2016.12.03 Out PDF

ORIGINAL ARCHIVAL COPY
DIGITAL PWM CONTROL OF BRUSH-LESS DC (BLDC) MOTOR DRIVES
BY
ANAND SATHYAN
DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the

requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical Engineering
in the Graduate College of the
Illinois Institute of Technology
Approved
Advisor
Chicago, Illinois
December 2008
UMI Number: 3370892
Copyright 2009 by
Sathyan, Anand
INFORMATION TO USERS
The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy
submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations
and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper
alignment can adversely affect reproduction.
In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript
and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized
copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion.
UMI
UMI Microform 3370892
Copyright 2009 by ProQuest LLC
All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against
unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code.
ProQuest LLC
789 East Eisenhower Parkway
P.O. Box 1346
Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346
Copyright by
ANAND SATHYAN
2008
11
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude towards my advisor,
Prof. Ali Emadi, for his constant help, stimulating suggestions, encouragement and
efforts in making this dissertation a great success. The confidence and dynamism with
which Prof. Emadi guided my research requires no elaboration. I would also like to take
this opportunity to thank the respected members of the committee, Prof. Mohammad
Shahidehpour, Prof. Alexander J. Flueck, Prof. Alireza Khaligh, Prof. Zuyi Li, and Prof.
Sheldon Mostovoy for their valuable suggestions. I would like to extend my special
thanks to Prof. Mahesh Krishnamurthy for his expert guidance during the key phases of
my research.
My heartfelt gratitude goes out towards my loving parents Sri. Sathyan, Smt. Indra,
younger brother Chi. KrishnaPrasad and my uncle and aunt Sri. Kuppannan and Smt.
Padma whose love, support and continuous motivation helped me during this testing
academic voyage. My grandmother late Gowribai set an example for me to lead life
during difficult times. My acknowledgements would not be complete without a special
mention of the wholehearted help and encouragement of my cousins Smt. Rajashree, Sri.
Prabhakar, Sri. Krishnamoorthy, Smt. Nalini, Sri. Prasanna and Smt. Kuntal.
I appreciate the support of my collegues at the Electric Power and Power Electronics
Centre, without whose support and wide ranging expertise, it would never have been
possible for me to complete this dissertation productively. I would also like to take this
opportunity to thank all the generous project sponsors for providing the Grainger Power
Electronics and Motor Drives Laboratory with constant financial support during the
complete time frame of my graduate studies.
iii
Above all, I would like to thank God Almighty for having given me the courage,
patience, and the intellectual power to overcome all difficulties that I have faced during
my graduate studies. Sri Krishnarpanamastu.
IV
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iii
LIST OF TABLES vii
LIST OF FIGURES viii
LIST OF SYMBOLS xii
ABSTRACT xiv
CHAPTER
1. INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Introduction 1
1.2 Benefits of "brushless" technology 6
1.3 Where "brushless" technology falls short 7
1.4 Overview of chapters 9
2. BRUSHLESS DC (BLDC) MOTOR 10
2.1 Introduction 10
2.2 Stator 10
2.3 Rotor 13
2.4 Hall Sensors 15
2.5 Commutation sequence 19
2.6 Dynamics of a BLDC motor 22
2.7 Conclusion 26
3. BRUSHLESS DC (BLDC) DRIVE STRATEGIES 27
3.1 Overall system description 27

3.2 Brushless DC drive strategies 28
3.3 Sensored BLDC motor control 30
3.4 Pulse Amplitude Modulation (PAM) 31
3.5 Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) 32
3.6 PWM signal generation 34
3.7 Hysteresis current control 38
3.8 PWM control of BLDC drives 40
3.9 Direct Torque Control of BLDC drives 43
v
3.10 Sensor less BLDC motor control 45
3.11 Digital Hysteresis control 47
3.12 Conclusion 48
4. NOVEL DIGITAL CONTROL TECHNIQUE FOR BRUSHLESS DC

MOTOR DRIVE 49
4.1 Introduction 49
4.2 Novel digital controller design 51
4.3 Speed ripple calculation 55
4.4 Steady state analysis 57
4.5 Simulation results 58
4.6 Hardware details 65
4.7 Advantages of digital controller 75
4.8 Conclusion 75
5. DIGITAL PWM CONTROL - COMPREHENSIVE STABILITY

ANALYSIS 76
5.1 Introduction 76
5.2 The describing function method 77
5.3 Describing function of saturation nonlinearity 80
5.4 Dynamics of the novel digital PWM controller 83
5.5 Transfer function Gffl (co) en- 85
5.6 Root locus plot for the transfer function G0) (w) en- 86
5.7 Transfer function G; (i) en- 87
5.8 Root locus plot for the transfer function G; (i) en- 88
5.9 Transfer function Gjmax (co) err 89
5.10 Root locus plot for the transfer function Gjmax (co) err 91
5.11 Conclusion 97
6. CONCLUSION 98
6.1 Summary 98
6.2 Conclusion and future work 98
BIBLIOGRAPHY 99
VI
LIST OF TABLES
Table Page
2.1 CW sensor and drive bits by phase order 18
2.2 CCW sensor and drive bits by phase order 18
4.1 BLDC motor specification from poly-scientific (BN42-EU-02) 68
vn
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure Page
1.1 Typical full load efficiencies for sub fractional motors 2
1.2 Typical speed-torque relationship for AC Induction motors 4
1.3 Typical speed-torque curves for a BLDC motor 8
2.1 BLDC motor 11
2.2 Cross sectional view of the stator of a BLDC motor 11
2.3 Trapezoidal back EMF waveforms in the three phases of a BLDC motor . 12
2.4 Sinusoidal back EMF waveforms in the three phases of a BLDC motor ... 13
2.5 Cross sections of different rotor arrangements for a BLDC motor 14
2.6 Sensor versus drive timing 16
2.7 Three phase bridge 17
2.8 Hall sensor signal, back EMF, output torque and phase current 20
2.9 Winding energizing sequence with respect to the hall sensor 21
2.10 Three phase BLDC machine equivalent circuit and mechanical load 22
2.11 Model of a BLDC motor 25
2.12 Root locus plot for a BLDC motor 26
3.1 Typical inverter drive system for a BLDC motor 28
3.2 Back EMF and phase current variation with rotor electrical angle 29
3.3 Gate waveforms for PAM 31
3.4 Basic switch-mode DC-DC converter 32
3.5 Output voltage of the switch-mode DC-DC converter 33
3.6 PWM signal generation 35
viii
3.7 PWM signals at various duty ratios 36
3.8 Switch gate waveforms for 120 degree PWM switching 37
3.9 Switch gate waveforms for 60 degree PWM switching 38
3.10 Switch gate waveforms for IR hard switching 39
3.11 Hysteresis current control 40
3.12 Schematic of conventional PWM current control 41
3.13 Schematic of PWM current control with current shaping 42
3.14 Schematic of DTC BLDC drive 44
3.15 Digital hysteresis control for a BLDC motor drive system 48
4.1 Proposed novel digital PWM controller 52
4.2 Block diagram for digital PWM control for a BLDC motor drive system . 52
4.3 Flowchart describing the novel digital controller 53
4.4 Speed response 56
4.5 Phase current, duty and speed response for a reference speed of 1500 rpm under
no load condition 59
30% rated load 60
30% rated load 62
30% rated load 64
4.11 Final experimental set-up 65
ix
4.12 Block diagram showing operations and functions implemented in FPGA device
67
4.13 Duty, speed and phase current response for a reference speed of 1500 rpm under
30% rated load 70
30% rated load 72
30% rated load 74
5.1 Nonlinear system to which the describing function method is applicable .. 78
5.2 Nonlinear system 78
5.3 Nonlinear system with nonlinearity replaced by describing function 80
5.4 Input-output characteristics of saturation nonlinearity 81
5.5 Sinusoidal response of saturation nonlinearity 82
5.6 Block diagram of the overall system 84
5.7 Control logic 85
5.8 Describing function to find Gffl (ra) en- 86
5.9 Root locus plot for the function Gffl (co) err 87
5.10 Describing function to find G; (i) err 88
5.11 Root locus plot for Gj (i) err for D = 1 and co = 3000 RPM 89
5.12 Describing function to find Gimax (co) err 90
x
5.13 Speed response for change in load torque and for a reference speed of 1800 RPM
93
5.14 Experimental results for a change in load torque from 20% to 80% of rated load
for a reference speed of 2000 RPM 94
5.15 Experimental results for a change in reference speed from 2200 RPM to 1300
RPM under no load condition 95
5.16 Experimental results for a change in input voltage from rated voltage to 30% of
rated voltage under no load condition 96
XI
LIST OF SYMBOLS
Symbol Definition
b viscous friction constant
D duty cycle
DL low duty
DH high duty
emf electromotive force
E
f motor terminal back emf
<f> magnetic flux
fs switching frequency
i instantaneous current
I average current
la Phase A current
h Phase B current
Ic Phase C current
J rotor moment of inertia
K back-emf constant
K integral constant
K proportional constant
K torque constant
L motor terminal inductance
P power
R motor terminal resistance
T torque
Td developed torque
TL load torque
T
m mechanical time constant
Symbol Definition
f
off switch off-time
on switch on-time
Ts switching period
9, angular position
co angular velocity
^ref rotor reference speed
^ss steady state angular velocity
*dc dc voltage source

Q damping ratio
xm
ABSTRACT
Electrical motors are an integral part of industrial plants with no less than 5 billion
motors built world wide every year. Development of advanced motor drives has yielded
increase in efficiency and reliability. Residential and commercial applications such as
refrigerators and air conditioning systems use conventional motor drive technologies.
The machines found in these appliances are single phase induction motors or brushed DC
machines which are characterized by low efficiency and high maintenance, respectively.
On the contrary a brush-less DC (BLDC) motor drive is characterized by higher
efficiency, lower maintenance and higher cost. In a market driven by profit margins, the
appliance industry is reluctant to replace the conventional motor drives with advanced
motor drives (BLDC) due to their higher cost. Replacing these inefficient motors, with
more efficient brush-less DC motors (BLDC) will result in substantial energy savings.
Therefore it is necessary to have a low cost, but effective BLDC motor controller. This
thesis lays the groundwork for the development of a novel low-cost IC for control of
BLDC motors.
A simple novel digital pulse width modulation (PWM) control has been
implemented for a trapezoidal BLDC motor drive system. This digital controller treats
the motor like a digital system. Based on the speed error and the actual value of the
motor current, the controller selects a high duty, low duty or a skip state. Speed
regulation is achieved by alternating between these states. Due to the simplistic nature of
this control, it has the potential to be implemented in a low cost IC. Describing function
method and Fourier analysis were used to prove the stability of the motor-drive system.
xiv
Most three-phase motors, including BLDC motors need at least six PWM
channels for inverter power devices such as IGBTs and MOSFETs. Field Programmable
Gate Array (FPGA) is used to generate the control signals. Designing the controller
using an FPGA presents several advantages such as small drive size and less
development time. Simulation results are presented, for various commanded speed and
load torque. Experimental verification is carried out using to validate the claims
presented.
xv
1
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Introduction
The basic function of an electric motor is to convert electrical energy into
mechanical energy. Considering the ready availability of electricity and the myriad uses
for mechanical energy, it's no surprise that electric motors are widely used. According to
the U.S Department of Energy fact sheet (DOE/GO-10096-314), electric motors are
responsible for consuming more than half of all the electrical energy used in the United
States.
In the HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) realm, electric motors
drive fans and compressors, which make these components largely responsible for the
electrical energy that is consumed by an HVAC system. So when a new motor
technology is introduced - one that promises remarkably better efficiency - it is worth a
closer look.
Such is the case with brushless DC, or "electronically commutated," motors
(ECMs). Proponents of brushless technology claim that the design results in quieter
operation, more efficient performance, greater output power, higher operating speeds, and
longer service life. This section of the thesis provides a refresher on basic motor
operation. Along the way, it explains why a brushless DC motor was targeted for control,
and considers their appropriateness for HVAC applications.
The most basic way to classify electric motors is by power supply and size. As
for power supply, motors either use alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC). AC
power is readily available from the distribution grid, while DC power requires a battery
2
or, more commonly a converter that changes AC to DC. In the size category, motors are
either fractional (smaller than 1 HP) or integral (1 HP or larger).
When it comes to energy use, small (fractional horsepower) single-phase AC
motors leave considerable room for improvement. AC motors are designed to run most
efficiently at rated voltage and speed. When an application requires multiple speeds, the
conventional solution is either to use a motor with multiple taps (the least expensive
option) or to add an SCR (silicon-controlled rectifier).
Each of these adaptations causes the motor to run less efficiently. The
performance degradation can be significant: The typical full-load efficiency of 55 to 65
percent at the rated voltage can drop to as little as 15 to 20 percent at part load and
reduced voltage.
When compared with more common motor technologies, such as shaded pole and
permanent split capacitor, the brushless design's full load efficiency of 75 percent or
better offers substantial energy savings for motors with sub fractional horsepower ratings
(figure 1.1). But the real advantage of a brushless DC motor becomes evident at part
load, where its performance edge doubles or triples [38].
100
Brushless DC
ô 80
<D
Permanent split capacitor AC
1 60
CU
O
t 40
20 Shaded pole AC
0
0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
Motor Size, hp
Figure 1.1. Typical full load efficiencies for sub fractional motors
3
All electric motors rely on the attraction and repulsion of magnetic fields to
operate, so what is responsible for this dramatic difference in performance? The answer
requires review of a few motor fundamentals.
1.1.1 AC Induction Motors. In AC motors, the magnetic field in the stator is created
by passing alternating current through coils of wire. The rise and fall of this magnetic
field causes current to flow in the bars of the squirrel cage rotor, which in turn creates
another magnetic field. It is the interaction of these magnetic fields that produces torque.
Induction motors are so named because the stator's fluctuating magnetic field "induces"
current in the rotor.
In a three phase motor, the stator coils energize and de-energize sequentially,
creating a rotating magnetic field. Torque results when the induced magnetic field of the
rotor "chases" the rotating stator fields; when the fields align, torque disappears. AC
induction motors depend on the rotor turning slower than the rotation of the stator fields.
As the speed of the rotor approaches that of the stator fields, the force (torque) on the
rotor diminishes. The difference between these speeds is called slip [7].
Figure 1.2 illustrates the relationship between torque and speed. Notice that the
rotor speed (and, therefore, shaft speed) decreases as load is applied to the motor. In
HVAC terms, a fan connected to this motor will require higher torque to maintain airflow
as the system static pressure increases (for example, a damper closes), resulting in slower
shaft rotation and therefore less airflow.

4
1.1.2 DC Motors. As in AC motors, the driving force provided by DC motor results
from the interaction of rotating magnetic fields in the rotor and stator. But because direct
current does not oscillate, the polarity fluctuations needed to keep the rotor turning must
be created mechanically. There are several ways to do this, as evidenced by the types of
DC motors available; shunt wound, series wound, compound wound, and permanent
magnet are just a few. To understand the principles of DC motor operation let us look at
how a permanent magnet works.
Synchronous Speed
Rotor Speed
o.
Figure 1.2. Typical speed-torque relationship for AC induction motors
When current passes through a coil of wire placed between the north and south
poles of a permanent magnet, the magnetic field generated by the coil interacts with the
field from the permanent magnet and applies rotational force (torque). If the coil is
allowed to rotate, the fields eventually align such that the plane of the armature coil is
perpendicular to the field of the permanent magnet and torque disappears. Rotation can
be maintained by reversing the direction of current flow in the coil of wire.
In permanent-magnet DC motor, the permanent magnet forms the stator, the loops
of wire (armature coil) are placed on the rotating shaft (rotor), and a commutator switches
the current flow from one coil to the other at exactly the right moment. The commutator
5
provides a means for connecting a stationary power source to the rotating coils, typically
via conductive rods (brushes) that ride on smooth conductive plates. The uneven torque
that results from a single coil armature can be smoothed by adding additional coils and
commutator segments.
Unlike AC motors, in which a certain amount of slip is unavoidable, the
synchronous nature of DC motors means that they operate at a fixed speed for a fixed
voltage, providing a significant advantage in applications where knowing motor speed is
important. Changing the voltage produces a predictable change in speed. Adding load to
the motor (that is, increasing the torque on the shaft) increases the current drawn without
slowing shaft rotation [7].
The Achilles heel for a DC motor is its commutator. Consistently transferring
current from a stationary point to the rotating shaft requires materials that can carry
current, yet withstand friction and arcing. Commutators require periodic maintenance,
decrease motor life, and limit the maximum speed at which the motor can turn.
1.1.3 Best of both: Brushless DC Motors. A brushless DC (BLDC) motor
implements the basic operating principles of DC motor operation a bit differently by
placing the permanent magnet in the rotor and coils in the stator. The coil windings are
electrically separate from each other, which allows them to be turned on and off in a
sequence that creates a rotating magnetic field. In this case, it's the field of the rotors
permanent magnet ("chasing" the rotating stator field) that makes the rotor run.
One significant advantage of this arrangement is that the commutator does not
carry current to the rotor - which eliminates the brushes and their wear-related
6
drawbacks. It is still necessary to know the rotor position so that excitation of the stator
field always leads the permanent magnet field to produce torque [2]. In a BLDC motor,
this function is provided by a commutation assembly consisting of electronic circuitry
and a series of sensors (usually Hall Effect sensors). The circuitry decodes the sensor
signals to determine the position of the shaft and energize the appropriate stator windings.
1.2 Benefits of "brushless" technology
1.2.1 Broad operating range. Eliminating the brushes is a definite plus: It not only
extends the motor's service life and reduces maintenance, but also eliminates the speed
restrictions inherent to "brushed" DC motors. BLDC motors can attain speeds of more
than 60,000 rpm. More importantly, the power circuit components that are required to
convert from alternating to direct current provide the basis for variable-speed drive,
making BLDC motors well-suited for applications that require speed control over a wide
operating range.
1.2.2 Higher efficiency. Using permanent magnets in the rotor helps to keep the rotor
small and inertias low. Without current flow (and the associated losses) in the rotor, the
motor generates less heat [28]. Whatever heat is produced dissipates more efficiently
from the brushless motor's wound stator to the outer metallic housing than through the
"brushed" motor's shaft or rotor-stator air gap.
1.2.3 Flexible design. The DC power supply permits a motor design with any number
of phases in the stator. Although three-phase configurations are most common, two and
7
four phased configurations also are used. How the coils are energized is flexible too. As
an example, two windings can be energized with the third off at any instant in a three
phase BLDC configuration. Energizing the coils in pairs simplifies control design, which
lowers first cost, and provides motor torque - about 10 percent more than energizing the
windings sinusoidally.
1.3 Where "brushless" technology falls short?
1.3.1 Higher cost. BLDC technology requires power transistors to drive the stator
windings at a specified motor current and voltage level. This addition, coupled with
electronic commutation controls, makes brushless DC motors more expensive to
purchase than their AC couterparts. While it is true that the gap is narrowing, thanks to
advances in "brushless" technology and increased volume, BLDC motors still carry a
first-cost penalty.
1.3.2 Disruptive Harmonics. Although the displacement power factor for BLDC
motors is 1, the true power factor (ratio of total watts consumed to volt-amps supplied) is
less than 1. The difference results from the harmonic currents that nonlinear loads (such
as variable-speed devices, computers, office machines, and certain lighting systems)
create when converting from AC to DC power [28].
Harmonic currents do no useful work; worse still, they burden system components
- overheating conductors and connectors, and in severe cases, burning out transformers
and motors. The distorted waveform of harmonic currents also can interfere with the
operation of sensitive equipment.

8
1.3.3 Making the most of brushless DC motors. Applications that are best suited for
BLDC technology can take full advantage of its unique operating characteristics -
synchronous speed-torque performance and variable-speed drive capability.
Another benefit of BLDC technology is the ability to accurately control connected
loads. Motor speed, applied voltage, and torque share a linear relationship (figure 1.3).
This attribute combined with the electronic commutator's precise speed of measurement
makes it possible to control a BLDC motor such that it delivers a known torque output.
T3
Torque
Figure 1.3. Typical speed-torque curves for a BLDC motor
Widespread use and acceptance of brushless DC motors in residential products
(where motors are small and efficiency advantage is most significant) has prompted
greater competition in the market. With market interest comes further research and
development, ultimately reducing first cost and increasing application flexibility.
Given the existing availability and first cost penalty, BLDC technology will find
great acceptance wherever its performance advantage over a wide speed range can be
9
combined with its excellent variable speed capabilities. This can result in an efficiency
improvement of at least 30 percent over single phase AC induction motors.
1.4 Overview of Chapters
Chapter 2 introduces the basics of brushless DC motors. A detailed model of the
BLDC motor starting from the basic electrical and mechanical equations is derived. Also
the transfer function for the BLDC motor, along with the suitability of the BLDC motor
for speed control is presented.
Chapter 3 focuses on the various strategies for BLDC motor speed control. The
most commonly used sensored and sensorless techniques is reviewed. The concept of
PWM voltage control is explained, followed by various methods of generating a PWM
signal. Hysteresis current control method is also discussed. A truly digital Hysteresis
control strategy for a BLDC motor is also briefly presented.
Chapter 4 introduces the novel BLDC motor drive digital controller. The digital
control concept is presented in detail. The design method is generalized so as to make it
applicable to any BLDC motor. The proposed digital controller is realized using PSIM.
Simulation results are presented to validate the theoretical calculations. Conclusions and
future work is discussed.
Chapter 5 introduces the novel BLDC motor drive digital controller. The digital
control concept is presented in detail. The design method is generalized so as to make it
applicable to any BLDC motor. The proposed digital controller is realized using PSIM.
Simulation results are presented to validate the theoretical calculations. Conclusions and
future work is discussed.

10
CHAPTER 2
BRUSHLESS DC (BLDC) MOTOR
2.1 Introduction
BLDC motors are a type of synchronous motor. This means that the magnetic
field generated by the stator and the magnetic field generated by the rotor rotate at the
same frequency. BLDC motors do not experience the "slip" that is normally seen in
induction motors.
BLDC motors come in single-phase, 2-phase and 3-phase configurations.
Corresponding to its type, the stator has the same number of windings. Out of these, 3-
phase motors are the most popular and widely used.
Figure 2.1 is a simplified illustration of BLDC motor construction. A brushless
DC motor is constructed with a permanent magnet rotor and wire wound stator poles.
Electrical energy is converted into mechanical energy by the magnetic attractive forces
between the permanent magnet rotor and a rotating magnetic field induced in the stator
wound poles.
In this topology shown in figure 2.1, there are three electromagnetic circuits
connected at a common point. A motor with this topology is driven by energizing two
phases at a time.
2.2 Stator
The stator of a BLDC motor consists of stacked steel laminations with windings
placed in the slots that are axially cut along the inner periphery (Figure 2.2).
Traditionally, the stator resembles that of an induction motor; however, the windings are
11
distributed in a different manner. Most BLDC motors have three stator windings
connected in star fashion. Each of these windings is constructed with numerous coils
interconnected to form a winding. Each of these windings is distributed over the stator
periphery to form an even number of poles.
There are two types of stator winding variants: trapezoidal and sinusoidal motors.
This differentiation is made on the basis of the interconnection of coils in the stator
windings to give the different types of back Electro Motive Force (EMF) [5].
Figure 2.1. BLDC motor
Figure 2.2. Cross sectional view of the stator of a BLDC motor

12
As their names indicate, the trapezoidal motor gives a back EMF in trapezoidal
fashion and the sinusoidal motor's back EMF is sinusoidal as shown in figure 2.3 and 2.4
[54]. In addition to the back EMF, the phase current also has trapezoidal and sinusoidal
variations in the respective types of motor. This makes the torque output by a sinusoidal
motor smoother than that of a trapezoidal motor. However, this comes with an extra cost,
as the sinusoidal motors take extra winding interconnections because of the coils
distribution on the stator periphery, thereby increasing the copper intake by the stator
windings.
0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210 240 270 300 330 360
Figure 2.3. Trapezoidal back EMF waveforms in the three phases of a BLDC motor
13
Depending upon the control power supply capability, the motor with the correct
voltage rating of the stator can be chosen. Forty-eight volts, or less voltage rated motors
are used in automotive, robotics, small arm movements and so on [10]. Motors with 100
volts, or higher ratings, are used in appliances, automation and in industrial applications.
0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210 240 270 300 330 360
Figure 2.4. Sinusoidal back EMF waveforms in the three phases of a BLDC motor
2.3 Rotor
The rotor is made of permanent magnet and can vary from two to eight pole pairs
with alternate North (N) and South (S) poles.

14
Based on the required magnetic field density in the rotor, the proper magnetic
material is chosen to make the rotor. Ferrite magnets are traditionally used to make the
permanent magnets. As the technology advances, rare earth alloy magnets are gaining
popularity. The ferrite magnets are less expensive but they have the disadvantage of low
flux density for a given volume. In contrast, the alloy material has high magnetic density
per volume and enables the rotor to compress further for the same torque [15]. Also,
these alloy magnets improve the size-to-weight ratio and give higher torque for the same
size motor using ferrite magnets.
Neodymium (Nd), Samarium Cobalt (SmCo) and the alloy of Neodymium, ferrite
and Boron (NdFeB) are some examples of rare earth alloy magnets. Continuous research
is going on to improve the flux density to compress the rotor further. Figure 2.5 shows
cross sections of different arrangements of magnets in a rotor.
Figure 2.5. Cross sections of different rotor arrangements for a BLDC motor
15
2.4 Hall Sensors
Unlike a brushed DC motor, the commutation of a BLDC motor is controlled
electronically. To rotate the BLDC motor, the stator windings should be energized in a
sequence. It is important to know the rotor position in order to understand which winding
will be energized following the energizing sequence. Rotor position is sensed using Hall
Effect sensors embedded into the stator. By reading the Hall Effect sensors, a 3-bit code
can be obtained with values ranging from 1 to 6. Each code value represents a sector on
which the rotor is presently located. Each code value, therefore, gives us information on
which windings need to be excited to turn the rotor. State '0' and '7' are invalid states
for Hall Effect sensors.
Most BLDC motors have three Hall sensors embedded into the stator on the non-
driving end of the motor. Each sensor element outputs a digital high level for 180
electrical degrees of electrical rotation, and a low level for the other 180 degree electrical
degrees. Whenever the rotor magnetic poles pass near the Hall sensors, they give a high
or low signal, indicating the N or S pole is passing near the sensors. Based on the
combination of these three Hall sensor signals, the exact sequence of commutation can be
determined. The three sensors are offset from each other by 60 electrical degrees so that
each sensor output is in alignment with one of the electromagnetic circuits [22]. A timing
diagram showing the relationship between the sensor outputs and the required motor
drive voltages is shown in figure 2.6.
The Hall sensors require a power supply. The voltage may range from 4 volts to
24 volts. The numbers in top of figure 2.6 correspond to the current phases shown in
figure 2.1. It is apparent from figure 2.6 that the three sensor outputs overlap in such a
16
way as to create six unique three-bit codes corresponding to each of the drive phases.
The numbers shown around the periphery of the motor diagram in figure 2.1 represent the
sensor position code. The north pole of the rotor points to the code that is output at that
rotor position. The numbers are the sensor logic levels where the most significant bit is
sensor C and the least significant bit is sensor A.
1 6 5 4 3 2 1 6
+Vdc
A Float
-Vdc
+Vdc
B Float --- -
-Vdc
+Vdc
C Float 1
-Vdc
Sensor A
Sensor B
:
Sensor C
Code 011 001 101 100 110 010 011
Figure 2.6. Sensor versus drive timing

17
Each drive phase consists of one motor terminal driven high, one motor terminal
driven low, and one motor terminal floating [21]. A simplified drive circuit is shown in
figure 2.7. The input sensor state and the corresponding drive state, required for
commutation can be put in the form of a state table as shown in table 2.1 and 2.2.
+ Vdc + Vdc + Vdc
A High ^ B High ^ CHigh^

Control Control Control
K* ^ ^ A
-To A -ToB ToC
A Low BLow CLow

Control" Control" Control"
-Vdc -Vdc Vdc
Figure 2.7. Three phase bridge

18
Table 2.1. CW sensor and drive bits by phase order
Phase Sensor Sensor Sensor C High C Low B High B Low A High A Low
C B A Drive Drive Drive Drive Drive Drive
1 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0
Table 2.2. CCW sensor and drive bits by phase order
Phase Sensor Sensor Sensor C High C Low B High B Low A High A Low
C B A Drive Drive Drive Drive Drive Drive
1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1
19
2.5 Commutation sequence
Figure 2.8 shows an example of hall sensor signals with respect to back EMF and
the phase current. Figure 2.9 shows the switching sequence that should be followed with
respect to the hall sensors [30]. The sequence numbers on figure 2.8 correspond to the
numbers given in figure 2.9.
Every 60 electrical degrees of rotation, one of the hall sensor changes state.
Given this, it takes six steps to complete an electrical cycle [44]. In synchronous, with
every 60 electrical degrees, the phase current switching should be updated. However,
one electrical cycle may not correspond to a complete mechanical revolution of the rotor.
The number of electrical cycles to be repeated to complete a mechanical rotation is
determined by the rotor pole pairs. For each rotor pole pairs, one electrical cycle is
completed. So, the number of electrical cycles/rotations equals the rotor pole pairs.
BLDC motors are popular because they are fast, noiseless, efficient, and exhibit a
longer operating life. BLDC motors are also popular due to their compact size,
controllability, high efficiency, low EMI and high-reliability. Their compact size is a
direct result of technological advances in magnets that deliver efficiency improvements.
Additionally, the ratio of torque delivered in BLDC motors relative to motor size
is higher than in non-BLDC motors, making BLDC motors an excellent match for space
and weight sensitive applications.

20
/ Ea
\
/
/ \ \
\ 'a \ / cot
/ ; Eb
,
N
3 \
\ '
/ cot
y Ec
\
\ ic \ cot
360
0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210 240 270 300 330
Figure 2.8. Hall sensor signal, back EMF, output torque and phase current
21
a c
Figure 2.9. Winding energizing sequence with respect to the hall sensor
22
BLDC motors can be designed into systems that are sensor-based or sensorless.
The implementation of sensorless BLDC motor systems eliminates the cost of Hall Effect
or optical sensors and their supporting electronics [47, 49]. The sensorless operation is
also desirable if the rotor is operating while immersed in fluid such as fuel, oil or water.
In sensorless control, back EMF zero crossing is used for commutation.
2.6 Dynamics of a BLDC motor
The dynamics of the machine are described by a set of mathematical differential
equations. To attain the electrical equations for a BLDC machine, basic circuit analysis
was used to find the per-phase voltage as shown by equation 2.1. The equation is only
shown for phase-a to neutral since the equations for phase b and c only differ in the
subscript notation. The electrical and mechanical equations can be obtained from the
equivalent circuit shown in figure 2.10.
Ra e.
a vvv
,*
'* a Td Ti
Re
BLDC
b . VA
~x 4 n
Machine
Mechanical!
Load
5
c V\A I
Figure 2.10. Three phase BLDC machine equivalent circuit and mechanical model
23
dia(t)
v
an(t) = i a R a + L a - i T + e a ( t ) (2-1)
where, van(t) = per phase voltage
ia(t) = phase current
ea(t) = per phase voltage back-EMF
Ra = per phase resistance
La = per phase inductance
Equation 2.2 is the mechanical equation that relates the machine's angular
velocity to the developed electromagnetic torque, load torque, and motor parameters.
T an (t) = (o(t)b + J^ + T L (t) (2.2)
where, Tem(t) = developed electromagnetic torque
co(t) = rotor angular velocity
b = viscous friction constant
J = rotor moment of inertia
TL = load torque
Equations 2.1 and 2.2 are coupled through the developed electromagnetic torque
(Ton) and the back-EMF (ephase) which are described by equations 2.3 and 2.4
respectively.
T k
d= t-aia + k
t-bib + k
t-cic (2-3)
e a =k e o(t) (2.4)
where, kt.x = per-phase torque sensitivity
ke_x = per-phase back-EMF

24
The voltage equation can be written in laplace domain as shown in equation 2.5.
Xm(s) = W s > + W s > + Ke<<s) (2-5)

From the above equation the phase current can be written as,
T ^ Van^-V^
^ R+sLa (2-6)
a a
The electromagnetic torque in the laplace domain is as shown in equation 2.7 and
2.8.
W^W*) (2-7)
Tem(s)=Jsco(s)+bco(s)+TL(s) (2.8)
Using equations 2.7 and 2.8, it is possible to express the torque equation as,
V m ( S )-1^00(8)
8
"W )"^ R +sL (2.10)
a a
From the above equations it is possible to draw the model of the BLDC motor as
shown in figure 2.11. For the block diagram illustrated in figure 2.11, the transfer
function is denoted as shown in equation 2.11 [32, 42].
(s)_ = â
V(s)- (JRa + BL a ) > R a + K t K e ) C2-11)
s +
JL0 JL,
a a
From the transfer function the root locus plot can be drawn as shown in figure
2.12. From the root locus plot, it is possible to infer that the BLDC motor is an
inherently stable system, since there exists a range of KtKe for which the poles of this
25
R B
system lie on the left half plane [45]. The root locus starts from the poles and
a
on the real axis and diverges as the product KtKe increases, but remains on the left half
plane. Therefore a BLDC motor is ideally suited for speed control [18, 24].
1 *(s) K
R,+sL <,aM
/TV
KM
TL(s)
V,. ra(s)
R+sL b
Ib(s)
YxA 7X 1era(s) 1
B + sJ
KM4 /tv
V Us)
Rc+sLc *JA
KcM\
Figure 2.11. Model of a BLDC motor

26
Imaginary Axis
R, B Real Axis
L, J
Figure 2.12. Root locus plot for a BLDC motor
2.7 Conclusion
A review of Brush-Less Dc motor drives, its construction, operating principle and
equivalent circuit were presented.

27
CHAPTER 3
BRUSHLESS DC (BLDC) DRIVE STRATEGIES
3.1 Overall System Description
The operating characteristics of a BLDC motor are very similar to that of a
brushed DC motor. Since a permanent magnet rotor is used in a BLDC, speed control
can be implemented by varying the average voltage across the stator windings. This
tends to change the value of the average stator current. However for a given load torque,
the average stator current has to be ideally fixed. Hence the back EMF induced in the
stator windings has to change such that the stator current remains constant. For a
constant field, this amount to change in speed. Thus increasing the applied stator voltage
increases the motor speed and vice-versa. Variation in the motor voltage can be achieved
using several techniques which can be broadly divided in to sensored control and
sensorless control. Usage of semiconductor switches is preferred due to their low loss,
high frequency operation and the allowance for electronic control. This is apart from the
other advantages like space and cost saving.
For a three phase BLDC application, the most common topology used is a three-
phase buck derived converter or a three phase inverter bridge. The typical inverter drive
system for a BLDC motor is shown in figure 3.1 [48].
As seen from figure 3.1, the output stage consists of a three-phase inverter
composed of switches that could be MOSFETs or IGBTs. If IGBTs are used, anti-
parallel diodes need to be connected across them for carrying reverse currents, while
MOSFETs use body diodes. MOSFETs give lower turn-off switching loss and usually
28
lower diode forward drop, but that advantage may be offset by higher on-state voltage
drop and turn-on switching/diode reverse recovery loss than IGBTs [33, 3].
Jq3 . Jq~j J ^ j
VHc R
JEQ JEqJ JE a Three-phase

BLDC Motor
Figure 3.1. Typical inverter drive system for a BLDC motor
3.2 Brushless DC drive strategies
Typical waveforms for a three-phase BLDC motor with trapezoidal flux
distribution are shown in figure 3.2. Approximately, the back EMF induced per phase of
the motor winding is constant for 120, before and after which it changes linearly with
rotor angle.
In order to get constant output power and consequently constant output torque,
current is driven through a motor winding during the flat portion of the back EMF
waveform. At a time, only two switches are turned on, one in a high side and the other in
a low side. Thus for a star connected motor winding, two phases are connected in series
across the DC bus, while the third winding is open. The switches in figure 1 are switched
29
such that each phase carries current only during the 120 period when the back EMF is
constant. Thus there is a commutation event between phases every 60 electrical, as seen
from figure 3.2. Effectively it means that there is a current transition every 60.
Appropriate commutation therefore requires knowledge of rotor position, which can be
directly detected using position sensors or estimated in sensor-less manner by monitoring
back EMF in the open phase. In any case, the phase current is essentially constant for the
0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210 240 270 300 330 360
Figure 3.2. Back EMF and phase current variation with rotor electrical angle
30
120 conduction period. Hence the switch carries current for 1/3 of one electrical rotation
and the current is constant for a constant load. This can be used to calculate the switch
conduction losses. Furthermore, PWM may be introduced during switch conduction
giving rise to switching losses [39]. Switching fashion depends upon the types of
strategies employed. Various strategies are described below. Controlling the speed
amounts to changing the applied voltage across the motor phases. This can be done using
sensored methods or sensor-less methods [50, 34, 37].
3.3 Sensored BLDC motor control
Brushless-dc machine operation requires rotor position information to allow for
appropriate solid state switch firing. For sensored control, three leading technologies are
commonly used to fulfill the position information requirement. These technologies are
hall-effect sensors, resolvers, and optical encoders. The most commonly used sensor
type is a Hall Effect sensor. They are low cost and provide position resolution to within
thirty electrical degrees, which is sufficient to operate a BLDC machine. If precise speed
regulation is required, a higher resolution position sensor is needed. Both optical
encoders and resolvers offer much higher position resolution. The difference in the two
sensors is most evident in their robustness under harsh environments. In general, optical
encoders are fragile in comparison to an encoder. Resolvers can easily survive in
automotive propulsion applications where high temperature and extreme vibration is
common. The position sensor type will always depend on the particular application.
Using the rotor position information obtained from the sensors, the speed of the BLDC
motor can be controlled in any of the following schemes.

31
3.4 Pulse Amplitude Modulation (PAM)
In this case, the applied voltage across the motor windings is changed by varying
the magnitude of the bus voltage. For that usually a boost converter is added after the
diode bridge rectifier. Apart from the DC bus voltage control, power factor correction
can also be achieved. Since there is no high frequency switching involved, the strategy is
quite simple and efficient. The waveforms for this strategy are shown in figure 3.3.
A H gh
A L ':!,'.
i
B H gh
j h L. >'.<
: C H gh
:
1 C L >w
0 30 SO 30 120 150 180 210 240 270 30C 330 360
Figure 3.3. Gate waveforms for PAM
As can be seen, each switch is on continuously for 120 degree electrical. The on
times of the two switches in the same leg are displaced from each other by 120 degree.
Also on times of high side and low side switches are sequentially displaced from other
high side and low side switches respectively by 120 degrees.

32
3.5 Pulse Width Modulation (PWM)
Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) serves to control the average output voltage
given a fixed input voltage. This is achieved by using power switches to vary the time
for which the dc input is applied to the load [36]. The concept of PWM is better
understood when applied to a basic switch-mode dc to dc converter as shown in figure
3.4.
VDC - +
A
R Vo
Figure 3.4. Basic Switch-Mode DC to DC converter
The on-time (ton) is defined as the time for which the switch is closed, during this
period the input dc voltage (VDC) is applied to the resistive load. Off-time (t0ff) is when
the switch is open resulting in no voltage applied to the load. Therefore, during on-time
V0 = VQC and during off-time V0 = 0. This is shown in figure 3.5.
The switching nature of the converter results in a variable average voltage at the
output. The switching time period (Ts) is simply the sum of the on-time and off-time.
PWM is classified with respect to the nature of the switching time period. If the
switching time period is variable, it is called a variable frequency PWM control. On the
33
other hand, if the switching time period is constant, it is called constant frequency PWM
control.
VQi i
VDC
I
I I \/u
o
0 i '
off
Figure 3.5. Output voltage of the switch-mode DC to DC converter
With constant frequency PWM control, the harmonics produced are at the
switching frequency and its multiples, making filtering much easier [9]. With variable
frequency PWM the harmonics produced are at a wide range of frequencies, which makes
filtering more difficult.
It is important to derive a relation between the input voltage and output voltage as
a function of the on-time and off-time. A parameter called the duty ratio (D) is defined as
the ratio of the on-time duration to the switching time period, as given by equation 3.1.
D = -&- (3.1)
Taking the integral of the output voltage over one time-period and dividing by the
time period yields the input to output relationship.
i Ts
(3.2)
J
S 0
34
J v d c dt+ j odt (3.3)

0 t
v
o=^vdc (3.4)
Substituting equation 3.1 in 3.4 yields,
V
o= D " V dc (3-5)
The basic dc to dc converter shown in figure 3.4 is analyzed with a resistive load.
In practice the load will be resistive-inductive as in the case with any electric machine. If
the load is inductive, and the current is forced to zero in a very short time, it will result in
a very large voltage spike, as verified by equation 3.6.
V
L = L 77 (3.6)
One way to eliminate the high voltage spikes during turn-off time is by allowing
the current to go down towards zero at a slower rate. To accomplish this, a diode is
introduced into the circuit to allow a current path during turn-off. The diode is called a
freewheeling diode since it provides a freewheeling path for the current to naturally
decay to zero. For a three phase dc to ac inverter, the free wheeling path is provided by
the diodes in anti-parallel with the switch.
3.6 PWM signal generation
This section describes different methods to produce a PWM signal. Figure 3.6
illustrates a common approach to produce a PWM signal.
The voltage control signal (Vcontroi) is compared with the saw-tooth signal
(Vsawtooth) to produce the PWM signal. If the voltage control signal is greater than the
35
saw-tooth signal, then the switch is turned on for current conduction. If the voltage
control signal is less than the saw-tooth signal, then the switch is turned off.
, ^ X^.-'' /
^'\ __../'
^ ^,/'
" t
on on on
off off off off
ton t 0 ff
Ts
Figure 3.6. PWM signal generation
The repetitive waveform can be either sawtooth or triangular waveform.
Different duty ratios are achieved by simply varying the amplitude of the control signal,
as shown in figure 3.7.
The average voltage applied across the motor stator windings can also be changed
by modulating the switch duty cycle within the conduction interval. In this case the DC
bus voltage is kept constant while the winding current is determined by low frequency
component of the inverter output voltage. Hence the output current is more or less
similar to that shown in figures 3.2 and 3.3, with a switching frequency ripple. Switching
output voltage can be realized either by switching only one of the two switches per leg or
switching both the switches. Accordingly the following types of PWM strategies can be
obtained.
36
v 0
\ \ / \ y
^
;w: K/ \ .
on on on
"t off off off off
1 0 % Duty
/ X x" "
/' K \ .^/'! i\
on on on , J on |
off off off off
5 0 % Duty
^
\
/ \
off: off: off

9 0 % Duty
Figure 3.7. PWM signals at various duty ratios
3.6.1 120 degree switching. In this case, only one switch switches per leg while the
other one conducts as shown in figure 3.8. Usually the high side switch is the one which
modulates the duty cycle while the low side switch conducts current continuously for 120
degree [29].
3.6.2 60 degree switching. This strategy realizes a symmetrical version of the previous
method. Both the high and low side switches are switched for 60 degree electrical and
37
operate in continuous conduction for 60 degree interval. Gate waveforms for the high
and low side switches are shown in figure 3.9. At any time, only one switch is switching
while the other one is in conduction. Whether the high side switch is switching or the
low side switch is switching depends upon the polarity of the output voltage at the third
(unfed) phase. When this voltage is positive, the high side switch is switched. When this
voltage is negative the low side switch is switched [29].
::.uii A Hig
I j A LPV
nn
inn i B Hicf
! 1 Lorn
nnnrinnnnnnn C Hig!
1 1 ::; L G i S
0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210 240 270 300 30 3S0
Figure 3.8. Switch gate waveforms for 120 degree PWM switching
3.6.3 IR Hard switching. In this strategy, both the high and low side switches are
switched simultaneously. Both high and low side diodes conduct [29]. The waveforms
for this type of switching are shown in figure 3.10

38
A High
f-. L O W
B High
2
o
>
LOW
C High
0 60 ;80 210 240 270 300 330 360
Figure 3.9. Switch gate waveforms for 60 degree PWM switching
3.7 Hysteresis current control
Hysteresis current control, achieves voltage control indirectly by monitoring the
current through the load and forcing it to stay within a predefined band-gap, [48, 55]. For
example if the load is inductive-resistive, forcing the current to remain within a band-gap
will result in an average output voltage as shown in figure 3.11.
The on-time and off-time applied to the power switch are not fixed values. They
vary depending on the behavior of the current, resulting in a variable switching
frequency. The variable switching frequency poses the problem of switching harmonics
over a wide frequency range making filtering difficult. However due to its nature of
39
operation, Hysteresis current control has inherent over-current protection since current is
always monitored. This is very attractive feature for high performance motor drive
systems. Control of the current magnitude ensures that the electric machine will not fail
00000 A High
B High
8,
I>
1
C High
cav
0 30 60 0 10 270 300 33f
Figure 3.10. Switch gate waveforms for IR hard switching
due to dramatic load changes. Such a load change may occur when an object may
prohibit the rotation of the rotor causing a locked rotor situation. Under locked rotor
conditions, PWM control would command a duty ratio to one [46]. When that occurs,
40
there is essentially a short circuit which will certainly damage the motor if no additional
protective measures are taken [14].
.1
\ AI
/
't
on on on on on on
off off off offl off
Figure 3.11. Hysteresis current control
The last section presented the control algorithms, like PAM, PWM and Hysteresis
control. The following sections will elaborate on how these control strategies can be
applied to have closed loop speed control for a Brushless DC motor drive system.
3.8 PWM control of BLDC drives
The common control algorithm for a permanent magnet BLDC motor is PWM
current control. It is based on the assumption of linear relationship between the phase
current and the torque, similar to that in a brushed DC motor [6]. Thus, by adjusting the
phase current, the electromagnetic torque can be controlled to meet the requirement. It is
41
very simple and widely used in many low-cost applications. However, the coupling
characteristics between the feed current and the resultant torque are actually nonlinear. In
a BLDC drive system, the imperfection of back EMF and the phase current commutations
are the major causes of electromagnetic torque pulsation.
3.8.1 Conventional PWM current control. The general structure of a current
controller for a BLDC motor is shown in figure 3.12. The instantaneous current in the
motor is regulated in each phase by a Hysteresis regulator, which maintains the current
within adjustable limits. The rotor position information is sensed to enable commutation
logic, which has six outputs to control the upper and lower phase leg power switches.
The current reference is determined by a PI regulator, which maintains the rotor average
speed constant.
Rectifier Inverter
Commutation Logic
~J * f
Speed Current
Command Ref
PI
Current Feedback
Speed Feedback
Figure 3.12. Schematic of conventional PWM current control

42
3.8.2 PWM current control with current shaping. In order to reduce torque ripples,
it requires an appropriate current reference, which could be relatively complex and
difficult to implement. In this section, for simplifying explanation, a simple example of
current control with current shaping technique is presented. Figure 3.13 shows the
schematic of PWM current control with current shaping. In contrast to the conventional
PWM current control, the current reference is generated according to the pre-determined
back-EMF waveform to maintain electromagnetic torque constant [55]. The Hysteresis
current regulator adjusts the phase currents according to the current reference. The
electromagnetic torque equation in BLDC drive is as shown in equation 3.7
T
=-4v -
Co V a
1 + e
bib+ecic) (3.1)
where is the rotor mechanical speed, ea, eb and ec are the back emf of phase a, b
and c respectively. Currents ia, ib and ic are the currents in phase a, b and c respectively.
Rectifier - r - V., Inverter
Commutation Logic-
Speed
Command Current ' ' t
Ref Current
PI {+>
Control
Current Feedback
Speed Feedback
Figure 3.13. Schematic of PWM current control with current shaping

43
Since the mechanical time constant is much bigger than the electrical time
constant, it can be deduced that the electromagnetic torque will be kept constant when the
phase currents are controlled as the inverse of back-EMF waveforms by assuming a
constant rotor speed.
3.9 Direct Torque Control of BLDC drives
Direct Torque Control scheme was first proposed by Takahashi and Depenbrock
for induction motor drives in the mid 1980s. More than a decade later, in the late 1990s,
DTC techniques for both interior and surface mounted synchronous motors (PMSM)
were analyzed. More recently, application of DTC scheme is extended to BLDC motor
drives to minimize the torque ripples and torque response time as compared to
conventional PWM current controlled BLDC drives. The electromagnetic torque and the
stator flux linkage amplitude of the BLDC motor under two-phase conduction mode can
be controlled simultaneously [55].
The key issue in the DTC of a BLDC motor drive is to estimate the
electromagnetic torque correctly. For a BLDC motor with non-sinusoidal back-EMFs,
the electromagnetic torque equation can be expressed as:
^ 3 P d^ r a . d\|/r
T = sa sB (3.2)
2 2 dee dee
where 0e is the rotor electrical angle. \|/ra and \|/r6 are the rotor flux-linkage in the a axis
and the R axis of the stationary reference frame, which can be calculated as
=
^ra ^sa-Lsisa (3-3)
44
VrB =^sti "VsB (3.4)
where Ls is the stator winding inductance. The schematic of a DTC BLDC drive
system is shown in figure 3.14.
Rectifier Inverter
4 ^
Speed
Command Position
Torque Sensor
PI Regulator
Switching
Table
Stator
flux
linkage
Regulator
m
Sector Selection
d d
IE . Vjis .
',/,=('+2'J/V3
2 2 dB, '" d0 ** V/,l>=\{Ust)-RhM
-rK
i. U 2
+ ,f
1
L
Wrfi = sf> ~ J,fi
Figure 3.14. Schematic of DTC BLDC drive

45
3.10 Sensorless BLDC motor control
The BLDC motor is inherently electronically controlled and requires rotor
position information for proper commutation of current. However, the problems of the
cost and reliability of rotor position sensors have motivated research in the area of
position sensorless BLDC motor drives. Solving this problem effectively will open the
way for full penetration of this motor drive into all low cost, high reliability, and large
volume applications [31, 25].
In the last two decades, many sensorless drive solutions have been offered to
eliminate the costly and fragile position sensor for BLDC motors with trapezoidal back-
EMFs. The back-EMF voltage sensing, back-EMF integration, flux estimation, detection
of the freewheeling diodes conduction, and motor modification technique are the main
categories of past sensorless solutions for BLDC motors. However, none work well at all
speeds without accuracy, reliability, and complexity problems, especially at low speed
range. Typically, practical minimum speed of the conventional sensorless drive is around
10% of the rated speed [40, 4]. Also, the position error from a phase shifter in transient
state deteriorates the performance of sensorless drive. These drawbacks of sensorless
BLDC motor drives have been an obstacle to the use of this motor in various industrial
applications [26].
3.10.1 Back EMF sensing technique. The BLDC motor has a trapezoidal shape of the
induced back-EMF in the stator winding. Monitoring the phase back-EMF measured
from terminal voltages in the silent phase, the zero crossing of the back-EMF can be
detected. Since the back-EMF is zero at standstill and proportional to speed, the
46
measured terminal voltage that has large signal-to-noise ratio and cannot detect zero
crossing at low speeds. Also, the estimated commutation points that are shifted by 30
degrees from zero crossing of back EMFs have position error in transient state. With
terminal voltage sensing method, an operating speed range is typically around 1000-6000
RPM. The third harmonic back-EMF sensing method provides wider speed range than
the terminal voltage sensing method [17, 27].
3.10.2 Back EMF integration technique. In this method, position information is
extracted by integrating the back-EMF of the silent phase. Integration starts when the
open phase's back-EMF crosses zero. A threshold is set to stop the integration that
corresponds to a commutation instant. This method also has a problem at low speeds
because of the error accumulation problem [52].
3.10.3 Flux linkage based technique. In this method, the flux linkage is calculated
using measured voltages and currents. The fundamental idea is to take the voltage
equation of the machine and by integrating the applied voltage and current, flux can be
estimated. From the initial position, machine parameters, and the flux linkages
relationship to rotor position, the rotor position can be estimated [41, 13]. This method
also has significant estimation error in low speed. Improper error of parameters and
sampled current is reason for accumulation error at low speeds in which the voltage
equation is integrated in a relatively large period of time.

47
3.10.4 Freewheeling diode conduction. This method uses current flowing through a
free wheeling diode in silent phase. For a short period after reaching zero crossing of the
back-EMF in silent phase, a tiny current is flowing through freewheeling diode. This
silent phase current starts to flow in the middle of the commutation interval, which
corresponds to the point where back-EMF of the open phase crosses zero. This method
also has position error of commutation points in transient state. The most serious
drawback of this method is the requirement of six additional isolated power supplies for
the comparator circuitry to detect current flowing in each freewheeling diode [51].
3.11 Digital Hysteresis control
There are many control strategies that have been developed for BLDC motors.
All of these were aiming at digital implementation of the analog controller. The work
prior to this which aimed at developing a truly digital controller is presented by the
author in [22]. The concept of the overall system is shown in figure 3.15.
The controller treats the BLDC motor like a digital system, which may operate in
two predefined states. Operation of the motor in State- 1 will result in a motor speed of
low omega (coO- Operation in State-2 results in a motor speed of high omega (COH),
where speed (COH) is greater than (COL). If the commanded speed is co , where COL = oo =
G)H, the digital controller will achieve speed regulation by appropriately alternating states.
The rules that the digital controller follows are extremely simple:
1. If the actual motor speed is less than the commanded speed, then switch or stay
in State - 2 (COH)-
48
2. If the actual motor speed is greater than the commanded speed, then switch or
stay in State - 1 (L).
vdc^
Gating
Signals
IH or lL Hysteresis
Current
Regulator Position
Decoder
actual
Digital State
Controller L, observed Observer
Figure 3.15. Digital Hysteresis control for a BLDC motor drive system
3.12 Conclusion
An overview of sensored and sensorless control methods for BLDC motors was
introduced. Basic concepts of pulse amplitude modulation, pulse width modulation,
hysteresis control and direct torque control were introduced. The different ways to
produce a PWM signal was also introduced.

49
CHAPTER 4
NOVEL DIGITAL CONTROL TECHNIQUE FOR BRUSH-LESS DC MOTOR DRIVE
4.1 Introduction
Permanent magnet motors with trapezoidal back-EMF and sinusoidal back-EMF
have several advantages over other motor types. Most notably, (compared to other dc
motors) they are lower maintenance due to the elimination of the mechanical commutator
and they have high power density which makes them ideal for high torque-to weight ratio
applications. Compared to induction machines, they have lower inertia allowing for
faster dynamic response to reference commands. Also, they are more efficient due to the
permanent magnets which results in virtually zero rotor losses. The major disadvantage
with permanent magnet motors is their higher cost and relatively higher complexity
introduced by the power electronic converter used to drive them. The added complexity
is evident in the development of a torque/speed regulator. Using the d-q transformation
to ease the complexity of analyzing three phase machines may serve to design an
adequate controller. However, development of a controller based on the transformation
of the a-b-c equations to the d-q variables is only advantageous for permanent magnet
motors with sinusoidal back-EMF. Applying the transformation to a trapezoidal back-
EMF motor does not eliminate the angle dependent phase inductances. The author in
[35] applied the d-q transformation to a BLDC motor by fixing the synchronous reference
frame to the instantaneous rotor flux linkage instead to the rotor geometric axis.
However, this method is cumbersome since the instantaneous rotor flux linkage must be
found experimentally and programmed into a DSP. Sliding mode control techniques
have proved to be computationally intensive when adaptive parameter estimation is used

50
to estimate load parameters. Hysteresis current control and pulse width modulation
(PWM) control coupled with continuous control theory produce the most widely used
BLDC motor control techniques. Hysteresis current control is essential towards
achieving towards adequate servo performance, namely instantaneous torque response
yielding faster speed response compared to PWM control [1, 16]. For most applications,
a proportional-integral (PI) current and speed compensators are sufficient to establish a
well-regulated speed/torque controller. In other cases state feedback control is needed to
achieve more precise control of the BLDC motor. Classical control theory and linear
system theory are well understood, but are highly complex and require extensive control
systems knowledge to develop a well designed controller [53]. Discrete control theory
allows for such controllers to be digitally implemented with micro-controllers,
microprocessors, or digital signal processors (DSPs). Digitizing analog controllers serves
to add complexity to the overall design procedure [8, 43].
It is important to note that digital implementation of a continuous control
technique does not produce a pure digital controller. Instead, what results is a digitally
implemented non digital controller. This thesis introduces a novel digital controller that
treats the BLDC motor drive like a digital system. The BLDC system may only operate
in a low duty (DL) or a high duty (DH). Speed regulation is achieved by alternating
between low duty and high duty, which makes the concept of the controller extremely
simple for design and implementation. This novel concept will help reduce the cost and
complexity of motor control hardware. That, in turn can boost the acceptance level of
BLDC motors for commercial mass production applications. The characteristic equations
of a BLDC machine were used to derive a design procedure for the novel controller. It
51
will be shown that the design procedure involves a simple first order non-homogenous
differential equation. During steady state operation, the design procedure is reduced to a
few simple algebraic equations. Computer simulations and experimental results were
used for proof-of-concept.
4.2 Novel digital controller design
A novel constant frequency digital PWM controller has been designed and
simulated for a BLDC motor drive system. The digital controller treats the BLDC motor
like a digital system. The concept of this digital controller is very simple. Speed
regulation is achieved by using a high duty (DH) and a low duty (DL). The rules of the
digital controller can be explained using simple IF THEN statements.
1. If the actual motor speed is less than the reference speed, and if the motor
current is less than the limiting current, then apply a high duty (DH).
2. If the actual motor speed is more than the reference speed, and if the motor
current is less than the limiting current, then apply a low duty (DL).
3. In any case, if the motor current exceeds the limiting current then apply a skip
state. A skip state can be defined as a state with zero duty.
Unlike a Hysteresis controller, a PWM control does not have an inherent current
control capability. Hence a current limiter has to be introduced. A novel Hysteresis
digital controller for a BLDC motor has been implemented by the author in [46]. Unlike
the previous work, this controller does not need any state observer. Figure 4.1 shows an
illustrative description of the proposed digital controller. Figure 4.2 shows the complete
block diagram of the motor drive system.

52
n
"-'H
" \ Dse, =1
< D=DH or DL
0
# '"' Isel =1
i
Digital
D se , =0 PWM
DL - Signal
Isel =0
Skip State
(0
+^ \ ^ Dsel
Ts
M
aal
3 ! / *i ,-^ \
i I limn, max
'limit
K + \ \ ^
*
x^_^/
.'limit,min
/ ^ Isel
/
'actual
v - s ^
Figure 4.1. Proposed novel digital PWM controller
Gating
Signals
Position
Current Limiter Decoder
* 4
DH or DL
Digital
Controller
reference
Figure 4.2. Block diagram for digital PWM control for a BLDC motor drive system
53
A proportional controller provides the reference for the current limit. The current
is always made to stay within a maximum and minimum limit. The maximum value of
Iiimit is 1-5 times the rated motor current. This is because motors can handle 1.5 times the
rated current for a short duration of time. The minimum value of Iijmjt decides the steady
state error. For a value equal to zero, a large steady state error is observed in the
simulation. The minimum value of Ljmit is defined as the ratio of a percentage (1%) of the
rated torque to the torque constant. A flowchart of the novel digital PWM controller is
shown in figure 4.3.
Set U)ref
Sense actual motor

speed (u>act), DC link
current (ldc)
Select DL Select DH
120 Commutation
Logic
Figure 4.3. Flowchart describing the novel digital controller

54
4.2.1 Proportional constant. The value of the proportional constant K, for a desired
speed ripple Aco is calculated as shown below.
In steady state, Aco <= |coerr*2| . In the worst case Aco = |coerr*2|.
For the desired speed ripple Aco, a constant Kset can be defined,
Aco
:
^ set (4.1)
03
rated
Taking the maximum value of the speed ripple,

K err
set - ~o)
& *2 (4.2)
rated
ffl _
A s l o n g a s actual < ^CO,
Mimit ~ Mimit,max (4.3)
a ro
A l s o I limit error
= K
îmit * ( B error (4-4)
Using equations 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3 in equation 4.4, it can be shown that
2*1
limit,max
K. (4.5)
K
s e t * C 0 rated
4.2.2 Duty ratio. The value of the duty ratio D can be obtained from the electrical and
mechanical equations. The value of D can be expressed as a function of the motor
parameters.
From the torque equation, we have

55
T = J ^ + ba> + TT (4.6)
em dt
dco
KtI = J h bco + TT (4.7)
1 L
dt
In steady state,
!
Ks)=lHbCOss+TI-) (4.8)
From the phase voltage equation, we have
v = i R L
an a a+ a-^+ea (4.9)
In steady state,
V
an=IRa+Kefflss (4.10)
Substituting the value of the steady state current from equation 4.8,
(TL + cossb)
DV,dc R + Kecoss (4.11)
Kt
The duty ratio, in terms of the motor parameters can be expressed as,
(TL+wssb)
D=- R + Kecoss (4.12)
v,dc K,
4.3 Speed ripple calculation
The steady state error is a function of the speed samples. It is necessary to find
out the effect of sampling time on the speed ripple. Figure 4.4 shows the speed response.
The maximum deviation from the reference speed (ro*) due to the application of
high duty DH, is denoted byAco H , and the maximum deviation from the reference speed
56
due to the application of a low duty DL, is denoted by AcoL. The speed response can be
expressed as,
co
Figure 4.4. Speed response
T T Tem TL
00(t) = - S 2 ^ + J
to - (4.13)
From figure 4.3, at time t = t2 + T P ,
T T T
em _T
L J
CO e -co
AOH= ^ L
+ (4.14)
At time t = ti + T P ,
r
Acoi
^T^-TL
CO
Tem-V
e ' +co (4.15)
u
v J
The speed ripple can be calculated as,
Aco = A c o H + A c o L (4.16)
Aa^Îs-L 1-e J
(4.17)
J
57
Aw
TP = - t m l n
AT (4.18)
Aco
TP=-tmln 1 (4.19)
^NLmax
From equation 4.19, for a desired speed ripple the sampling time can be
calculated.
4.4 Steady State Analysis
The proposed digital controller can be considered equivalent to a proportional
controller with high gain and saturation. It is desired to find out if at steady state the
actual motor speed will reach the reference speed. The transfer function for a BLDC
motor from equation 2.11 is as shown below
K
co(s) JL.
V(s) 2 (jR a + BLa) (BR a + KtKe) (4.20)
s2 + s+
JL. JL.
where V = DVjn, D being the duty cycle.
The transfer function can be written in another form as shown in equation 4.21.
JL a s 2 + ( J R a + B R a ) s + K T K E o(s)=K T V(s)+R a T L (s) (4.21)
With a PI control for feedback, the transfer function becomes
[ j L a s 2 + ( J R a + B R a ) S + K T K E ] o ) ( s ) = KT((o*-coactual)|Kp + i i ] + R a T L ( s )
(4.22)
Rationalizing and collecting coefficients of the same order, we have

58
JL a s 3 +(JRa +BRa )s 2 +sK T K E ] co(s)=KT (co* -coactual) (sKp +Kj) +sRaTL (s)
(4.23)
JLas3 +(JRa +BRa)s2+(KTKE +KTKP)s+KTKj (s)=KT(D* (sKp +K}) +sRaTL(s)
(4.24)
At steady state, s=0, (4.24) reduces to
K
IKTactual=KIKT* (4.25)
If Kj * o, it is observed that the measured speed equals the reference speed as in
(4.26). In the proposed control strategy the value of Kp is ideally infinite and the value of
Ki is very small.
*
00 =co
actual (4.26)
Hence the proposed digital controller can be used to control the speed of a BLDC
motor.
4.5 Simulation results
Simulation results for the digital PWM control for a Brushless DC motor are
shown from figure 4.5 to figure 4.10. Simulation was carried out for a maximum
variation from the reference speed of about 5 rpm. The sampling in the speed loop for
the desired speed ripple can be calculated from equation 4.19. For a speed ripple of 5
rpm, the minimum sampling is 916 usee. The parameters of the BLDC machine used for
simulation are shown in table 4.1. The sampling time is calculated as 916 micro seconds
and the maximum speed ripple is observed to be about 4 rpm.

fl
u%
&
CD 3" Speed in RPM Duty Current in Amperes
>i 4^
C3 bi
o4
o a en o oi
p r
o m
cun
ondi
\ a
o a
a T*
a.
a
r-h
V!
>
a
&
1/3
T3 ~~
CD
CD
P-
>-t
ft
CO H
O
a
CO
I5'
n> CO
">
eco
3> 3
>-!
P5 %
>-t
CD
Sf5
CD
>-i
CD
a
o
a
CO
^CD
ft)
o.
O
^+5
1*
U\
o
o
60
3
o
3
Q
s
s 1502 b\________________, /v,
Q.
en
\^\7^^ ~7\ 7 \ / N\ / \ !
a
0)
0)
a.
CO
1500
1498 _____________L____J
X7^
/ \ / \y <y \y
0.14 0.18
Time in Seconds
Figure 4.6. Phase current, duty and speed response for a reference speed of 1500 rpm
under 30% rated load
61
A h-jLL.
3
o
yf T
4,1,:..:. .
iHjjtMlTjfc"
.ii: îîil'rj.*
: ! ' . . ! '
3
: i! J! ' : ; J:'ft
: " ' ' . ' . : ! - ! : i
Q i..i;.i.-H...:.,.-J..:..|"-
J-.-f-i'i: 1 ..:! :- : i
:
.;!! i-i i|.i ; : :Mi.-
Idj.L
mm
..;..... i . j . . .
rl
DH *l Mil ' J M I I 11 J H * . m
DL DH DL DL DH DH
DL
/x
2
a.
VC
a
2104
v
\
/.
/
XX
\ /
/V
\
/
_,,_,,,
\5 ^
K
J
71
0)
a
0)
CO
2100
2094
x > ^
\
~Jr
^w^
0.11 0.14
Time in Seconds
under no load condition
0)
Q.
it M
E
<
_c i
*-
2
c
1 w
o w
:' $ j
illBll
t'1Ji
.
HP
1 :
s
:#.
: : - : }
v.*-
; v : ~ _ i . r - ! - s

DH DH DH DL DH DL DH DL DH
I
I
1
<z f _ _ ^ _
^V , jiT SLJ J*%^ , jf^
\_X V^ \ /
5 peed
c
C
_ ^ ^ _ _ ^
^ ' \ /
x-rf**^
'
ûy4
0.1 0.14
Time in Seconds
63
E
I A) 1 ^
<
0r _ f 1-L. "T
o
3
W 1 1
-5
DH DL DH DL DH DL DH DL DH DL DH DL DH DL DH DL DH DL DH
___Ar~- A _JL .
A
s 2502
Q.
A A AAJ / \ A \
c
a
a.
2500
' r nr^y \ /r A j' A / t _ _ ^
/...\ A
0.1 0.175
Time in Seconds
64
M i M M
n
3 19
o W
ill 'l
ill-'
l
3
Q
i
.vt|TL
dp
i
r
1 i i
1?yf&
DH DL DH
H
DH
; 2*i DL DH DL
2502|
S
a. 2500 ^
a.
a
| 2498
CO
0.12 0.16
Time in Seconds
65
4.6 Hardware details
An experimental set-up was constructed in order to implement and further
validate the simulation results the proposed technique. The following section gives a brief
description of the requirements and final designs for the experimental set-up. The
experimental set up is shown in figure 4.11.
Figure 4.11. Final experimental set-up
The parameters of the BLDC machine are shown in appendix. For the mechanical
load, constant load torque was required. Also it was necessary for the load's moment of
inertia to be much smaller than the motor's moment of inertia. Those requirements were
met by the characteristics of magnetic brake.
The inverter block is built using Pwrx IGBT modules with its own drivers. Rated
power of 3-phase inverter is 50A, 600V, and switching frequency used for turning on and
66
off IGBTs is 6 kHz. Inverter is connected to the DC link capacitor 1.8mF of capacity.
Gate drivers are triggered from signals that are generated in FPGA controller and than
buffered using inverted Schmidt circuit.
Square wave BLDC drive is controlled using speed loop regulator that determines
PWM duty-cycle due to the calculated speed error. Still, current protection is realized by
putting one current transducer in DC link circuit. Therefore current sensor is sensing DC
link current and keep it below certain (predefined) value in order to limit in-rush current
when motor is speed up from zero speed.
If the value of the DC link current is above predefined value, current regulator is
sending the signal that automatically set the duty cycle to zero, which then does not allow
current to rise anymore, until the value drops below limited value again.
FPGA platform used for controlling the BLDC machine is Spartan 3 family, from
Xilinx. Innovative digital voltage control algorithm is implemented into FPGA unit.
Reference speed value is set digitally, and then speed loop simply compares actual speed
and reference speed and based on error determines duty cycle for next period. Actual
speed is easily calculated as a time between two Hall Effect signals. The schematic of
the controller simulated in the FPGA is as shown in figure 4.12.
Input signals for FPGA device are 3 Hall Effect sensors and reference speed
information, while output signals are triggers for switching on and off IGBTs. In
addition, DC link current is measured using LEM transducer and analog signal is sent
firstly to A/D converter, and then to FPGA, for current protection. In order to show the
speed error, 8-bit D/A (digital to analog) converter is used, and its analog value is shown
on the oscilloscope. Experimental results are shown in figures 4.13 through 4.18.
67
Current
Current Limiter
Reference
Speed
-A
-A'
Hall A -B
Actual Speed Digital PWM
Algorithm -B'
Hall B
-C
HallC
Sector
Trigger signals for

IGBT Drivers
Figure 4.12. Block diagram showing operations and functions implemented in FPGA
device
68
Table 4.1. BLDC motor specification from poly-scientific (BN42-EU-02)
Parameter Value Units
Terminal Voltage 24 Volts DC
Rated Speed 3300 RPM
Rated Torque 1.33 Nm
Rated Current 23 Amps.
Rated Power 459 Watts
Torque Sensitivity 0.0653 Nm/ Amp.
Back - EMF 6.83 Volts/ krpm
Terminal Resistance 0.069 Ohms
Terminal Inductance 0.2 mH
Motor Constant 0.275 Nm/ sq.rt.watt
Rotor Inertia 1271 g-cmA2

69
fftt^^ iiittiAi ^sfiiyirilifllti iHilAj
1515
nun
nk mm HI
1500 "lEfc- ?=4^-

juiuq I mil
"US' tyj.
---fFTF-
1485
i'ri wrl'lnil.ulkwirL, Wit,i-- iiuimiiiiiii u HI nmi i _ i i immiiiil

n ll TrinTfl
>
0.01 0.02
Time in Seconds
Figure 4.13. Duty, speed and phase current response for a reference speed of 1500 rpm
1515
1500 rjnir nuwm M-tdi ^n anmi i ,

1485 "HIBf" -J
u
-Vr^ -l-jnuW- Uyft^.v-nnp^wv'T'M1"- - - *n*V nf^.r-î'îwt
0.01 0.02
Time in Seconds
gure 4.14. Duty, speed and phase current response for a reference speed of 1500 rpm
71
'Ml ilflitii^^ "" fctrrfUiI
uw_ mf
s
a.
a:
2115
2100 - XI
2085 ^J-#^%^..-^^
<
0.01 0.02
Time in Seconds
72
tilii^^ fffcttTl^^
2110
2100 mil TUr'

idiilmllUfllr""
urfkira
JKWIi r^;;;^
nirirf
^m-
2080
o! w--*M: m -*M M ffifr--pw]
y\
0.01 0.02
Time in Seconds
73
M f c i i i i 11rfiilni\iifiJ'JilAiM'i^litiUlnnltiWNiiiiiAt"" "/W^npAii"fi"!TwdrfffHtoiiîiTiîw^BrifiTiT ttstftrnTiiI rnM^ffiimi
nil

s
2515
D n
2
a
CO
2500
^,-^^z^-p- U l i l i LUIMIHIW
TilllllTT
"TTTmi O
2485
0.01 0.02
Time in Seconds
74
| 2515
a:
a
g 2500
r^FW
flRTUillJ TTITTTl 1 I ' I IW]
nnWUL
Q.
ir.
.. Iran Kim
2485
w W w
y
WJ 4 <JmA J -i*W"J-- Iki*-
,wW"
rt ^ R \h
-5
0.01 0.02
Time in Seconds
75
4.7 Advantages of the digital controller
1. State observer is not required. Even under dynamic load conditions the
proposed controller can regulate speed without the use of an observer. This can be easily
verified from the simulation and experimental results. This reduces the size and the cost
of the system.
2. Only the dc link current is sensed. It is not required to sense the current in all
the three phases. Therefore the cost of the current sensing hardware is reduced.
4.8 Conclusion
A new digital control concept for BLDC machines was introduced and
experimentally verified. The aim of this thesis was to develop a low cost controller for
applications where inefficient single phase induction motors are used. Due to the
simplistic nature of this control, it has the potential to be implemented in a low cost
ASIC. The controller exploits the characteristic of most electromechanical systems.
Since electrical time constants are much faster relative to the mechanical time constants,
speed regulation with an acceptable amount of ripple is possible by rapid switching of
states. Furthermore, this control strategy does not require a state observer. Under
dynamic load conditions, the proposed controller was found capable of regulating speed
without the use of an observer. This results in a considerable reduction of size and the
cost of the system

76
CHAPTER 5
DIGITAL PWM CONTROL - COMPREHENSIVE STABILITY ANALYSIS
5.1 Introduction
When considering design and analysis of feedback control systems, stability is of
utmost importance. From a practical point of view, a closed-loop feedback system that is
unstable is of little value. As with all the general statements, there are exceptions; there
are many physical systems that are inherently open loop unstable, and some systems are
even designed to be open-loop unstable. Most modern fighter aircrafts are open-loop
unstable by design, and without active feedback control assisting the pilot, they cannot
fly. Active control is introduced by engineers to stabilize the unstable plant - that is, the
aircraft, so that other considerations such as transient performance can be addressed.
Using feedback, it is possible to stabilize unstable plants and then with a judicious
selection of controller parameters, transient performance can be adjusted. For open loop
stable plants, feedback is still used to adjust the closed loop performance to meet the
design specifications. These specifications take the form of steady-state tracking errors,
percent overshoot, settling time, time to peak and other indices.
A closed loop feedback system is either stable or it is not stable. This type of
stable/ not stable characterization is referred to as absolute stability. A system possessing
absolute stability is called a stable system; the label of absolute is dropped. Given that a
closed loop system is stable, it is further possible to characterize the degree of stability.
This is referred to as relative stability. The pioneers of aircraft design were familiar with
the notion of relative stability. The more stable an aircraft is the more difficult it is to
maneuver (that is, to turn). One outcome of the relative instability of modern fighter
77
aircraft is high maneuverability. A system is stable in the absolute sense by determining
that all transfer function poles lie in the left half s-plane, or equivalently, that all the
eigenvalues of the system matrix lie in the left half s plane. Given that all the poles (or
eigenvalues) are in the left half s plane, it is possible to investigate the relative stability
by examining the relative locations of the poles (or eigenvalues)
A stable system is defined as a system with a bounded (limited) system response.
That is, if the system is subjected to a bounded input or disturbance and the response is
bounded in magnitude, the system is said to be stable [19, 20].
5.2 The describing function method
One of the most classical and popular methods for dealing with the analysis and
design of nonlinear systems is the well-known describing function method. In order to
apply this technique, the linear and nonlinear parts of the system must be arranged as
indicated in figure 5.1. Furthermore, the linear element behaves as a low-pass filter (the
transfer function is strictly proper). This requirement is necessary because the method
approximates the response of the nonlinear element by truncating the Fourier series of its
output to a finite number of terms, and higher order harmonics are neglected. The
method can be made accurate by giving precise bounds to the approximation error. One
of the reasons for the success of the describing function method in control theory is that
almost every real plant to be controlled fulfills the low-pass requirement. It must be
pointed out that the describing function method is approximate. However, this is not
relevant to the use of the method for analyzing the stability of the closed loop system,
where the main concern is if the system is stable or not and not its concrete values.
78
r(t) = 0 ê(t) u(t) c (t)

J Nonlinear element Linear element
Figure 5.1. Nonlinear system to which the describing function method is applicable
Consider the block diagram of the nonlinear system as shown infigure5.2.
X y c
e
"^ . G1(s) N G2(s)
J *
I
Figure 5.2. Nonlinear system
In the above system the blocks Gi(s) and G2(s) represents linear elements and the
block N represent nonlinear element. Let x = X sincot be the input to the nonlinear
element. Now the output y of the nonlinear element will be in general a non sinusoidal
periodic function. The Fourier series representation of the output y can be expressed as
shown in equation 5.1 (by assuming that the nonlinearity does not generate sub
harmonics).
y = A 0 + A, Sincot + Bj Coscot + A 2 Sincot + B 2 Coscot + . (5.1)
If the nonlinearity is symmetrical, the average value of y is zero and hence the
output y is given by
y = A[ Sincot + B, Coscot+ A 2 Sincot+ B 2 Coscot + (5-2)

79
In the absence of an external input (i.e, when r = 0) the output y of the
nonlinearity N is feedback to its input through the linear elements G2(s) and Gi(s) in
tandem. If Gi(s)G2(s) has low pass characteristics, then all the harmonics of y are
filtered, so that the input x to the nonlinear element N is mainly contributed by the
fundamental component of y and hence x remains sinusoidal. Under such conditions the
harmonics of the output are neglected and the fundamental component of y alone is
considered for the purpose of analysis.
y = A, Sinmt + B, Cosfflt = Y 1 |O i =Y 1 Sin(cot+<D,) (5-3)
where, YÂ,^2 (5.4)
a n d <t>1=tan"1(B,/A1) (5.5)
Yi = Amplitude of the fundamental harmonic component of the output.
<&i = Phase shift of the fundamental harmonic component of the output with
respect to the input
The coefficients Ai and B] of the Fourier series are given by
A 2 "
i = I y Sinotd(eot) (5.6)
o
B, = | y Cosrotd (wt) (5.7)

0
When the input, x to the nonlinearity is sinusoidal (i.e., x = X sincot) the
describing function of the nonlinearity is defined as,
K ^ ^ L o , (5.8)
The nonlinear element N in the system can be replaced by the describing function
as shown in figure 5.3.

80
X y c
e
K N (x,co) G2(p)
J
-^
n
* G1(jco)
Figure 5.3. Nonlinear system with nonlinearity replaced by describing function
If the nonlinearity is replaced by a describing function then all linear theory
frequency domain techniques can be used for the analysis of the system. The describing
functions are used only for stability analysis and it is not directly applied to the
optimization of system design. The describing function is a frequency domain approach
and no general correlation is possible between time and frequency responses. In the next
section the describing function method applied to saturation nonlinearity is explained in
detail.
5.3 Describing function of saturation nonlinearity
The input output relationship of saturation non linearity is shown in figure 5.4.
The input-output relation is linear for x = 0 to S. When the input is greater than S, the
output reaches a saturated value of KS. The response of the nonlinearity when the input
is sinusoidal signal (x = XSincot) is shown in figure 5.5.

81
Figure 5.4. Input-output characteristic of saturation nonlinearity
The input x is sinusoidal,
x = X Sinwt (5.9)
where X is the maximum value of the input. In figure 5, when cot = p, x = S.
Hence equation 5.9 can be written as,
S = X Sin (5 (5.10)
B = Sin"11 (5.11)
The output y of the nonlinearity can be divided into three regions in a period of p.
The output equation for the three regions is given by equation 5.12.
Kx; 0<iot<B
y= K.S; p<(0t<(j>P)
(5.12)
Kx; (jr-P)<cot<jr
The describing function is given by
K N (X, W ) = (Y,/X)(*i (5.13)
where, Y1=^JA12+B12 and o1=tan"'(B, /A,

82
Figure 5.5. Sinusoidal response of saturation non linearity
The output y has half wave and quarter wave symmetries
B!=0 and A, = jySincotd(a (5.14)
The output, y is given by two different expressions in the period 0 to p/2. Hence
equation 5.14 can be written as shown in equation 5.15.
B 2
A,
M"= I y Sinart d(o)t)+ I y Sincot d((ot) (5.15)
PJ pJ
0 B
On substituting the values of y from equation 5.12 into equation 5.15,

83
p.
B >
A1 = -fKxSincotd(cot)+-JKSSinojtd(o)t) (5.16)
o
0 B
On substituting x = X Sincot,
B
B 2
1 = ^ L fX Sin2(ot d ( c o t ) + f Sincot d(tot) (5.17)

P
p .J p J
0 fl
On substituting S = X Sin B from equation 5.10 into equation 5.17,
A, = r B + sinBcosBl (5.18)
P
Y1=JAI2+B12 = [ B + sinBcosBl (5.19)

p
f[Idll !13|/rVjl (5.20)
The describing function
2K r
KN(X,co) = (Y,/X)[0|= [ B + sinBcosB]|o^ (5-21)
P
Depending on the maximum value of input X, the describing function can be
written as,
If X<S, then J3 = p / 2, KN(X,W)=K (5.22)
IfX>S, K N (X.w) = [ p + sinpcosB] (5.23)
5.4 Dynamics of the Novel Digital PWM Controller
To find the stability of any system, it is necessary to come up with the block
diagram of the overall system [11, 12, 23]. The overall block diagram of the system is
shown in figure 5.6.

84
Tolerated Error
Figure 5.6. Block diagram of the overall system
A novel constant frequency digital PWM controller has been designed and
simulated for a BLDC motor drive system. The digital controller treats the BLDC motor
like a digital system. The concept of this digital controller is very simple. Speed
regulation is achieved by using a high duty (DH) and a low duty (DL). The rules of the
digital controller can be explained using simple IF THEN statements.
1. If the actual motor speed is less than the reference speed, and if the motor
current is less than the limiting current, then apply a high duty (DH).
85
2. If the actual motor speed is more than the reference speed, and if the motor
current is less than the limiting current, then apply a low duty (DL).
3. In any case, if the motor current exceeds the limiting current then apply a skip
state. A skip state can be defined as a state with zero duty.
The above control logic can be diagrammatically represented as shown in figure
5.7.
Dm
L m
D.
DH
_ D,
0 cerr Mmt
Figure 5.7. Control Logic
It has already been proved that the BLDC motor is stable. It is necessary to prove
that the system with the controller is stable. To prove that the system is stable as a whole
it is necessary to come up with the transfer function of the individual blocks shown in
figure 5.6.
5.5 Transfer function Gw (a>)err
The describing function used to evaluate the transfer function can be
diagrammatically represented as shown in figure 5.8.

86
D
H
D
L
0 CO
Figure 5.8. Describing function to find Gra(coen.)
The Fourier function of G^to^) can be expressed as given in equation 5.24.
3 3
Geo err -- + V^ an cosncot + jy b n sinncot (5.24)
n=l n=l
Evaluating the constants ao, ai, a2, a^ and bi, b2 and b3 and substituting in equation
5.24 we have,
n H +r>L ? i
Gm(w) = . + - D H Sincot+ -=- (D H -D L ) Sin3cot (5.25)
2 P 3p
Taking Laplace Transform, we get,
Gjw)
<V-en;
= ^ Ho 2 k' +- 1 "DH 72IU +
^ (DH"DL) g2+9a)2
(5.26)
2s p " s2+co2 3p
5.6 Root locus plot for the transfer function Gw ((o)err
From equation 5.26 it is clear that the function has three variables namely, DH, DL
87
and co. To plot the root locus the values of the high duty is set to 1 and low duty to 0.1
respectively. The speed is set to 1000 RPM. The root locus plot for these values of
duty and speed is plotted as shown in figure 5.9.
1000
m 0
c
en
to
-1000
-600 -400 -200

Real Axis
Figure 5.9. Root locus plot for the function Gw (co)e
5.7 Transfer function Gj (i)err
diagrammatically represented as shown in figure 5.10. The Fourier function of

G
co(fflerr) can be expressed as given in equation 5.27.
3 3
G (5.27)
i(w) -y- + / a
n COSnCOt + ! > sinncot
n=l n=l
88
Evaluating the constants ao, ai, a2, &3 and bi, b2 and b3 and substituting in equation
5.27 we have,
G; (i err ) = + Siny Costot + Cosy Sincot +

P P P (5.28)
4D
'l-Cos3y) Sin3wt
3p
Taking Laplace Transfonn, we get,
G 4Dy 4D
i (ierr) = z^ + Siny , S
+ Cosy , W
, +
v ;
ps p S-+C02 P s-+m- (5.29)
4D / -, 3co
(l-Cos3y) s^2 +9co 2
| D I D H or D L
2p |D DH orDj
Figure 5.10. Describing function to find Gj(ierr)
5.8 Root locus plot for the transfer function Gi (i)err
The transfer function for Gi(i)err has two variables namely, duty and speed. The
root locus plot can be plotted for low duty and low speed, low duty and high speed, high
89
duty and low speed and high duty and high speed. The root locus for high duty and high
speeds is shown in figures 5.11
200
<
J5 0
to
E
-200
-100 -50
Real Axis
Figure 5.11. Root locus plot for G\i(i)eIT for D=l and co=3000 RPM
5.9 Transfer function Gjmax(toerr)
diagrammatically represented as shown in figure 5.12. From the describing function the
function for Giimt(oo)err can be shown as given by equation 5.30.
+Kuen.(0<cot<y)
(y<cot<7t-y)
'lmt I "'err I (5.30)
*max " ^ ^ e r r Ji-Y<a)t<7i)
(n<(at<2Tt)
The Fourier function of Gimax(o>err) can be expressed as given in equation 5.31.

90
G
imax ( M err) = " y + 2_j a
" cosnmt
+ > E b nn sinnwt
b (5.31)
Mmti
ACQ C0
- * - CO,
'err
2p
to , .t
mech
Figure 5.12. Describing function to find Gimax(u>err)
Evaluating the constants ao, ai, a2, a3 and bi, b2 and b 3 and substituting in equation
5.31 we have,
91
1 I 1UY+KA(1
-Cosy) + W ( K - 2 Y ) +
GjlTBxW
2P [ u + KAfCosy-ljJ+UTi
Sin
y(l,rii,-W) + - J - (l-Cos2y) OOSfft +
U ^ - U ^ + S i n y oos2ftt+
Sin3y KA Cbs4y
( W i " 'max/ cos3ol + (5.32)
T
2 I0"27 2
+
Imax) (l-Cosy)+2ImaxG3sy-2IIt
KAf ,Sn2y sinraH
2-*-T+-
-Cbs2y)+-^.(2Cbs2y- sin2a3H
iaa (-1-Cbs3y)+-22K (1+Cbs3y) sinM
Taking Laplace Transform, we get,
I l r i n y+KA(l-Cosy)j+W(7r-2y)+
J
imixl a M 2ng
[W+KAlCosy-ljj+I^Ti
KA,
SmYlU-Wl+^ll-CWT)^
T Sin2
Y T Sin2y
+ Siny
s2^2
(U-WJ^^^y-^ll] s 2
- ^
(5.33)
(Inin+Imix)(l-G3SY)+2I1THXCosy
0)
KAl Sin2y 2
21 + ji-y- s ^
T 2
2co
J- I l r i n ( l - C b s 2 y ) + i ^ ( 2 C b s 2 y - i ;
PL s2+4a?
3co
- %(-l-QB3y)+if5-(l-tCfcs3y)
s2+9a?
5.10 Root locus plot for the transfer function Gimax((Oerr)
The transfer function for Gjmax(cGerr) has just speed as the variable.
Correspondingly the root locus can be plotted for either low speeds, medium speeds or
92
high speeds. The roots lie in the left half of the s plane when plotted for different values
of speed.
To see if the system is bounded for disturbances in the load torque and input
voltage fluctuations, simulation of the overall system is carried out. Load torque
variations are done from low values of torque until rated values. Voltage fluctuations in
the input are simulated for +/- 35% change in the input voltage. The simulation and
experimental results for disturbances in input voltage, load torque and reference speed
variations are shown from figure 5.13 through figure 5.16. From the simulation and
experimental results it is very clear that the system is stable for various disturbances,
which shows the effectiveness of the controller.
Figure 5.13 shows the simulation results for a set speed of 2000 rpm. At 0.06
seconds load is increased from 20% to 80% of rated load. As seen from the speed
response, the maximum deviation from the reference speed is about +/- 5 rpm in steady
state conditions.
93
3
a-
o
re
o
Zv/o LudU
I I
I 1
I 1
1
1
1
1 1
a.
a. 2010
c ^ ~ W W J . ^ . - ~ ^ - ^ ~~W~W,
_ - A A A^
U ( J U
a
V
i\ yv
CD
a>
a.
/
w
(A
O
<
3
8 n j _ AM<M _ ArvUArt , ,_ MrtdV/ _,
A
J I
j^
/
o w^r iw* WMT TWW /
o |
a
5
m < -10
w k
re -
0.02 0.07
Time in Seconds
Figure 5.13. Simulation results: Speed response for change in load torque and for a
reference speed of 1800 rpm
94
80% Load
ro
o
20% Load
2025
Q. 2000
a.
I
1945 +
iMiiiidiiiWiliiriiin'ir^ MM
10
rtlft
3
a
8
5
U u
ID <
VV
-10
0.1 0.2
Time in Seconds
Figure 5.14. Experimental results for a change in load torque from 20% to 80% of rated
load for a reference speed of 2000 rpm
95
2200
1300
2200
1300
*||iuuni[||ini|HH n ITI fnirmiiFiUMirtiif 5|ini iflFrnm PI iinin
0.1 0.2
Time in Seconds
Figure 5.15. Experimental results for a change in reference speed from 2200 rpm to 1300
rpm under no load condition
96
Vrated
Vrated -
30%
III inii|fiiiiitf numiiiMinimiiiii^piiiiiu(iiiiMJBfif iinir nniuiinu win i wu mi a i m nun M
0.2 0.4
Time in Seconds
Figure 5.16. Experimental results for a change in input voltage from rated voltage to -
30% of rated voltage under no load condition
97
5.11 Conclusion
A new digital control concept for BLDC machines was introduced and
experimentally verified. Describing function and Fourier transform methods were used
to prove the stability of the system. Simulation and experimental results agree with the
analytical results. The dynamic response of the system when subjected to various
disturbances proves the effectiveness of the novel control strategy. For load torque
disturbance, voltage fluctuations in the input supply or for wide changes in the reference
speed, the speed response settles within 5% from the reference speed. Thus this simple,
low cost, stable control strategy can be used for applications which are subjected to wide
disturbances.
98
CHAPTER 6
CONCLUSION
6.1 Summary
A review of Brush-Less DC motor drives, construction, operating principle and
equivalent circuit were presented in chapter 2.
Chapter 3 introduced an overview of the sensored and sensorless control for
Brush-Less DC motor drives. Pulse amplitude modulation, pulse width modulation and
hysteresis control were introduced.
A novel digital PWM control design strategy was introduced in chapter 4.
Analytical results matched with the simulation and experimental results.
Stability analysis for the digital PWM controller was introduced in chapter 5.
Describing function and fourier transform methods were used to prove the stability of the
system. Simulation and experimental results matched with the analytical results.
6.2 Conclusion and future work
A novel digital PWM control design strategy was introduced for a trapezoidal
BLDC motor drive system. The effectiveness of the control strategy was verified through
simulations and experiments. The goal of the thesis was to develop a low cost controller
for efficient BLDC motors targeting applications where inefficient single phase induction
motors are used. Due to the simplistic nature of the control, it has the potential to be
implemented in a low cost FPGA or ASIC. Future work related to this thesis will focus
on the development of an FPGA or ASIC chip delivering the benefits of BLDC motor
drive at a lower cost.

99
BIBLIOGRAPHY
[1] Aboulnaga, A. A., P. C. Desai, F. Rodriguez, T. R. Cooke, and A. Emadi. "A

novel low-cost high-performance single-phase adjustable-speed motor drive using
PM Brushless DC machines: IIT's design for 2003 Future Energy Challenge."
Proceedings of 19' Annual IEEE Application Power Electronics Conference
Anaheim CA (Feb 2004): 1595 - 1603.
[2] Basak, Amitava. Permanent-Magnet DC Linear Motors, Oxford Science

Publications, 1996.
[3] Beaty, H. W., and Kirtley, J. L. Electric Motor Handbook, McGraw Hill, 1998.
[4] Becerra, R. C , T. M. Jahns, and M. Ehsani. "Four-quadrant sensorless brushless

ECM drive." Proceedings IEEE APEC 91 Conference (1991): 202 - 209.
[5] Brown, Ward. Brushless DC Motor Control Made Easy, Microchip Application
Notes - AN857 Microchip Technology Inc., 2002.
[6] Carlson, R., M. Lajoie-Mazene, and C.dos S. Fagundes. "Analysis of torque

ripple due to phase commutation in brushless DC machines." IEEE Transactions
on Industry Applications 28.3 (May/June 1992): 632 - 638.
[7] Chapman, J Stephen. Electric Machinery and Power System Fundamentals,

McGraw Hill, 2002.
[8] Chau, K. T., C. C. Chan, and C. Liu. "Overview of permanent magnet brushless
drives for electric and hybrid electric vehicles." IEEE Transactions on Industrial
Electronics, 55.6 (June 2008): 2246 - 2257.
[9] Chen, J., and P. C. Tang. "A sliding mode current control scheme for PWM
brushless DC motor drives." IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics 14.3
(1999): 5 4 1 - 5 5 1 .
100
[10] Chen, Z., M. Tomita, S. Doki, and S. Okuma. "New adaptive sliding observers for
position and velocity sensorless controls of brushless DC motors." IEEE
Transactions on Industrial Electronics 47.3 (June 2000): 582 - 591.
[11] Chung, H. S., A. Ionovici, J. Zhang. "Describing functions of power electronic

circuits using progressive analysis of circuit waveforms." IEEE Transactions on
Circuits and Systems I: Fundamental Theory and Applications 41.7 (July 2000):
1026-1037.
[12] Chung, S. C , S. R. Huang, and C. I. Ln. "Applications of describing functions to

estimate the continuous and discontinuous conduction mode for a DC to DC buck
converter." IEE Proceedings - Electric Power Applications 147.6 (2000): 513 -
519.
[13] Consoli, A., S. Musumeci, A. Raciti, and A. Testa. "Sensor less vector and speed
control of brushless motor drives." IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics
41 (Feb. 1994): 91 -96.
[14] Desai, P. C , and A. Emadi. "A novel digital control technique for brushless DC
motor drives: current control." IEEE Electric Machines and Drives Conference
(2005): 326-331.
[15] El-Sharkawi, A Mohamed. Fundamentals of Motor Drives, Brooks/Cole

Publishing Company, 2000.
[16] Emadi., A. Handbook of Automotive Power Electronics and Motor Drives, CRC
Press, 2005.
[17] Ertugrul, N., and P. Acarnley. "A new algorithm for sensorless operation of
permanent magnet motors." IEEE Transactions on Industrial Application, 30
(Jan./Feb. 1994): 126-133.
[18] Franklin, F Gene., Powell, J David, and Emami-Naeini, Abbas. Feedback Control
of Dynamic Systems, 41 edition, Prentice Hall, 2002.
101
[19] Harnefors, L. "Globally stable speed adaptive observers for sensorless induction
motor drives." IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics 54.2 (April 2007):
1243 - 1245.
[20] Harnefors, L., and M. Hinkkanen. "Complete stability of reduced-order and full-
order observers for sensorless IM drives." IEEE Transactions on Industrial
Electronics 55.3 (March 2008): 1319 - 1329.
[21] Hart, Daniel W. Introduction to Power Electronics, Prentice Hall, 2002.
[22] Hendershot, J. R., and Miller, T. Design of Brushless Permanent Magnet Motors,
Magna Physics and Oxford Science Publications, 1994.
[23] Hiyama, T., W. Zhang, and S. Wakasugi. "Eigenvalue based wide area dynamic
stability control of electric power systems." IEEE conference on Intelligent
Systems Applications to Power Systems (Nov 2007): 1-6.
[24] Hong, W., W. Lee and B. K. Lee. "Dynamic simulation of brushless DC motor
drives considering phase commutation for automotive applications." Electric
Machines and Drives Conference (2007): 1377- 1383.
[25] Iizuka, Kenichi., H. Uzuhashi, M. Kano, T. Endo, and K.

Mohri. "Microcomputer control for sensorless brushless motor." IEEE
Transactions on Industrial Applications IA-21.4 (May/June 1985): 595 - 601.
[26] Jahns, T. M., R. C. Becerra, and M. Ehsani. "Integrated current regulation for a
brushless ECM drive." IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics 6, (Jan. 1991):
118-126.
[27] Johnson, J.P., M. Ehsani, and Y. Guzelgunler. "Review of sensorless methods for
brushless dc." Proceedings of IEEE IAS 1999 Conference 1 (1999): 143 - 150.
[28] Kenjo, T., and Nagamori, S. Permanent-Magnet and Brushless DC Motors,

Oxford Science Publications, 1985.
102
[29] Keskar, N., M. Battello, A. Guerra, and A. Gorgerino. Power Loss Estimation in
BLDC Motor Drives Using iCalc, Application Note AN-1048 International
Rectifier.
[30] Khopkar, Rahul Vijaykumar. DC-DC converter current source fed naturally
commutated brushless DC motor drive, M.S Thesis Texas A & M University
2003.
[31] Kim, Tae-Hyung., and M. Ehsani. "Sensorless Control of the BLDC Motors from
Near-Zero to High Speeds." IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics 19.6
(November 2004): 1635-1645.
[32] Kuo, B. C. Automatic Control Systems, Prentice Hall of India, 1990.
[33] Kusko, A., and S. M. Peeran. "Definition of the Brushless DC Motor." Industry
Applications Society Annual Meeting 1.1 (1988): 20 - 22.
[34] Lai, Y., F. Shyu, and Y. Chang. "Novel loss reduction pulse width modulation
technique for brushless dc motor drives fed by MOSFET inverter." IEEE
Transactions on Power Electronics 19.6 (Nov 2004): 1646 - 1652.
[35] Lu, C. W. "Torque controller for brushless DC motors." IEEE Transactions on

Industrial Electronics 46.2 (Apr. 1999): 471 - 473.
[36] Marian, P., Kazemierkowski., Krishnan, R., and Blaabjerg, Frede. Control in
Power Electronics, Academic Press, 2002.
[37] Matsui, N. "Sensorless PM brushless DC motor drives." IEEE Transactions on

Industrial Electronics 43.2 (April 1996): 300 - 308.
[38] Miller T. J. E. Brushless Permanent-Magnet and Reluctance Motor Drives,

Oxford University Press, 1989.
[39] Mohan, N., Undeland, T. M., and Robbins, W. P. Power Electronics: Converters,
Applications, and Design, John Wiley and Sons, 1995.
103
[40] Moreira, J. "Indirect sensing for rotor flux position of permanent magnet ac
motors operating in a wide range." IEEE Transactions on Industrial Applications
32 (Nov/Dec 1996): 401 - 407.
[41] Ogasawara, S., and H. Akagi. "An approach to position sensorless drive for
brushless DC motors." IEEE Transactions on Industrial Applications 27
(Sept./Oct. 1991): 9 2 8 - 9 3 3 .
[42] Ogata, K. Modern Control Engineering, Prentice Hall of India, 1991.
[43] Parsa, L., and H. Lei. "Interior permanent magnet motors with reduced torque
pulsation." IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics 55.2 (Feb. 2008): 602 -
609.
[44] Pillay, P., and R. Krishnan. "Application characteristics of permanent magnet

synchronous and brushless DC motors for servo drives." IEEE Transactions on
Industrial Applications 27.5 (Sep/Oct. 1991): 986 - 996.
[45] Pillay, P., and R. Krishnan. "Modeling of permanent magnet motor drives." IEEE
Transactions on Industrial Electronics 35.4 (1988): 537 - 541.
[46] Rodriguez, Fernando. Advanced Digital Control Techniques for Brush-less DC

(BLDC) Motor Drives, Ph.D. Thesis Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago,
2006.
[47] Rodriguez, F., P. Desai, and A. Emadi. "A novel digital control technique for
trapezoidal Brushless DC motor drives." Proceedings of Power Electronics
Technology Conference Chicago IL (Nov. 2004).
[48] Rodriguez, F., and A. Emadi. "A Novel Digital Control Technique for Brushless
DC Motor Drives." IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics 54.5 (Oct 2007):
2365-2373.
[49] Rodriguez, F., and A. Emadi. "A novel digital control technique for brushless DC
motor drives: conduction-angle control." Proceedings of IEEE International
Electric Machines and Drives Conference (May 2005): 308 - 314.
104
[50] Shao, Jianwen. Direct Back EMF detection method for sensorless brushless DC
(BLDC) motor drives, M. S Thesis Virginia Polytechnic Institute 2003.
[51] Tomita, M., M. Satoh, S. D. Yamaguchi, and S. Okuma. "Sensor less estimation
of rotor position of cylindrical brushless dc motors using eddy current."
Proceedings of IEEE International workshop on Advanced Motion Control 1
(1996): 2 4 - 2 8 .
[52] Wu, R., and G. R. Slemon. "A permanent magnet motor drive without a shaft
sensor." IEEE Transactions on Industrial Application, 27 (Sep./Oct. 1991): 1005 -
1011.
[53] Ying-Shieh, K. "Design and implementation of a high performance PMLSM

drives using DSP chip." IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics 55.3 (March
2008): 1341-1351.
[54] Yong, L., Z. Q. Zhu, and D. Howe. "Commutation torque ripple minimization in
direct torque controlled PM Brushless DC drives." IEEE Transactions on
Industrial Electronics 43.4 (2007): 1012-1021.
[55] Zhu, Z. Q., Y. Liu, and D. Howe. "Comparison of Performance of Brushless DC

Drives under Direct Torque Control and PWM Current Control." Proceedings of
the eighth International Conference on Electrical Machines and Systems 2
(2005): 1486-1491.

2016.12.03 Out PDF

Încărcat de

Informații document

Titlu original

Drepturi de autor

Formate disponibile

Partajați acest document

Partajați sau inserați document

Opțiuni de partajare

Vi se pare util acest document?

Este necorespunzător acest conținut?

Drepturi de autor:

Formate disponibile

2016.12.03 Out PDF

Încărcat de

Drepturi de autor:

Formate disponibile

ORIGINAL ARCHIVAL COPY

DIGITAL PWM CONTROL OF BRUSH-LESS DC (BLDC) MOTOR DRIVES

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the

during difficult times. My acknowledgements would not be complete without a special

complete time frame of my graduate studies.

my graduate studies. Sri Krishnarpanamastu.

LIST OF TABLES vii

LIST OF FIGURES viii

LIST OF SYMBOLS xii

2. BRUSHLESS DC (BLDC) MOTOR 10

3. BRUSHLESS DC (BLDC) DRIVE STRATEGIES 27

3.1 Overall system description 27

4. NOVEL DIGITAL CONTROL TECHNIQUE FOR BRUSHLESS DC

5. DIGITAL PWM CONTROL - COMPREHENSIVE STABILITY

2.1 CW sensor and drive bits by phase order 18

2.2 CCW sensor and drive bits by phase order 18

4.1 BLDC motor specification from poly-scientific (BN42-EU-02) 68

1.1 Typical full load efficiencies for sub fractional motors 2

1.2 Typical speed-torque relationship for AC Induction motors 4

1.3 Typical speed-torque curves for a BLDC motor 8

2.1 BLDC motor 11

2.2 Cross sectional view of the stator of a BLDC motor 11

2.5 Cross sections of different rotor arrangements for a BLDC motor 14

2.6 Sensor versus drive timing 16

2.7 Three phase bridge 17

2.9 Winding energizing sequence with respect to the hall sensor 21

2.11 Model of a BLDC motor 25

2.12 Root locus plot for a BLDC motor 26

3.1 Typical inverter drive system for a BLDC motor 28

3.3 Gate waveforms for PAM 31

3.4 Basic switch-mode DC-DC converter 32

3.5 Output voltage of the switch-mode DC-DC converter 33

3.6 PWM signal generation 35

3.8 Switch gate waveforms for 120 degree PWM switching 37

3.9 Switch gate waveforms for 60 degree PWM switching 38

3.10 Switch gate waveforms for IR hard switching 39

3.11 Hysteresis current control 40

3.12 Schematic of conventional PWM current control 41

3.13 Schematic of PWM current control with current shaping 42

3.14 Schematic of DTC BLDC drive 44

3.15 Digital hysteresis control for a BLDC motor drive system 48

4.1 Proposed novel digital PWM controller 52

4.3 Flowchart describing the novel digital controller 53

4.4 Speed response 56

4.11 Final experimental set-up 65

5.1 Nonlinear system to which the describing function method is applicable .. 78

5.2 Nonlinear system 78

5.3 Nonlinear system with nonlinearity replaced by describing function 80

5.4 Input-output characteristics of saturation nonlinearity 81

5.5 Sinusoidal response of saturation nonlinearity 82

5.6 Block diagram of the overall system 84

5.7 Control logic 85

5.8 Describing function to find Gffl (ra) en- 86

5.10 Describing function to find G; (i) err 88

5.12 Describing function to find Gimax (co) err 90

^ref rotor reference speed

^ss steady state angular velocity

*dc dc voltage source

increase in efficiency and reliability. Residential and commercial applications such as

On the contrary a brush-less DC (BLDC) motor drive is characterized by higher

The basic function of an electric motor is to convert electrical energy into

electrical energy that is consumed by an HVAC system. So when a new motor