Four Switch Three Phase Inverter Control of BLDC Motor

V.Krishnakumar PG Scholar Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering Pondicherry Engineering College Pondicherry, INDIA. v_krishnakumar@ymail.com Dr.S.Jeevanandhan Assistant professor Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering Pondicherry Engineering College Pondicherry, INDIA. drsj_eee@pec.edu line

Abstract The main purpose of this paper is to describe a low cost four-switch brushless dc (BLDC) motor drive for commercial applications. For effective utilization of the developed system, a novel direct current controlled pwm scheme is designed and implemented to produce the desired dynamic and static speedtorque characteristics. Also, the feasibility of the four-switch converter. Keywords-BLDC motor;four switch inverter.

1.

INTRODUCTION

Permanent magnet motors with trapezoidal back EMF and sinusoidal back EMF have several advantages over other motor types. Most notably, (compared to dc motors) they are lower maintenance due to the elimination of the mechanical commutator and they have a high-power density which makes them ideal for high-torque-to weight ratio applications [1]. The permanent magnet brushless dc (BLDC) motor is gaining popularity being used in computer, aerospace, military, automotive, industrial and household products because of its high torque, compactness, and high efficiency [3]. A conventional BLDC motor drive is generally implemented via a sixswitch, three-phase inverter and three Hall-effect position sensors that provide six commutation points for each electrical cycle. Cost minimization is the key factor in an especially fractional horse-power BLDC motor drive for home applications. It is usually achieved by elimination of the drive components such as power Switches and sensors. Therefore, effective algorithms should be designed for the desired performance. Recently, a fourswitch, three-phase inverter (FSTPI) topology has been developed and used for a three-phase BLDC motor drive. Reduction in the number of power switches, dc power supplies, switching driver circuits, losses and total price are the main features of this topology. It results in the possibility of the four-switch configuration instead of the six switches, as shown in Fig. 3. Compared with the fourswitch converter for the induction motor, it is identical for the topology point of view. However, in the four-switch converter, the generation conducting current profiles is

inherently difficult due of 120 to its limited voltage vectors. This problem is well known as asymmetric voltage PWM. It means that conventional PWM schemes for the four-switch induction motor drive cannot be directly used for the BLDC motor drive. Therefore, in order to use the four-switch converter topology for the three-phase BLDC motor drive, a new control scheme should be developed. The solutions can be obtained from a modification of the conventional voltage controlled PWM strategies, such as the space vector PWM. However, it naturally requires lots of equations for the transformation of voltage and current vectors, - and a bc frames. As a result, the current control such as block becomes much more complicated. Moreover, in order to handle the complicated calculations in one sampling period, a high-speed digital processor is also necessary, which increases the manufacturing cost. Therefore, for the low cost BLDC motor applications, voltage vector PWM schemes cannot be regarded as a good solution for cost effective purpose. Modeling and simulation of electromechanical systems with BLDC drives are essential steps at the design stage of such systems. For the purposes of stability analysis and controller design, it is often desirable to investigate the large-signal transients and small-signal characteristics of the system. Simulation studies are also often performed many times to achieve the required design goals. In this study, the nonlinear simulation model of the BLDC motors drive system with proportional-integral (PI) control based on MATLAB/Simulink platform is presented. The simulated results in terms of electromagnetic torque and rotor speed are given. 2. DESCRIPTION OF PMBLDCM DRIVE

Fig.1 describes the basic building blocks of the PMBLDCM drive. The drive consists of speed controller, reference current generator, pulse width modulation (PWM) current controller, position sensor, the motor and a IGBT based voltage source inverter (CC-VSI). The

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speed of the motor is compared with its reference value and the speed error is processed in PI speed controller. The output of this controller is considered as the reference torque. A limit is put on the speed controller output depending on permissible maximum winding currents. The reference current generator block generates the three phase reference currents (ia, ib, ic) using the limited peak current.

The magnitude of the reference current (I) is determined by using reference torque (T) and the back emf constant (Kb);

I* =

T* . Depending on the rotor position, the Kb

reference current generator block generates three-phase reference currents (ia, ib, ic) considering the value of reference current magnitude as I, I and zero. The reference current generation is shown in Fig.2.

Fig.1 PI-Speed Controller

The PI controller is widely used in industry due to its ease in design and simple structure. The rotor speed r(n) is compared with the reference speed r(n) and the resulting error is estimated at the nth sampling instant as:

Fig.2 Back EMF, current profile, modes, conducting switches in the four-switch converter for three-phase BLDC motor drives. Table 1.Rotor position signal Vs reference current

e (n ) = r (n) * r (n )
The new value of torque reference is given by

(1)

Rotor Position Signal r 330-0 to 030 30 - 90 90 -150 150 - 210 210 - 270 270 - 330 0 I I 0 I I

Reference Currents (ia, ib, ic) I I 0 I I 0 I 0 I I 0 I

T ( n) = T ( n 1) + K Pe ( n ) e ( n 1) + K1e ( n ) (2)
Where, e(n 1) is the speed error of previous interval, and e(n) is the speed error of the working interval. KP and KI are the gains of proportional and integral controllers respectively. By using Ziegler Nichols method the KP and KI values are determined [10]. 2.1 Reference Current Generator 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. Most of BLDC motors have three Hall sensors embedded into the stator on the non-driving end of the motor. Rotor position is sensed by Hall Effect sensors embedded into the stator which gives the sequence of phases. Whenever the rotor magnetic poles pass near the Hall sensors, they give a high/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.

Fig.3 proposed four-switch converter topology for three-phase BLDC motor.

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Therefore, based on Table I, one can develop a switching sequence using four switches as follows:
Table 2.Switching Sequence of Four switch BLDC motor

MODES
Mode 1 Mode 2 Mode 3 Mode 4
Fig.4 Inverter circuit with PMBLDCM drive

ACTIVE PHASES
Phase B and C Phase A and B Phase A and C Phase B and C Phase A and B Phase A and C

SILENT PHASES
Phase A Phase C Phase B Phase A Phase C Phase B

SWITCHING DEVICES
S4 S1 and S4 S1 S3 S2 and S3 S2

Mode 5 Mode 6

Terminal voltages of a BLDC motor in the four-switch inverter with respect to the mid-point of the dc bus are as follows:

V ao = Ri a + L

V bo V co

di a + e a + V no dt di = Ri b + L b + e b + V no dt di c = Ri c + L + e c + V no dt

(3) (4) (5)

As shown in Table II, the two-phase currents need to be directly controlled using the hysteresis current control method by four switches. Hence, it is called the direct current controlled pwm scheme. Based on the direct current controlled pwm, implementation of the switching sequence and current flow are depicted in Fig. 6.

3. OPERATIONAL PRINCIPLE OF DIRECT CURRENT CONTROLLED PWM. From the motor point of view, even though the BLDC motor is supplied by the four-switch converter, ideal back-EMF of three-phase BLDC motor and the desired current profiles can be described as shown in Fig. 2. From the detailed investigation of the four-switch configuration and back-EMF and current profiles, we could come up with a pwm control strategy for the four-switch three-phase BLDC motor drives as follows: Under a balanced condition, the three-phase currents always satisfy the following condition: I a + I b + I c =0 Then, (1) can be modified as Ic=-(Ia+ Ib) (6)

(a)

(b)

(7) (c) (d)

In the case of the ac induction motor drive, at any instant there are always three phase currents flowing through the load, such as Ia0; Ib0; Ic0 (8) However, in the case of the BLDC motor drive, (3) is not valid anymore. Note that in Fig. 2 phase A and B currents are only controllable and phase C is uncontrollable. According to the operating modes, one can derive the following current equations: Table I implies that due to the characteristics of the BLDC motor, such as two-phase, only two phases (four switches) needed to be controlled, not three phases.

(e)

(f)

Fig. 5. Implementation of the direct current controlled pwm strategy. (a) Mode I (S4). (b) Mode II (S1 and S4). (c) Mode III (S1). (d) Mode IV (S3). (e) Mode V (S3 and S2). (f) Mode VI (S2).

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3.1 CURRENT REGULATION Based on the switching sequences in Table II, the current regulation is actually performed by using hysteresis current control. The purpose of regulation is to shape quasisquare waveform with acceptable switching (ripple) band. The detailed waveforms and switching sequences are described in Fig. 7. The bold line is the current reference value, which is obtained from the torque and speed control loop to achieve the reference torque. The switching frequency and torque ripple are the main considerations for setting the upper and lower limits. It means that a smaller band causes higher switching frequency, but lower torque ripple. Using mode II and mode III, the current regulation can be explained as follows: In mode II,Ia and Ib currents (Ia>0 ,Ib<0) flow and Ic=0. Therefore, mode II is divided into two cases, such as dia/dt>0,dib/dt<0 and dia/dt<0,dib/dt>0. In this mode, as shown in Fig. 6(b), switches S1and S5 are used. Until Ia(Ib ) reaches the upper (lower) limit, S1 and S4 are turned on for supplying dc-link energy to increase the current.When the current reaches to the upper limit, S1and S4 are turned off to decrease the current through the anti-parallel diodes D2 and D3.

studies and analysis, this paper considers a typical industrial BLDC motor (Arrow Precision Motor Co., LTD) with importance specifications: Power =180, 300rpm, 8 poles (Refer Appendix). Fig.5-12 shows simulated results.

Fig. 6a Trapezoidal back EMF.

Fig.7 Sector Representation of Four Switch Three phase BLDC motor control.

Fig.8 Stator phase currents.

Fig.9 shows the torque and the speed variations, and the motor speed quickly converges to the reference shortly after startup and recovers very well from the load torque disturbance as well as parameters variation.

Fig.6 Current regulation and detailed switching sequences.

At that time, the reverse bias (negative dc-link voltage) is applied to the phases, resulting in decreasing the current. On the other hand, in mode III, only one current (Ia) can be controllable. It means that only switch S1 can be used as shown in Fig. 6(c). However, the same principle as used for mode II is applied to mode III. When Ia increases,S1 is turned on and other case S1 is turned off. 4. SIMULATION RESULTS In this work the drive model with PI speed controller is developed and simulated in order to validate the four switch three phase inverter control of BLDC motor model and the designed controller. The set of equations representing the model of the drive system is schematized. For conducting the

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Fig. 9 Torque and speed responses during startup transients.

5. REFERENCES 1.Pragasan Pillay and R.Krishnan,(1988), Modeling of Permanent Magnet Motor Drives,IEEE1988,vol35, No.4. P Pillay and R Krishnan. Modelling, Simulation and Analysis of a Permanent Magnet Brushless dc Motor Drive. Conference Record of IEEE/IAS Meeting, 1987, p 8.

Fig.10. torque curve for four switch three phase BLDC motor.

2.A. Halvaei Niasar, H.Moghbelli, and A. Vahedi, Sensorless control of a four-switch, three-phase brushless DC motor drive, presented at the Iranian Conf. Electr. Eng. (ICEE 2007), May, Iran Telecommun. Res. Center (ITRC), Tehran, Iran.
Fig.11 Speed curve for four switch three phase BLDC motor.

Fig.10 and Fig.11 shows the torque and the speed variations, and the motor speed quickly converges to the reference shortly after startup and recovers very well from the load torque disturbance as well as parameters variation. The moment of inertia value taken for this case is 5e-4 kg-m2 and it reaches the steady state torque and speed suddenly at time 0.03seconds.

3.A. Halvaei Niasar, Sensorless control of four switch, threephase brushless DC motor drives for low-cost applications, Ph.D. dissertation, Dept. Electr. Eng., Iran Univ. Sci. Technol., Tehran, Iran, Dec. 2007. 4.B.-K. Lee, T.-H. Kim, and M. Ehsani, On the feasibility of four-switch three-phase BLDC motor drives for low cost commercial applications: Topology and control, IEEE Trans. Power Electron., vol. 8, no. 1, pt. 1, pp. 164172, Jan. 2003. 5.M. B. de Rossiter Corra, C. B. Jacobina, E. R. C. da Silva, and A. M. N. Lim, A general PWM strategy for four-switch three-phase inverters, IEEE Trans. Power Electron., vol. 21, no. 6, pp. 16181627, Nov. 2006. 6.Bhim Singh, B P Singh and (Ms) Jain,(2002),Implementation of DSP Based Digital Speed Controller forPermanent Magnet Brushless dc Motor.Proc. IE(I) Journal-EL2002. C.K.Luk and C.K.Lee, Efficient Modeling for a Brushless dc Motor Drive, Conference Record of IEEE-IECON, pp.188, 1994. 7.P. Pillay and P. Freere, Literature survey of permanent magnet ac motors and drives, in Proc. IEEE IAS Rec., 1989, pp. 7484. 8.P.C.K.Luk and C.K.Lee, Efficient Modeling for a Brushless dc Motor Drive, Conference Record of IEEE-IECON, pp.188, 1994. 9.P.Q. Dzung, L.M. Phuong, P.Q. Vinh, N.M. Hoang,T.C. Binh, New Space Vector Control Approach for Four Switch Three Phase Inverter (FSTPI), International Conference on Power Electronics and Drive Systems- PEDS 2007, Bangkok, Thailand, 2007. 10.T.J.E.Miller, Brushless Permanent Magnet and Reluctance Motor Drives. Oxford Science Publication, UK, 1989. 11.R.Krishnan, Electric Motor Drives: Modeling, Analysis,and Control, Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2001.

Fig.12 Step Torque for Four switch Three phase inverter control of BLDCM.

Fig.12 demonstrate the drive performance with step inertia change. The simulated results show that synchronization of the rotor speed is well done and the average electromagnetic torque is in equilibrium although the dynamic electromagnetic torque is not in equilibrium.

Fig.13 Representative switching voltage (Va0,Vb0,Vn0)

Fig.14 Filtered Terminal Voltage

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6. CONCLUSION The simulation model of the BLDC motors drive system with PI control based four switch three phase inverter on MATLAB/Simulink platform is presented. The performance of the developed algorithm based speed controller of the drive has revealed that the algorithm devises the behavior of the PMBLDC motor drive system work satisfactorily. And also In this paper, the four-switch inverter topology is studied to provide a possibility for the realization of low cost and highperformance three-phase BLDC motor drive system. APPRENDIX Pn = 180; Wn = 300; Tn = 5.7; J= 5e-4; Zp= 8; Kt= 1.25; Ke= 0.066; R= 0.64; L= 1.0e-3; M= 0.25e-3; Tload= 5; %[Watt] %[rpm] %[N.M] %[kg.m^2] %[N.m/A] %[V/rpm] %[Ohm] %[mH] %[mH] %[N.m

I.BIBLIOGRAPHY V.Krishnakumar received his B.E degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from IFET Engineering College, Villupuram, India, in 2007, and pursuing M.tech degree in Pondicherry Engineering college, Pondicherry, India. Dr.S.Jeevananthan received his B.E. degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from MEPCO SCHLENK Engineering College, Sivakasi, India, in 1998, and the M.E. degree from PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore, India, in 2000. He completed his Ph.D. degree from Pondicherry University in 2007. Since 2001, he has been with the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Pondicherry Engineering College, Pondicherry, India, where he is an Assistant professor. He has authored more than 50 papers published in international and national conference proceedings and professional journals. His area of interest includes PWM theory, power converters and control, EMI in power converters and drives. Dr.S.Jeevananthan regularly reviews papers for all major IEEE Transactions in his area and AMSE periodicals (France). He is a member of the professional societies, IE (India), MISTE., SEMCE., and SSI.

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