BRUSHLESS DC MOTOR

BLDC Motor

Introduction - BLDC motor

BLDC motors are a type of Synchronous Motor.

This means 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. Out of these, 3-phase motors are the most
popular and widely used.

Introduction - BLDC motor

Conventional

DC motors - highly efficient - Only drawback commutator and brushes - subjected to wear and tear require maintenance.
Brushless DC motors - When the functions of commutator
and brushes implemented by means of solid state switches maintenance free motors realized.

Difference between Mechanical and

Electronic commutator

Mechanical commutator
When a commutator segment comes in contact with the brush,
current flows through the section of the winding connected to
the DC supply through commutator and brushes.
Commutator serves the purpose of switching current from one
section of the armature winding to the other at correct instant.

Electronic commutator
In BLDC Motor, PM field rotating, stationary armature
supplied by an inverter controlled by shaft position
sensing signals.
Static inverter Solid state switches does the function of
Commutator - Electronic commutator.
This facilitates operation of a BLDC motor as a versatile
variable speed DC motor having no mechanical
commutator and brushes.
Maintenance free motor - BLDC motor.

Difference between BLDC & PMSM

Construction identical to that of a synchronous motor with a

permanent magnet rotor.
But the difference between a PMSM and a BLDC motor
manner in which phase windings excited.
In PMSM - the phase windings excited by 3 phase supply of
line frequency - permanent magnet will follow stator rotating
field.
In BLDC motor - stator windings switched with DC current
or voltage - through a 3 phase inverter - Electronic
commutation.

Advantages of BLDC motor

(over Brushed DC motors and Induction motors)
High dynamic response
High efficiency and reliability
Long operating life absence of brushes & no sparking
Noiseless operation
Higher speed ranges
Better speed versus torque characteristics
High ratio of torque delivered to the size
Better power factor

Disadvantages of BLDC motor

Need for rotor position sensing
Increased complexity in electronic controller
Increased cost

Applications of BLDC motor

Finds application in every segment of the market such as:
Automotive
Aerospace
Consumer
Equipment & Instrumentation
Home Appliances
Industrial automation
Medical equipments

Applications of BLDC motor (contd.)

We can classify the BLDC motor control into 3 major types:
(i) Applications With Constant Loads

These are the types of applications where a variable speed is

more important than keeping the accuracy of the speed at a
set speed. In these types of applications, the load is directly
coupled to the motor shaft. For example, fans, pumps and
blowers come under this. These applications demand lowcost controllers, mostly operating in open-loop.

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Applications of BLDC motor (contd.)

(ii) Applications With Varying Loads

These are the types of applications where the load on the
motor varies over a speed range. These applications may
demand a high-speed control accuracy and good dynamic
responses. In home appliances - washers, dryers and
compressors, in automotive - fuel pump control, electronic
steering control, engine control and electric vehicle control, in
aerospace - centrifuges, pumps, robotic arm controls,
gyroscope controls and so on. These applications may use
speed feedback devices and may run in semi-closed loop or in
total closed loop. These applications use advanced control
algorithms and this increases the price of the complete
system.

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Applications of BLDC motor (contd.)

(iii) Positioning Applications

Most of the industrial and automation types of applications
come under this category. In these applications, the dynamic
response of speed and torque are important. Also, they may
need frequent reversal of rotation. The load on the motor may
vary, causing the controller to be complex. These systems
mostly operate in closed loop. There could be three control
loops functioning simultaneously: Torque Control, Speed
Control and Position Control Loop.
Optical encoder or synchronous resolvers are used for
measuring the actual speed of the motor.

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Construction of BLDC motor

Stator

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The stator consists of stacked steel laminations with windings

placed in the slots that are axially cut along the inner
periphery similar to that of an induction motor; however, the
windings are distributed in a different manner - trapezoidal
stator windings
Windings connected in star
Sequentially switched with DC current or voltage through a 3
phase inverter
Inverter switching pattern and frequency controlled by the
rotor position and speed
Back EMF trapezoidal in nature

Construction of BLDC motor (contd.)

Rotor

The rotor consists of a shaft and a hub with PM to form two to

eight pole pairs. Based on the required magnetic field density
in the rotor, the proper magnetic material is chosen to make
the rotor.
Ferrite magnets & rare earth alloy magnets are commonly
used. 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. Also, these alloy magnets improve the size-to-weight
ratio and give higher torque.
Neodymium (Nd), Samarium Cobalt (SmCo) and the alloy of
Neodymium, Ferrite and Boron (NdFeB) are some examples
of rare earth alloy magnets.

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Construction of BLDC motor (contd.)

Rotor (contd.)

Two types of rotor constructions are possible.

(i) Surface mounted PM rotor - if the permanent magnets
are mounted on the surface of the rotor
(ii) Interior PM magnet rotor - if the magnets are
embedded or placed in the groves or slots on the rotor.

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Construction of BLDC motor (contd.)

Rotor position sensing Using Hall effect sensors

Most BLDC motors have three Hall sensors embedded into

the stator on the non-driving end of the motor.
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 physical position of the Hall sensors, there are
two versions of output. The Hall sensors may be at 60 or 120
phase shift to each other. Based on this phase shift, the motor
manufacturer defines the commutation sequence, which
should be followed when controlling the motor.

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Principle of operation

The stator windings are fed from a three phase inverter. When
the stator windings are energized, a rotating magnetic field is
created, which will attract the rotor poles. So, for continuous
rotation of rotor, the windings must be energized in a particular
sequence based on the rotor position.
Rotor position is sensed using Hall sensors. Based on the
combination of these three Hall sensor signals, the exact
sequence of commutation can be determined.

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Principle of operation (contd.)

Figure shows an example of Hall
sensor signals with respect to back
EMF and the phase current. Every
60 electrical degrees of rotation,
one of the Hall sensors changes
the state.
In synchronous with every 60
electrical degrees, the phase
current
switching
should
be
updated.

Basic Block diagram Controller + BLDC

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Principle of operation (contd.)

(00-600),

For example, during

IA is
positive, IC is negative and phase B is
unenergized. Also, the hall sensor
output in this interval is 001 (HA HB
HC). Hence the switches Q1 & Q4
will turn ON. For (600 1200), IA is
positive, IB is negative and phase C is
unenergized. The hall sensor output
in this interval is 000. Hence the
switches Q1 & Q2 will turn ON.
Thus, by sensing the Hall sensor
output, the switching sequence (or
commutation) can be determined.

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Table 1
Rotor
position

HA

HB

HC

IA

IB

IC

Switches

00 - 600

Q1 & Q4

600 - 1200

Q1 & Q2

1200

1800

Q5 & Q2

2400

Q5 & Q0

2400 - 3000

Q3 & Q0

3000

Q3 & Q4

1800

3600

Table 1: Shows the switching

sequence that should be
followed with respect to the Hall
sensors for clockwise (CW)
rotation.

Principle of operation (contd.)

Table 1
Rotor
position

HA

HB

HC

IA

IB

IC

Switche
s

00 - 600

Q1 & Q4

1200

Q1 & Q2

1200 - 1800

Q5 & Q2

1800 - 2400

Q5 & Q0

2400

3000

Q3 & Q0

3000 - 3600

Q3 & Q4

600

Figure on left shows the

winding energizing sequence
with respect to the Hall sensors
for clockwise (CW) rotation.

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Principle of operation (contd.)

Table 2

Table 2 shows the switching

sequence that should be followed
with respect to the Hall sensors for
counter clockwise (CCW) rotation.

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Rotor
position

HA

HB

HC

IA

IB

IC

Switche
s

00 - 600

Q5 & Q2

1200

Q1 & Q2

1200 - 1800

Q1 & Q4

1800 - 2400

Q3 & Q4

2400

3000

Q3 & Q0

3000 - 3600

Q5 & Q0

600

Basic configuration of BLDC Motor drive

Figure shows a block diagram
of the controller used to
control a BLDC motor.

Q0 to Q5 are the power switches controlled by the PIC microcontroller.

Based on the motor voltage and current ratings, these switches can be
MOSFETs, or IGBTs, or simple bipolar transistors.
If the signals marked by PWMx are switched ON or OFF according to
the sequence, the motor will run at the rated speed.
To vary the speed, these signals should be Pulse Width Modulated
(PWM) at a much higher frequency than the motor frequency.
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Controller circuit BLDC Drive

Rotor position sensed by a position sensor.

Decoded by combinational logic to provide firing angles for the
three phases.
Commutation logic or rotor position decoder has six outputs
which control upper and lower phase leg transistors.

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Drive and Power circuit

Base drive circuit

Position signal pulses from logic circuit between +5V and 0V
Do not have enough power content in them to turn the
transistor ON and OFF
Need of base driver circuit
Power content in the pulse needed to be enhanced
Isolation of controller circuit from the power circuitoptoisolator
Power circuit
Three phase bridge inverter
Feedback diodes across each switch
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Torque-Speed Characteristics

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Torque Vs Speed characteristics - BLDC

Peak Torque (TP) or

Stall torque
Maximum torque that
motor can deliver for a
short duration of time.

Rated Torque (TR)

Torque available on the
shaft for the given speed
range.

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Torque Vs Speed characteristics BLDC (contd.)

Characteristics can be divided into:
(i) Continuous Torque Zone

Torque remains constant (TR)

for a speed up to
rated
speed.
Motor can be run up 150% of
the rated speed (maximum)
but, torque starts drooping.

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Torque Vs Speed characteristics BLDC (contd.)

(ii) Intermittent Torque Zone
Applications that need frequent starts &
stops and frequent reversals of rotation
with load on the motor demand, more
torque than the rated torque.
eg: when the motor starts from standstill
and during acceleration.
ie. extra torque required to overcome the
inertia of the load and rotor itself.
Motor
can deliver higher torque,
maximum up to peak torque (TP).

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