1/24

Lesson 26: The Nyquist Criterion,

Sketching the Nyquist Diagram
Nise 10.3 – 10.4

Lesson #26: The Nyquist Criterion, Sketching the Nyquist Diagram

Announcements 2/24

• ICE #25 is due on Friday.

• HW #24 is due on Friday.

Lesson #26: The Nyquist Criterion, Sketching the Nyquist Diagram

Course Objectives 3/24

• Determine the transfer function for electrical, mechanical, and

electromechanical systems.
• Determine the time response of a system from its transfer function.
• Reduce a block diagram of multiple subsystems to a single block representing
the transfer function from input to output.
• Determine the stability of a system represented as a transfer function.
• Calculate the steady-state error for both unity and non-unity feedback systems.
• Sketch the root locus of a closed-loop system and use it to find the poles of the
system.
• Use root locus methods to design cascade compensators.
• Use a system’s frequency response to determine its stability, transient response,
and steady- state error.
• Use frequency response methods to design cascade compensators.
• Design digital control systems to meet specifications on stability, transient
response, and steady-state error.
• Determine the state-space representation of a system and use that representation
to find its time response.
Lesson #26: The Nyquist Criterion, Sketching the Nyquist Diagram
Lesson Objectives 4/24

26.1 Determine the stability of a system from its

Nyquist diagram.
26.2 Map a contour onto another contour through a
transfer function.
26.3 Sketch the Nyquist diagram of a given system
or transfer function.

Lesson #26: The Nyquist Criterion, Sketching the Nyquist Diagram

 5/24

Section 10.3
Introduction to the
Nyquist Criterion

Lesson #26: The Nyquist Criterion, Sketching the Nyquist Diagram

 6/24
Open-Loop and Closed-Loop Poles and Zeros
N G N H DG DH + N G N H
1 + G ( s) H ( s) = 1 + =
DG DH DG DH
G(s) N G DH
T ( s) = =
1 + G ( s) H ( s ) DG DH + N G N H

N G ( s) Two Observations:
G (s) =
DG ( s ) 1. The poles of 1+G(s)H(s) are
N H ( s) the same as the poles of
H ( s) =
DH ( s) G(s)H(s).
NG N H 2. The zeros of 1+G(s)H(s) are
G (s) H ( s) =
DG DH the same as the poles of T(s).

Lesson #26: The Nyquist Criterion, Sketching the Nyquist Diagram

Mapping Points 7/24

• If we take a complex number on the s-plane and

substitute it into a function, F(s), another complex
number results.
• For example, substituting s=4+j3 into
F(s)=s2+2s+1 yields 16+j30.
• We say that 4+j3 “maps onto” 16+j30 through the
function s2+2s+1. F-plane 16+j30
s-plane
4+j3 F ( s ) = s 2 + 2s + 1

Lesson #26: The Nyquist Criterion, Sketching the Nyquist Diagram

Mapping Contours 8/24

If we map a series of points around a closed loop on

the s-plane, it will yield another closed loop that
depends on the mapping function. This is known as
“mapping a contour.”

Lesson #26: The Nyquist Criterion, Sketching the Nyquist Diagram

Contour Mapping Rules 9/24

1. If we assume a clockwise direction for mapping the

points on contour A, then contour B maps in a clockwise
direction if F(s) has (just zeros) or (just poles that are not
encircled by the contour).

Lesson #26: The Nyquist Criterion, Sketching the Nyquist Diagram

Contour Mapping Rules 10/24

2. The contour B maps in a counterclockwise

direction if F(s) has just poles that are encircled
by the contour.

Lesson #26: The Nyquist Criterion, Sketching the Nyquist Diagram

Contour Mapping Rules 11/24

3. If the pole or zero of F(s) is enclosed by contour

A, then the mapping B will encircle the origin.

Lesson #26: The Nyquist Criterion, Sketching the Nyquist Diagram

Socrative Question #1 12/24

• T/F: Poles always reverse the direction of a

mapped contour.

Lesson #26: The Nyquist Criterion, Sketching the Nyquist Diagram

Nyquist Criterion 13/24

Let the mapping function F(s) be:

F ( s) = 1 + G(s) H ( s)

As we move around the contour A, each vector that lies

inside of A will appear to undergo a complete rotation, or a
change in angle of 360°. But each vector drawn from
outside the contour will appear to oscillate and return to its
previous position, with a net angular change of 0°.
Lesson #26: The Nyquist Criterion, Sketching the Nyquist Diagram
Nyquist Criterion 14/24

• Each zero inside the contour will add 360° (one

clockwise revolution) to the angle of B as a result
of a complete clockwise revolution around A, and
each pole will cause a -360° change to the angle
(one counter-clockwise revolution).
• We can represent this as an equation:
N = P-Z
• Where P is the number of poles inside the
contour, Z is the number of zeros inside the
contour, and N is the number of counterclockwise
revolutions of the mapped contour B around the
origin.
Lesson #26: The Nyquist Criterion, Sketching the Nyquist Diagram
Nyquist Criterion 15/24

• Recall that the poles of 1+G(s)H(s) are also the

poles of G(s)H(s), which can be easily found.
• But also remember that the zeros of 1+G(s)H(s)
are the poles of T(s), and these are not known and
not easily found.
• Thus, we will usually know P and N, and we can
use these to solve for Z. This will tell us the
number of closed-loop poles inside the contour
we have drawn.
Z = P-N
Lesson #26: The Nyquist Criterion, Sketching the Nyquist Diagram
Socrative Question #2 16/24

• Fill in the blank: We (usually) know the open

loop poles of a feedback loop and the number of
_________ rotations around the origin.

Lesson #26: The Nyquist Criterion, Sketching the Nyquist Diagram

Nyquist Criterion for Stability 17/24

• We can use the Nyquist Criterion with a very

special contour to determine the stability of the
system.
• The contour we use encloses the entire right half-
plane, and if we detect even one closed-loop pole
in that contour, we know that the system is
unstable.

Lesson #26: The Nyquist Criterion, Sketching the Nyquist Diagram

Nyquist Criterion (First Draft) 18/24

The Nyquist Criterion tell us that the number of

closed-loop poles in the right half-plane (Z) is equal
to the number of open-loop poles in the right half-
plane (P) minus the number of counterclockwise
rotations (N) of the mapped contour around the
origin.
Z = P-N
In practice, we use G(s)H(s) for mapping, rather
than 1+G(s)H(s), and then we check for rotations
around s = –1 rather than rotations around the
origin.
Lesson #26: The Nyquist Criterion, Sketching the Nyquist Diagram
Nyquist Criterion 19/24

Z=P-N=0-0=0

Z=0-(-2)=2
(Clockwise rotations!)

Lesson #26: The Nyquist Criterion, Sketching the Nyquist Diagram

Nyquist Criterion (Final Version) 20/24

If a contour A that encircles the entire right half-

plane (RHP) is mapped through G(s)H(s), then the
number of closed-loop poles, Z, that are in the RHP
equals the number of open-loop poles, P, that are in
the RHP minus the number of counterclockwise
revolutions, N, around s=-1.

Z = P-N
The mapping from s to G(s)H(s) is called a Nyquist
diagram or a Nyquist plot.
(Clockwise rotations around s = –1 will yield a
negative N, while CCW rotations yield positive N.)
Lesson #26: The Nyquist Criterion, Sketching the Nyquist Diagram
 21/24

Section 10.4
Sketching the Nyquist Diagram

Lesson #26: The Nyquist Criterion, Sketching the Nyquist Diagram

Sketching the Nyquist Diagram 22/24

500
G( s) H ( s) =
( s + 1)(s + 3)(s + 10)

Lesson #26: The Nyquist Criterion, Sketching the Nyquist Diagram

Sketching the Nyquist Diagram 23/24

500
G( s) H ( s) =
( s + 1)(s + 3)(s + 10)

Lesson #26: The Nyquist Criterion, Sketching the Nyquist Diagram

Sketching the Nyquist Diagram 24/24

500
G( s) H ( s) =
( s + 1)(s + 3)(s + 10)

Remember, the magnitude of the mapped function is the

product of the zero vectors divided by the product of the
pole vectors, and the angle of the mapped function is the
sum of the zero angles minus the sum of the pole angles.
Lesson #26: The Nyquist Criterion, Sketching the Nyquist Diagram
Symmetry and the Nyquist Diagram 25/24

• Along the imaginary axis, s=jw, so

G(s)H(s)=G(jw)H(jw), which is the open-loop
frequency response.
• The real part of G(jw)H(jw) is always an even
function, while the imaginary part of G(jw)H(jw)
is always an odd function.
• Thus, the Nyquist diagram mapping along the
imaginary axis from D to A is a mirror image of
the mapping from A to C.

Lesson #26: The Nyquist Criterion, Sketching the Nyquist Diagram

Poles on the Imaginary Axis 26/24

• If there are poles along the imaginary axis, we

must infinitesimally divert the contour to avoid
them.You can either divert into the LHP or the
RHP.

Lesson #26: The Nyquist Criterion, Sketching the Nyquist Diagram

Nyquist Diagram Example 27/24

( s + 2)
G(s) H (s) =
s2

Lesson #26: The Nyquist Criterion, Sketching the Nyquist Diagram

Socrative Question #3 28/24

• T/F: You can construct an identical Nyquist

diagram from the open-loop frequency
response/Bode plot.

Lesson #26: The Nyquist Criterion, Sketching the Nyquist Diagram

ch10p2.m 29/24

clf
numg=[1 2];
deng=[1 0 0];
G=tf(numg,deng)
nyquist(G)
grid on
title('Open-Loop Frequency
Response')
w=0:0.5:10;
[re,im]=nyquist(G,w);
points=[re(:,:)',im(:,:)',w']
Lesson #26: The Nyquist Criterion, Sketching the Nyquist Diagram
 Key Take-Aways 30/24

The Nyquist criterion allows us to calculate the

number of closed-loop poles (which is the same as
the number of open-loop zeros) contained within a
closed contour by first determining the number of
open-loop poles and then subtracting the number of
CCW revolutions of the Nyquist diagram around
s=-1.

# of closed-loop poles of T
(open-loop zeros of GH)
Z = P-N # of CCW revolutions
in the RHP of the Nyquist diagram
around s = -1.
# of open-loop poles of GH
in the RHP
Lesson #26: The Nyquist Criterion, Sketching the Nyquist Diagram