8/19/2019 Sine of the Times for BLDC Motors

MARKETS > AUTOMOTIVE

Sine of the Times for BLDC Motors

Sponsored by: Texas Instruments. Sensorless, sinusoidal brushless dc
motor control reduces ripple and boosts e ciency in automotive
applications.
Paul Pickering | Feb 12, 2018

Download this article in PDF format.

With its ever-increasing electronic content, the modern automobile places a

premium on energy-efficient design. That’s doubly true for hybrid-electric and
full-electric vehicles (HEVs and EVs), in which the battery is the main or only
source of power.

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Sponsored Resources:

• Integrated Intelligence Part 1: EMI Management

• Integrated Intelligence Part 2: Motor startup open loop acceleration
• Integrated Intelligence Part 3: Motor startup from standstill position

1. Should have used sinusoidal control: Torque ripple in his helmet motor
confounds Darth Vader (Source: Sky.com )

The search for longer battery life has led to the increasing adoption of brushless
dc (BLDC) motors over brushed designs. In traditional automobiles with internal
combustion engines, BLDCs power accessories such as electric mirrors, fans for
ventilation and cooling, and seat motors; in HEVs and EVs, applications expand
to include former mechanical and hydraulic functions such as traction motors,
generators, AC compressors, water pumps, and power-steering actuators. And
let’s not forget two-wheel automotive applications: BLDCs are also making their
way into motorcycle and scooter fuel-pump controls.

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BLDCs have higher efficiency, higher torque-to-weight ratio, lower maintenance,

higher reliability, and lower noise than their brushed motor counterparts. The
downside is that they require considerably more electronic circuitry to operate.

A brushed dc motor has a wound armature (rotor) placed between the poles of a
magnet

(stator), and uses the brushes to mechanically switch current to the armature and
cause it to rotate—a process known as commutation. In contrast, a BLDC has a
wound stator with multiple windings that surrounds a permanent-magnet rotor
assembly. A controller provides electronic commutation by monitoring the rotor
position and supplying power to the stator windings in the correct sequence to
start and maintain rotor motion.

Figure 2 compares the drive circuits of a typical brushed and BLDC motor. The
brushed motor requires only a single gate driver and power FET. The BLDC
motor with its electronic commutation, on the other hand, requires six FETs
arranged into three half-bridge pairs, plus a gate driver for each FET and a
supervisory device to control the switching order.

2. The BLDC demands a more complicated drive circuit than the earlier brushed
dc motor. (Source: TI Blog: “Demand for higher power density drives innovative
power tool solution ”)

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The simplest control algorithm uses trapezoidal commutation, in which the

controller changes the active phases every 60 degrees to maintain rotation. At any
time, two of the phases are driven, and the third is disconnected. The current
waveform for each active winding follows a trapezoidal waveform, from zero to
positive current, then to negative current and back to zero. This sequence adds a
ripple to the BLDC torque curve, so trapezoidal commutation is primarily
confined to higher speeds and applications where the motor and mechanical
linkages will help to reduce the effect.

In low-speed applications—Sith Lord helmet motors, for example—the

trapezoidal torque ripple results in uneven operation and acoustic noise.
Sinusoidal commutation offers a better approach, as we’ll see.

Overview of Sinusoidal Commutation

The general equation for motor torque is:

T = KT × I × sin(α) (1)

where KT is the torque constant, I is the current through the phase winding, and α
is the rotor position in the magnetic field.

For a three-phase BLDC, the motor torque is the sum of the contributions from all
three phases. With phase currents IU, IV, and IW:

T = KT [IU sin(α) + IV sin(α +120) + IW sin(α +240)] (2)

The value of T in Equation 2 varies as the rotor spins, leading to torque ripple.

If IU, IV, and IW are sinusoidal with magnitude M and the same phase angles as
the above equation:

IU = M × sin(α); IV = M × sin(α +120); IW = M × sin(α +240) (3)

Combining the two equations yields:

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T = KT M[ sin2(α) + sin2 (α +120) + sin2 (α +240)] (4)

Naturally, you remember from trigonometry class that:

sin (A+B) = sin (A)cos(B) + (cos(A) sin(B)

and that:

sin2(θ) + cos2(θ) = 1

After much manipulation and substitution of constants, Equation 4 becomes:

T = 1.5 KTM (5)

The torque T now depends only on the motor-torque constant and current
magnitude, and is independent of rotor angle. Sinusoidal commutation solves the
torque ripple problem.

Sinusoidal Commutation in the Real World: The Phase-to-Phase

Method

Pure sinusoidal drive voltages sound great in theory, but are rarely used in
practical designs because they’re inefficient to generate for each motor winding
with respect to ground. The preferred approach is to generate three
sinusoidal voltages between the three phases. This is done by varying the pulse-
width-modulation (PWM) duty cycle (and hence drive voltages) relative to ground
using the characteristic profile in Figure 3, rather than a pure sinusoid. When any
phase is measured with respect to ground, the waveform is sinusoidally coupled
with third-order harmonics; the phase current driving the motor follows the pure
sine-wave profile of the phase-to-phase voltage.

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3. The PWM duty cycle (a) generates a characteristic voltage-to-ground profile

(b) that results in sinusoidal phase-to-phase voltages and currents (c). (Source:
TI “DRV10983-Q1 Automotive, Three-Phase, Sensorless BLDC Motor Driver”
PDF, p. 14 )

This encoding technique is used in the DRV10983-Q1, discussed below. One

phase is held at ground while the other two phases are pulse-width-modulated.

Sensorless Control Lowers Cost

The traditional way to determine rotor position in the BLDC control system is via
a sensor, such as a resolver, optical encoder, or Hall-effect device. The first two
devices are expensive, but offer high precision; a Hall-effect sensor offers
moderate precision at lower cost.

Even an inexpensive sensor, though, increases component count, adds to BOM

cost, and is another potential failure source. To reduce cost and size, BLDC
control designers have eliminated the position sensor with sinusoidal algorithms
that estimate the rotor position using the back electromotive force (BEMF) of the
spinning motor.

The BEMF is proportional to motor speed. Sensorless BLDC controllers don’t

measure the BEMF directly. Instead, they continuously sample phase current, use
this to estimate BEMF voltage, and then determine the rotor speed and position.

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Sensorless Startup

The control system must estimate a minimum value of BEMF to accurately

estimate the rotor’s position for driving the phases. This presents a problem
during startup: At zero speed, there’s no BEMF signal, so the motor is initially
driven under open-loop control until its estimated BEMF is high enough to enable
closed-loop operation.

4. The BLDC sensorless startup profile has three parts: stationary rotor position
detection; open-loop operation; and closed-loop operation. (Source: TI
“DRV10983-Q1 Automotive, Three-Phase, Sensorless BLDC Motor Driver” PDF,
p. 28 )

The BLDC motor startup in a sensorless system has three elements: first, when
the motor is at a standstill; second, when it starts accelerating in open-loop mode
without BEMF information; and third, when the BEMF feedback is large enough
for closed-loop operation. The sequence is shown in Figure 4. Op2ClsThr is the
open- to closed-loop threshold—the speed at which the BEMF is large enough to
be useful. The coefficients A1 and A2 set the acceleration rate.

Determining the Initial Rotor Position

If the motor is stationary, the algorithm must first know the position of the rotor
so that it can begin driving the phases in the correct order.

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5. IPD and “Align and Go” are two common methods of aligning the BLDC rotor
before motion can begin. (Source: TI Blog: “Integrated intelligence part 3:
motor startup from standstill position ”)

There are two common approaches (Fig. 5). The “Align and Go” method applies a
fixed current to one phase, ground to the second, and ground or high-impedance
to the third. This forces the rotor magnet to align with the energized coils.

This is a simple approach, but it has two drawbacks. First, the magnitude and
duration of the current are motor-specific, so the system must be tuned for each
application. Second, the rotor may travel in either the forward or backward
direction before settling in its final position; many motor designs don’t allow for
backward rotation.

The second method, Initial Position Detection (IPD), uses inductance

measurements to determine the rotor position. The driver applies a voltage pulse
across each pair of windings in a specific sequence (Fig. 6) and measures the time
taken for the current in each of the six pairs to rise to a preset threshold.

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6. The IPD method relies on the relationship between rotor position and inductor
saturation. (Source: TI “DRV10983-Q1 Automotive, Three-Phase, Sensorless
BLDC Motor Driver” PDF, p. 26 )

The current rise time is an indication of the inductance in the motor windings.
The inductance measured between a particular pair of windings depends on the
rotor position relative to those windings. The shortest time indicates the
minimum inductance, which occurs between the two windings most closely
aligned with the rotor North pole—phases V and U in Fig. 5.

IPD is faster than align and go, but requires additional hardware; like align and
go, it must be tuned for each system. IPD, however, has the advantage of the rotor
not moving during position determination.

These startup techniques give the system the specific alignment of the rotor,
allowing it to apply the correct driving state to accelerate the rotor in a forward
direction.

Open-Loop Operation

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During open-loop operation, the motor has no information about the position of
the rotor. This phase of open-loop commutation, also known as blind
commutation, is very important because it’s directly related to system reliability.
If blind commutation isn’t configured correctly, the motor will start, lose
synchronization, and stall.

It’s critical that during the open-loop state, the driver can accelerate the motor to
a speed high enough for accurate BEMF estimation while also supporting a load.

After reaching hand-off speed Op2ClsThr, the driver switches from open- to
closed-loop operation. The value of Op2ClsThr varies based on the torque
constant KT of the motor. Motors with a higher KT need a lower hand-off speed,
and vice versa.

Driver flexibility is important. Highly desirable features include variable speed

profiles to support open-loop acceleration, adjustable current to support a variety
of loads, and an adjustable hand-off speed. TI’s integrated drivers support
different motor configurations using motor-specific values stored in electrically
erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) registers.

Practical Implementation of a Sensorless Controller

The primary blocks in a BLDC controller with sensorless commutation are:

• A microcontroller unit (MCU) or similar device to run the sensorless

algorithm
• A three-phase half-bridge power stage
• A power-stage gate driver
• A means of accurately estimating the BEMF
• A power supply for the MCU and other blocks

There are multiple ways to partition a BLDC controller, each one with associated
tradeoffs. A multichip design with separate blocks allows each function to be
optimized for the highest overall performance, but also has the highest cost, the
highest part count, and longest design time. Conversely, a single-chip approach
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minimizes design time and parts count, as well as reduces cost—but it also limits
design flexibility. Figure 7 shows the internal blocks of a typical single-chip
intelligent BLDC controller.

7. An integrated BLDC driver such as the DRV10983 includes control logic,

power FETs and drivers, plus protection and communication blocks. (Source: TI
DRV10983-Q1 product page )

Texas Instruments offers several intelligent BLDC controllers suitable for

automotive applications. The DRV10983-Q1 , for example, is a three-phase

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sensorless motor driver with sinusoidal commutation (Fig. 8). It includes

integrated power MOSFETs that can provide continuous drive current up to 2 A.

The device can be configured via an industry-standard I2C interface to

accommodate different motor parameters and profiles, and features extensive
protection and fault-detection features to ensure reliable operation.

8. The DRV10983-Q1 provides single-chip sensorless control with sinusoidal

commutation and either digital or analog control. (Source: TI “DRV10983-Q1
Automotive, Three-Phase, Sensorless BLDC Motor Driver” PDF, p. 1 )

The commutation control algorithm continuously measures the motor phase

current and periodically measures the VCC supply voltage. The device uses this
information to estimate the value of BEMF, and makes it available over an
industry-standard I2C interface for external use.

A buck switching regulator efficiently steps down the supply voltage to power
both the internal circuitry and external devices such as a microcontroller. If

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external power isn’t needed, the buck switching regulator can be configured as a
linear regulator to save cost.

The DRV10983-Q1 can support both analog and digital control inputs. In addition
to digital control via I2C, it includes direction control (DIR) and speed command
(SPEED) inputs, plus a speed indicator output (FG).

The device also integrates EEPROM memory for preloaded motor parameters and
operation settings. The registers are loaded with EEPROM data on power-on or
following an exit from sleep mode. An external microcontroller can dynamically
update the motor parameters and operational settings by writing directly to the
registers via I2C, bypassing the EEPROM data.

The DRV10983-Q1 is suitable for many low-cost automotive applications. It

meets the stringent AEC-Q100 qualification standards, as well as specialized
automotive requirements such as the ability to handle a load dump of up to 45 V.

The DRV10983Q1 evaluation module (EVM) offers a convenient way to evaluate

the DRV10983-Q1 and TI’s sensorless control algorithm.

Conclusion

Single-chip BLDC drivers are gaining traction (excuse us) in the competitive
automotive market due to their low cost, superior performance compared to
brushed motors, and sensorless operation.

Texas Instruments offers a portfolio of intelligent BLDC drivers for a wide range
of automotive and other applications. Sith Lord helmets, too.

Sponsored Resources:

• Integrated Intelligence Part 1: EMI Management

• Integrated Intelligence Part 2: Motor startup open loop acceleration
• Integrated Intelligence Part 3: Motor startup from standstill position

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