the frequency response function becomes infinite. Poles at the origin - at s = 0 - present a problem. It's not a unique problem because the same kind of thing happens with poles on the imaginary axis. The problem can be summarized as follows. A frequency response plot - the Nyquist plot in particular - is a map of a function, G(s), for s values that lie on the imaginary axis in the s-plane. When there is a pole on the imaginary axis - including a pole at s = 0 - then, G(s) becomes infinite at that value of s. Next, you'll start examining how to handle that situation. We need to be able to work with systems with poles on the imaginary axis. We may even want to add a pole at s = 0 in order to get good SSE behavior. Since the function G(s) goes to infinity for s = 0, we're going to rephrase things in terms of a contour that doesn't go through the problem point, i.e. s = 0. Here's the contour we will use.

If we have a pole at s = 0, then we will follow the contour shown above. Play this clip to see how s moves along the contour. Note the direction we have chosen for the detour around the origin. We'll look at a particular plot for a system with a transfer function that has one pole at s = -1, and a pole at s = 0. If we have a pole at s = 0, then we will follow the contour shown above.

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Play this clip to see how G(s) changes as s moves along the contour. For s along the semi-circular detour, the G(s) plot moves along a circle at a large radius. Next we'll look at the implications of this.

This clip that show s moving along the contour, along with the extended Nyquist plot. Think about what happens as the little semi-circle on the contour gets smaller. As the radius gets smaller, the radius on the G(s) plot gets larger, but the move always is from the top, clockwise to the bottom. Higher order systems will still have a plot that moves clockwise at infinity for s = 0.

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Here's a Nyquist plot for an open-loop system (above). Is it stable? Before you answer, note that it looks like the plot crosses the negative real axis at about -1.5. However, we could use more detail here. (Actually, you can get a great deal of insight and information about this system. Click here.) You also need to know the number of poles in the RHP open loop to compute NENC = # Clockwise Encirclements of -1 = # Closed Loop PolesRHP - # Open Loop PolesRHP. Before you go on, was the pole at s = 0 within the contour? If it was, count that as a RHP open loop pole. OK, you should have figured out that the pole at s = 0 was not within the contour. The number of open loop poles in the RHP is zero because the pole at s = 0 is counted as not being in the RHP - i.e. within the contour enclosing the RHP. Now, we can compute NENC : NENC = # Clockwise Encirclements of -1 = # Closed Loop PolesRHP - # Open Loop PolesRHP = # Closed Loop PolesRHP - 0 So, if there is an encirclement of -1, the system is unstable. Is the system above stable? Click on the buttons to give your answer.
Yes No

All right! The system is unstable. Now, here is another problem for you. In this problem assume that you have the closed loop system below, and that the frequency response given is for G(s).

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Here's the transfer function, G(s).

Determine values of Kp for which the system is stable. Here is the Nyquist plot for the system.

A Short Summary We can summarize how to apply the Nyquist stability criterion as follows. We will modify the steps above to account for the possibility of poles at s = 0 in the open-loop transfer function. Plot KG(jw )H(jw ). Note that you need to do this for all w, positive and negative! Let NENC = # Clockwise Encirclements of -1. Note - Clockwise! If there is a pole at s = 0 and the plot goes to infinity for low frequencies, close the plot by going clockwise at infinity to form a continuous plot. If there is one pole at s = 0, then the point at infinity moves 180o clockwise. If there are two poles, the angular change is twice that - always clockwise. NENC = # Closed Loop PolesRHP - # Open Loop PolesRHP That's it! Problems Problem NyquistP01 - Determining the range of gain for stability Problem NyquistP02 - Determining the range of gain for stability Problem NyquistP03 - Determining the range of gain for stability Problem NyquistP04 - Determining the range of gain for stability, G(s)
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Problem NyquistP05 - Determining the range of gain for stability, G(s) Problem NyquistP06 - Determining the range of gain for stability, G(s) Links to Related Lessons Nyquist Stability - Introduction Nyquist Stability - Using Bode' Plots Nyquist Stability - Relative Stability Nyquist Stability - In Operational Amplifiers You may want to review this material Nyquist Plots Bode Plots Return to Table of Contents Send us your comments on these lessons.

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