09/06/2015

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Applications

Overview

FurtherInformation

KeyTechnology

BLDCMotorControlAlgorithms

MotorControl

UniversalMotorControlAlgorithms

ACMotorControlAlgorithms

StepperMotorControlAlgorithms

MotorControlAlgorithms
MotorTypes
RecommendedMCUs&
MPUsforMotors
RecommendedA&PProducts
forMotors
EvaluationBoards/Sample
Code
ApplicationsforMotors
FeatureArticles

BLDCMotorControlAlgorithms
Brushlessmotorsarenotselfcommutating,andhencearemorecomplicatedtocontrol.
BLDCmotorcontrolrequiresknowledgeoftherotorpositionandmechanismtocommutatethemotor.Forclosedloop
speedcontroltherearetwoadditionalrequirements,measurementofthemotorspeedand/ormotorcurrentandPWM
signaltocontrolthemotorspeedandpower.
BLDCmotorscanuseedgealignedorcenteralignedPWMsignalsdependingontheapplicationrequirements.Most
applications,thatonlyrequirevariablespeedoperation,willusesixindependentedgealignedPWMsignals.This
providesthehighestresolution.Iftheapplicationrequiresservopositioning,dynamicbraking,ordynamicreversal,it
isrecommendedthatcomplementarycenteralignedPWMsignalsbeused.
TosensetherotorpositionBLDCmotorsuseHallEffectsensorstoprovideabsolutepositionsensing.Thisresultsin
morewiresandhighercost.SensorlessBLDCcontroleliminatestheneedforHalleffectsensors,usingtheback
EMF(electromotiveforce)ofthemotorinsteadtoestimatetherotorposition.Sensorlesscontrolisessentialforlow
costvariablespeedapplicationssuchasfansandpumps.Refrigeratorandairconditioningcompressorsalsorequire
sensorlesscontrolwhenusingBLDCmotors.

DeadTimeInsertionandCompensation
ManydifferentcontrolalgorithmshavebeenusedtoprovidecontrolofBLDCmotors.Typically,themotorvoltageis
controlledusingapowertransistoroperatingasalinearvoltageregulator.Thisisnotpracticalwhendrivinghigher
powermotors.HighpowermotorsmustusePWMcontrolandrequireamicrocontrollertoprovidestartingandcontrol
functions.
Thecontrolalgorithmmustprovidethreethings:
PWMvoltagetocontrolthemotorspeed
Mechanismtocommutatethemotor
MethodtoestimatetherotorpositionusingthebackEMForHallSensors
Pulsewidthmodulationisusedtoapplyavariablevoltagetothemotorwindings.Theeffectivevoltageisproportional
tothePWMdutycycle.Whenproperlycommutated,thetorquespeedcharacteristicsoftheBLDCmotorareidentical
toadcmotor.Thevariablevoltagecanbeusedtocontrolthespeedofthemotorandtheavailabletorque.
Thecommutationofthepowertransistorsenergizestheappropriatewindingsinthestatortoprovideoptimumtorque
generationdependingontherotorposition.InaBLDCmotor,theMCUmustknowthepositionoftherotorand
commutateattheappropriatetime.

TrapezoidalCommutationofBLDCMotor
OneofthesimplestmethodsofcontrolfordcbrushlessmotorsuseswhatistermedTrapezoidalcommutation.

Figure1:SimplifiedBlockDiagramofTrapezoidalControllerforBLDCMotor
Inthisscheme,currentiscontrolledthroughmotorterminalsonepairatatime,withthethirdmotorterminalalways
electricallydisconnectedfromthesourceofpower.
ThreeHalldevicesembeddedinthemotorareusuallyusedtoprovidedigitalsignalswhichmeasurerotorposition
within60degreesectorsandprovidethisinformationtothemotorcontroller.Becauseatanytime,thecurrentsintwo

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MotorControlAlgorithmsBLDCMotorControlAlgorithms|RenesasElectronics
ofthewindingsareequalinmagnitudeandthethirdiszero,thismethodcanonlyproducecurrentspacevectors
havingoneofsixdifferentdirections.Asthemotorturns,thecurrenttothemotorterminalsiselectricallyswitched
(commutated)every60degreesofrotationsothatthecurrentspacevectorisalwayswithinthenearest30degrees
ofthequadraturedirection.

Figure2:TrapezoidalControl:DriveWaveformsandTorqueatcommutation
Thecurrentwaveformforeachwindingisthereforeastaircasefromzero,topositivecurrent,tozero,andthento
negativecurrent.
Thisproducesacurrentspacevectorthatapproximatessmoothrotationasitstepsamongsixdistinctdirectionsas
therotorturns.
InmotorapplicationssuchasairconditionersandrefrigeratorsuseofHallEffectsensorsisnotaviableoption.Back
EMFsensorsthatsensethebackEMFintheunconnectedwindingcanbeusedtoachievethesameresults
Thetrapezoidalcurrentdrivesystemsarepopularbecauseofthesimplicityoftheircontrolcircuitsbutsufferfroma
torquerippleproblemduringcommutation.

SinusoidalCommutationforBDLCMotors
Trapezoidalcommutationisinadequatetoprovidesmoothandprecisemotorcontrolofbrushlessdcmotors,
particularlyatlowspeeds.Sinusoidalcommutationsolvesthisproblem.Thisisbecausethetorqueproducedina
threephasebrushlessmotor(withasinewavebackEMF)isdefinedbythefollowingequation:

ShaftTorque=Kt[I R Sin(o)+I S Sin(o+120)+I T Sin(o+240)]

where:
oistheelectricalangleoftheshaft,
Ktisthetorqueconstantofthemotorand
I R ,I S andI T arethephasecurrents.
Ifthephasecurrentsaresinusoidal:I R =I 0 SinoI S =I 0 Sin(+120o)I T =I 0 Sin(+240o)
thisreducesto:
ShaftTorque=1.5I 0 *Kt(aconstantindependentoftheshaftangle)

Sinusoidallycommutatedbrushlessmotorcontrollersattempttodrivethethreemotorwindingswiththreecurrents
thatvarysmoothlyandsinusoidallyasthemotorturns.Therelativephasesofthesecurrentsarechosensothatthey
shouldresultinasmoothlyrotatingcurrentspacevectorthatisalwaysinthequadraturedirectionwithrespecttothe
rotorandhasconstantmagnitude.Thiseliminatesthetorquerippleandcommutationspikesassociatedwith
trapezoidalcommutation.
Inordertogeneratesmoothsinusoidalmodulationofthemotorcurrentsasthemotorturns,anaccurate
measurementofrotorpositionisrequired.TheHalldevicesprovideonlyacoarsemeasureofrotorpositionandare
inadequateforthispurpose.Forthisreason,anglefeedbackfromanencoder,orsimilardevice,isrequired.

Figure3:SimplifiedBlockDiagramofSinusoidalControllerforBLDCMotor

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Sincethewindingcurrentsmustcombinetoproduceasmoothlyrotatingcurrentspacevectorofconstantmagnitude,
andbecausethestatorwindingsareoriented120degreesapartfromeachother,currentsineachwindingmustbe
sinusoidalandphaseshiftedby120degrees.Positioninformationfromtheencoderisusedtosynthesizetwo
sinusoids,one120degreesphaseshiftedfromtheother.Thesesignalsarethenmultipliedbythetorquecommandso
thattheamplitudesofthesinewavesareproportionaltodesiredtorque.Theresultistwosinusoidalcurrentcommand
signalsappropriatelyphasedtoproducearotatingstatorcurrentspacevectorinthequadraturedirection.
ThesinusoidalcurrentcommandsignalsareprovidedasinputstoapairofPIcontrollersthatregulatecurrentinthe
twoappropriatemotorwindings.Thecurrentinthethirdmotorwindingisthenegativesumofthecurrentsinthe
controlledwindingsandthereforecannotbeseparatelycontrolled.TheoutputfromeachPIcontrollerisfedtoaPWM
modulatorandthentotheoutputbridgeandtwomotorterminals.Voltageappliedtothethirdmotorterminalisderived
asthenegativesumofthesignalsappliedtothefirsttwowindings,asappropriateforthreesinusoidalvoltageseach
separatedby120degrees.
Totheextentthattheactualoutputcurrentwaveformaccuratelytracksthesinusoidalcurrentcommandsignals,the
resultingcurrentspacevectorissmoothlyrotating,constantinmagnitudeandorientedinthequadratedirectionas
desired.
Sinusoidalcommutationresultsinsmoothnessofcontrolthatisgenerallyunachievablewithtrapezoidalcommutation.
However,whileitisveryeffectiveatlowmotorspeeds,ittendstofallapartathighmotorspeeds.Thisisbecauseas
speedgoesupthecurrentloopcontrollersmusttrackasinusoidalsignalofincreasingfrequency.Atthesametime
theymustovercomethemotorbackEMFthatalsoincreasesinamplitudeandfrequencyasspeedgoesup.
BecausethePIcontrollershavelimitedgainandfrequencyresponse,thetimevariantperturbationstothecurrent
controlloopcausephaselagandgainerrorinthemotorcurrents.Higherspeedsresultinlargererrors.Thisperturbs
thedirectionofthecurrentspacevectorrelativetotherotor,causingittoshiftawayfromthequadraturedirection.
Whenthishappens,lesstorqueisproducedbyagivenamountofcurrentandthereforemorecurrentisrequiredto
maintaintorque.Efficiencydeteriorates.
Thisdegradationcontinuesasspeedincreases.Atsomepointmotorcurrentphaseshiftcrossesthrough90
degrees.Whenthishappenstorqueisreducedtozero.Withsinusoidalcommutation,speedsabovethispointresultin
negativetorqueandarethereforenotachievable.

SuggestedRenesasMCUs
SuggestedRenesasMCUSolutions
Control
Methods

BLDC
Motor
Control

MCURequirements

R8C
Family

Trapezoidal
DriveControl

InputCapture,Interrupt,PWMTimerfor
ThreePhasemotorcontrol

Sinusoidal
DriveControl

InputCapture,Interrupt,PWMTimerfor
ThreePhasemotorcontrol

Simplified
VectorControl

InputCapture,Interrupt,PWMTimerwith
DeadtimeforThreePhasemotorcontrol

Vector
Control(FOC)

HighPerformanceMCUMACHigh
SpeedA/DConverter,InputCapture,
Interrupt,PWMTimerwithDeadtimefor
ThreePhasemotorcontrol

Sensorless
Trapezoidal
DriveControl

InputCapture,HighSpeedA/DConverter,
Interrupt,
PWMTimerforThreePhasemotorcontrol

Sensorless
VectorControl

HighPerformanceMCUMACHigh
SpeedA/DConverter,Interrupt,PWM
TimerwithDeadtimeforThreePhase
motorcontrol

78K0R
Family

RX
Family

V850
Family

SuperH
Family

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