125

CHAPTER 6

CURRENT REGULATED PWM SCHEME BASED FOUR-

SWITCH THREE-PHASE BRUSHLESS DC MOTOR DRIVE

6.1 INTRODUCTION

Permanent magnet motors with trapezoidal back EMF and

sinusoidal back EMF have several advantages over other motor types
(Hanselman et al 1994). 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 (Miller 1989). The permanent magnet brushless dc
(PMBLDC) motor is gaining popularity being used in computer, aerospace,
military, automotive, industrial and household products because of its high
torque, compactness, and high efficiency (Pillay et al 1989).

A conventional BLDC motor drive is generally implemented via a

six-switch, three-phase inverter and three Hall-effect position sensors that
provide six commutation points for each electrical cycle (Krishnan 1985).
Cost minimization is the key factor in an especially fractional horse-power
BLDC motor drive for home applications. Cost reduction of BLDC motor
drive is accomplished by two approaches: the topological approach and the
control approach. In topology approach, minimum number of switches and
eliminating the mechanical sensors are the options while the control approach
has choices in terms of complexity in control (Dhaouadi et al 1991), nature of
the control, implementation platform etc. In the control approach, using high
performance processors, algorithms are designed and implemented in
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conjunction with a reduced component inverter to produce the desired torque

characteristics (Krishnan et al 2001). Therefore, effective algorithms should
be designed for the desired performance.

Recently, a four-switch, three-phase inverter (FSTPI) topology has

been developed and used for a three-phase BLDC motor drive (De Rossiter
Correa et al 2006). Reduction in the number of power switches, dc power
supplies, switching driver circuits, losses and total price are the main features
of this topology (Lee et al 2003). It results in the possibility of the four-switch
configuration instead of the six switches. Compared with the four-switch
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
modified control scheme should be developed. A complete model of the
PMBLDC motor drive with its performance in closed loop has been presented
(Varatharaju et al 2011). The discussions have been a readable text on the
operation, modeling, and control of BLDC motor for graduate students
studying electric drives and control as well as practicing engineers in
industries.

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 abc frames. As a result, the current
control such as block becomes much more complicated. Moreover, in order to
 127

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.

The fundamental operation of FSTP inverter fed BLDC motor drive

has been analyzed by simulation. The developed the nonlinear simulation
model of the BLDC motors drive system is used for proportional-integral (PI)
control. The simulated results in terms of electromagnetic torque and rotor
speed are given.

6.2 DESCRIPTION OF PMBLDCM DRIVE

Figure 6.1 describes the basic building blocks of the PMBLDC

motor 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 (VSI). The 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
(Qiang Han et al 2007).
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Zref Ze
Reference
I*a Ia
*
Speed T Current PWM
controller Generator * Current Ib
Limiter Ib Controller

Zr
Tr

Four switch
Position Vdc Three Phase
VSI

Actual PM
Speed Sensors BLDC
Motor

Figure 6.1 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:

Ze (n) Zr (n) * Zr (n) (6.1)

The new value of torque reference is given by

T(n) T(n  1)  K P Ze (n)  Ze (n  1)  K1Ze (n) (6.2)

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.
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6.2.1 Reference Current Generator

Unlike a brushed DC motor, the commutation of a BLDC motor is

controlled electronically (Sebastian 1989). 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 (Rubai

et al 1992). The magnitude of the reference current (I) is determined by

T*
using reference torque (T) and the back emf constant (Kb); I* .
Kb

Depending on the rotor position, the 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 Figure 6.2 and Table 6.1 (Luk et al 1994).

Table 6.1.Rotor position signal Vs reference current

Reference Currents
Rotor Position Signal r
(ia, ib, ic)
330-0 to 0-30 0 I I
30 - 90 I I 0
90 -150 I 0 I
150 - 210 0 I I
210 - 270 I I 0
270 - 330 I 0 I
 130

Figure 6.2 Back EMF, current profile, modes, conducting switches in the
four-switch converter for three-phase BLDC motor drives

Figure 6.3 shows the FSTP BLDC drive with current regulation.
The PMBLDC motor is modeled in the 3-phase abc frame. The general volt-
ampere equation for the circuit is shown in the Figure.6.4. Terminal voltages
of a BLDC motor in the four-switch inverter with respect to the mid-point of
the dc bus are as follows:

Ri a  L  ea  Vno
dia
Vao (6.3)
dt

Ri b  L  e b  Vno
di b
Vbo (6.4)
dt

Ri c  L  ec  Vno
di c
Vco (6.5)
dt
 131

Ls  M
S3 ea
S1 R
Vc1 $ $

Ls  M
ia
a ec
c ic R

b Ls  M eb
ib R

Vc 2 S2 S4
$ $

S1 S 2 S3 S4
Current ia ib
Re gulators
i a Ref ib Ref
Ha
I Re f Current Re ference Generator Hb
Hc

Figure 6.3 Four-switch converter topology for three-phase BLDC motor

Figure 6.4 Inverter circuit with PMBLDCM drive

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6.3 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 Figure
6.2. From the detailed investigation of the four-switch configuration and
back-EMF and current profiles, it could be concluded that the existing PWM
method for B6 inverter can not perform with FSTP inverter. Under a balanced
condition, the three-phase currents always satisfy the following condition:

Ia  I b  Ic 0 (6.6)

Then, (6.6) can be modified as

Ic (I a  I b ) (6.7)

In the case of the ac induction motor drive, at any instant there are always
three phase currents flowing through the load, such as

Ia z 0 ; I b z 0 ; Ic z 0 (6.8)

However, in the case of the BLDC motor drive, (6.8) is not valid anymore.
Note that in Figure 6.2 phase A and B currents are only controllable and
phase C is uncontrollable. The modes of operation FSTP inverter is depicted
in Figure 6.5. Table 6.2 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. Therefore, based on Table 6.2, one can develop
a switching sequence using four switches.
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S1 S3 S1 S3
a a
c c
b b

S2 S4 S2 S4

(a) (b)

S1 S3 S1 S3
a a
c c
b b

S2 S4 S2 S4

(c) (d)

S1 S3 S1 S3
a a
c c
b b

S2 S4 S2 S4

(e) (f)

Figure 6.5 Switching modes of FSTP Inverter with direct controlled

PWM
(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).
 134

Table 6.2 Switching Sequence of Four switch BLDC motor

Modes Active Phases Silent Phases Switching Devices

Mode 1 Phase B and C Phase A S4
Mode 2 Phase A and B Phase C S1 and S4
Mode 3 Phase A and C Phase B S1
Mode 4 Phase B and C Phase A S3
Mode 5 Phase A and B Phase C S2 and S3
Mode 6 Phase A and C Phase B S2

As shown in Table 6.2, the two-phase currents need to be directly

controlled using the hysteresis current control method by four switches
(Lajoie-Mazen et al 1985). Hence, it is called the direct current controlled
PWM scheme.

6.3.1 Current Regulation

Based on the switching sequences in Table 6.2, the current

regulation is actually performed by using hysteresis current control. The
purpose of regulation is to shape quasi-square waveform with acceptable
switching (ripple) band. The detailed waveforms and switching sequences are
described in Figure 6.6. 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.

! 0,  0 and
di a di b
Therefore, mode II is divided into two cases, such as
dt dt
 135

 0, ! 0 . In this mode, as shown in Figure 6.6(b), switches S1and S5

di a di b
dt dt
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.

Upper Limit (UL)

Reference
Ia

Lower Limit (UL)

Ib

Ic

Mode I Mode II Mode III Mode IV Mode V Mode VI Mode I

S4 D 3 S1 D 2 S1 D 2 S1 D 2 S1 D 2 S3 D 4 S3 D 4 S2 D1 S2 D1 S2 D1 S2 D S D
1 4 3
S4 D 3 S4 D 3 S3 D 4 S3 D 4

Figure 6.6 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 Figure 6.5(c). However, the same principle as used for mode
 136

II is applied to mode III. When Ia increases, S1 is turned on and other case S1

is turned off.

Special attention should be paid to mode II and mode V. In these

modes, phases A and B are conducting the current and phase C is regarded as
being unexcited, so that it is expected that there is no current in the phase C.
However, the back EMF of phase C can cause an additional and unexpected
current, resulting in current distortion in the phases A and B. Therefore, in the
direct current controlled PWM, the back-EMF compensation problem should
be considered. This phenomenon can be explained with the aid of the
simplified equivalent circuit in Figure 6.7. As an example of mode II, in the
ideal case, only one current (phase A or phase B) needs to be sensed and
switching signals of S1 and S4 are identical. In the case of sensing phase A
current, the switching signal of S1 is determined independently and S4
depends on the S1 signal, so that phase A current can be regarded as a
constant current source. However, in this case, phase B current can be
distorted by the phase C current.

On the other hand, if phase B is controlled, phase B current can be

a constant current source, and then the phase A current can be distorted. The
same explanation can be applied to mode V. From the equivalent circuits of
Figure 6.8, one can come up with a solution. If phases A and B are regarded
as independent current sources, the influence of the back-EMF of phase C can
be blocked and cannot act as a current source, so that there is no current in
phase C. It means that in the direct current controlled PWM, phase A and
phase B currents should be sensed and controlled independently and the
switching signals of S1 (S3) and S4 (S2) should be created independently, as
shown in Figure 6.8.
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a a

Phase A Phase A
Vd Winding Vd Winding
 
ec
c x  Vcn 0  x n c x x n

Vd Phase B Vd Phase B
Winding Winding

b b

(a) (b)

Figure 6.7 Simplified equivalent circuits of modes II and V

(a) Ideal case. (b) Actual case when the back EMF causes current in
phase C

I a Re f  S 1 signal

I b Ref  S 4 signal

Ia Current
Ib
Controller

Figure 6.8 PWM strategy for compensating the back-EMF problem

6.4 PROBLEM FORMULATION

Permanent magnet brushless dc motor (PMBLDCM) drives are

continually gaining popularity in motion control applications. This paper
investigates the performance of direct current controlled pulse width
modulation (DCC-PWM) based control of four-switch three-phase (FSTP)
inverter feeding permanent magnet brushless dc (PMBLDC) motor.
 138

A MATLAB/Simulink model for the FSTP fed PMBLDC motor is

developed and tested with direct current controlled PWM method. The
triumph of the DCC-PWM in obtaining desired speed-torque characteristics is
validated with help of simulation results. The DCC-PWM is also
implemented with proportional-integral controller using TMS320LF2407
digital signal processor.

The fundamental operation of FSTP inverter fed BLDC motor drive

has been analyzed by simulation. The developed the nonlinear simulation
model of the BLDC motors drive system is used for proportional-integral (PI)
control. The simulated results in terms of electromagnetic torque and rotor
speed are given

6.5 SIMULATION RESULTS

In this work the drive model with PI speed controller is developed

and simulated in order to validate the FSTP inverter control of BLDC motor
model and the designed controller and the complete simulink diagram as
shown in figure appendix A-5. The set of equations representing the model of
the drive system is schematized. For conducting the studies and analysis, this
paper considers a typical industrial BLDC motor (Arrow Precision Motor Co.,
LTD) with importance specifications: Power =180, 300rpm, 8 poles.

Figure 6.9 represents the back EMF resulted in the simulation and
Figure 6.10 shows the sectors of FSTP inverter while feeding BLDC motor.
The phase currents are illustrated in Figure 6.11. Figure 6.12 shows the torque
and the speed variations in starting for the reference speed of 150RPS and
load on 6 N-m. The motor speed quickly converges to the reference during the
startup.
 139

Figure 6.9 Back EMF

Figure 6.10 Sector Representation of FSTP inverter fed BLDC motor

 140

Figure 6.11 Stator phase currents.

Figure 6.12 Torque and speed responses during startup transients

 141

6.6 HARDWARE IMPLEMENTATION

Based on the statute presented in the previous sections it is possible

to derive an algorithm that can control the BLDC drive better. This algorithm
is adequate for compensating the back EMF and current distortions. The
direct control PWM is implemented in DSP processor TMS320LF2407A. The
Texas instruments TMS320LF2407 DSP [103] controller (referred to as
LF2407) is a programmable digital controller with a C2XX DSP central
processing unit (CPU) as the core processor. The LF2407 contains the DSP
core processor and useful peripherals integrated onto a single piece of silicon.
It combines the powerful CPU with an on-chip memory and peripherals
(Bhim singh et al 2002). The complete setup is shown in Figure.6.14.
Figure.6.15 shows the representative phase current waveform. The
effectiveness of the designed PI controller is validated for the step change in
dc link voltage and presented in Figure 6.16 and Figure 6.17.

Figure 6.13 Hardware setup

 142

Figure 6.14 Hardware schematic of the sensor-controlled, four-switch

BLDC Motor drive based on TMS320LF2407A DSP

Figure 6.15 Representative Phase Current

 143

Figure 6.16 Speed response for step increase dc-link voltage

Figure 6.17 Speed response for step decrease in dc-link voltage

 144

For Step change reference speed the drive takes negligible steady
state error and settling time of 0.01s without any overshoot. The hardware
results are very marginal to simulation result which is much lesser, and then
the difference occurred during multiple observations in digital storage
oscilloscope

6.7 SUMMARY

This chapter presents a method to generate PWM signals for control of four-
switch three-phase inverters. 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 system is realized in
TMS320LF2407 DSP platform. The main advantages are increased system
reliability and cost reduction of the overall system. 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. In comparison with the usual three-phase voltage-source
inverter with six switches, the main features of this converter are twofold: the
first is the reduction of switches and freewheeling diode count; the second is
the reduction of conduction losses. For a step change the reference speed the
drive takes negligible settling time of 0.01s without any overshoot.