BLDC MOTOR

A brushless DC motor consists of a rotor in form of a permanent magnet and stator

in form of polyphase armature windings. It differs from conventional dc motor in
such that it doesn’t contains brushes and the commutation is done using
electrically, using a electronic drive to feed the stator windings.

Basically a BLDC motor can be constructed in two ways- by placing the rotor
outside the core and the windings in the core and another by placing the windings
outside the core. In the former arrangement, the rotor magnets act as a insulator
and reduce the rate of heat dissipation from the motor and operates at low current.
It is typically used in fans. In the latter arrangement, the motor dissipates more
heat, thus causing an increase in its torque. It is used in hard disk drives.

4 Pole 2 Phase Motor

Operation
The brushless DC motor is driven by an electronic drive which switches the supply
voltage between the stator windings as the rotor turns. The rotor position is
monitored by the transducer (optical or magnetic) which supplies information to
the electronic controller and based on this position, the stator winding to be
energized is determined.  This electronic drive consists of transistors (2 for each
phase) which are operated via a microprocessor.

The magnetic field generated by the permanent magnets interacts with the field
induced by the current in the stator windings, creating a mechanical torque. The
electronic switching circuit or the drive switches the supply current to the stator so
as to maintain a constant angle 0 to 90 degrees between the interacting fields.  Hall
Sensors are mostly mounted on the stator or on the rotor. When the rotor passes
through the hall sensor, based on the North or South Pole, it generates a high or
low signal. Based on the combination of these signals, the winding to be energized
is defined. In order to keep the motor running, the magnetic field produced by the
windings should shift position, as the rotor moves to catch up with the stator field.

In a 4 pole, 2 phase brushless dc motor, a single hall sensor is used, which is

embedded on the stator. As the rotor rotates, the hall sensor senses the position and
develops a high or low signal, depending on the pole of the magnet (North or
South). The hall sensor is connected via a resistor to the transistors. When a high
voltage signal occurs at the output of the sensor, the transistor connected to coil A
starts conducting, providing the path for the current to flow and thus energizing
coil A. The capacitor starts charging to the full supply voltage. When the hall
sensor detects a change in polarity of the rotor, it develops a low voltage signal at
its output and since the transistor 1 doesn’t get any supply, it is in cutoff condition.
The voltage developed around the capacitor is Vcc, which is the supply voltage to
the 2nd transistor and coil B is now energized, as current passes through it.
BLDC motors have fixed permanent magnets, which rotate and a fixed armature,
eliminating the problems of connecting current to the moving armature. And
possibly more poles on the rotor than the stator or reluctance motors. The latter
may be without permanent magnets, just poles that are induced on the rotor then
pulled into arrangement by timed stator windings. An electronic controller replaces
the brush/commutator assembly of the brushed DC motor, which continually
switches the phase to the windings to keep the motor turning. The controller
performs comparative timed power distribution by using a solid-state circuit

instead of the brush/commutator system.

Advantages of Brushless DC Motors

 Better speed versus torque characteristics
 High dynamic response
 High efficiency
 Long operating life due to a lack of electrical and friction losses
 Noiseless operation
 Higher speed ranges
Applications:

The cost of the Brushless DC Motor has declined since its presentation, because of
progressions in materials and design. This decrease in cost, coupled with the
numerous focal points it has over the Brush DC Motor, makes the Brushless DC
Motor a popular component in numerous distinctive applications. Applications that
use the BLDC Motor include, yet are not constrained to:

 Consumer electronics
 Transport
 Heating and ventilation
 Industrial engineering
 Model engineering


Principle of Working

The principles for the working of a BLDC motors are the same as for a brushed
DC motor, i.e., the internal shaft position feedback. In case of a brushed DC motor,
feedback is implemented using a mechanical commutator and brushes. Within
BLDC motor, it is achieved using multiple feedback sensors. In BLDC motors we
mostly use Hall-effect sensor, whenever rotor magnetic poles pass near the hall
sensor, they generate a HIGH or LOW level signal, which can be used to
determine the position of the shaft. If the direction of the magnetic field is
reversed, the voltage developed will reverse too.
Controlling a BLDC Motor

Control unit is implemented by microelectronic has several high-tech choices. This

may be implemented using a micro-controller, a dedicated micro-controller, a
hard-wired microelectronic unit, a PLC or similar other unit.

Analog controller are still using, but the can not process feedback messages and
control accordingly. With this type of control circuits it is possible to implements
high performance control algorithms, such as vector control, field oriented control,
high speed control all of which are related to electromagnetic state of the motor.
Furthermore outer loop control for various dynamics requirements such as sliding
motor controls, adaptive control, predictive control…etc are also implemented
conventionally.

Beside all these, we find high performance PIC (Power Integrated Circuit), ASIC
(Application Specific Integrated Circuits) …etc. that can greatly simplify the
construction of the control and the power electronic unit both. For example, today
we have complete PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) regulator in a single IC that
can be replace the entire control unit in some systems. Compound driver IC can
provide the complete solution of driving all six power switches in a three phase
converter. There are numerous similar integrated circuits with more and more
adding day by day. At the end of the day, system assembly will possibly involve
only a piece of control software with all hardware coming the right shape and
form.

PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) wave can be used to control the speed of the
motor. Here the average voltage given or the average current flowing through the
motor will change depending on the ON and OFF time of the pulses controlling the
speed of the motor i.e. The duty cycle of the wave controls its speed. On changing
the duty cycle (ON time), we can change the speed. By interchanging output ports,
it will effectively change direction of the motor.

Speed Control

Speed control of BLDC motor is essential for making the motor work at desired
rate. Speed of a brushless dc motor can be controlled by controlling the input dc
voltage. The higher the voltage, more is the speed. When motor works in normal
mode or runs below rated speed, input voltage of armature is changed through
PWM model. When motor is operated above rated speed, the flux is weakened by
means of advancing the exiting current.
The speed control can be closed loop or open loop speed control.

Open Loop Speed Control – It involves simply controlling the dc voltage applied
to motor terminals by chopping the dc voltage. However this results in some form
of current limiting.

Closed Loop Speed control – It involves controlling the input supply voltage
through the speed feedback from the motor. Thus the supply voltage is controlled
depending on the error signal.
The closed loop speed control consists of three basic components.

1. A PWM circuit to generate the required pwm pulses. It can be either a

microcontroller or a timer IC.
2. A sensing device to sense the actual motor speed. It can be a hall effect
sensor, a infrared sensor or a optical encoder.
3. A motor drive to control the motor operation.
This technique of changing the supply voltage based on the error signal can be
either through pid controlling technique or using fuzzy logic.

The motor operation is controlled using a optocoupler and MOSFET arrangement,

where input DC power is controlled through pwm technique from microcontroller.
As the motor rotates, the infrared led present at its shaft gets illuminated with white
light due to presence of white spot on its shaft and reflects the infrared light. The
photodiode receives this infrared light and undergoes change in its resistance, thus
causing a change in supply voltage to the connected transistor and a pulse is given
to the microcontroller to generate the number of rotations per minute. This speed is
displayed on the LCD.

The required speed is entered in the keypad interfaced to the Microcontroller .The
difference between the sensed speed and the desired speed is the error signal and
the microcontroller generates the pwm signal as per the error signal, based on the
fuzzy logic to give the dc power input to the motor.

Thus using closed loop control, the speed of the brushless dc motor can be
controlled and it can be made to rotate at any desired speed.

What is a Brushless Motor?

A brushless DC motor (also known as a BLDC motor or BL motor) is an
electronically commuted DC motor which does not have brushes. The controller
provides pulses of current to the motor windings which control the speed and
torque of the synchronous motor.
These types of motors are highly efficient in producing a large amount of torque
over a vast speed range. In brushless motors, permanent magnets rotate around a
fixed armature and overcome the problem of connecting current to the armature.
Commutation with electronics has a large scope of capabilities and flexibility.
They are known for smooth operation and holding torque when stationary.

Before explaining the working of a brushless DC motor, it is better to understand

the function of a brushed motor. In brushes motors, there are permanent magnets
on the outside and a spinning armature which contains electromagnet is inside.
These electromagnets create a magnetic field in the armature when the power is
switched on and help to rotate the armature.
The brushes change the polarity of the pole to keep the rotation on of the armature.
The basic working principle for the brushed DC motor and for brushless DC motor
are same i.e. internal shaft position feedback.
Brushless DC motor has only two basic parts: rotor and the stator. The rotor is the
rotating part and has rotor magnets whereas stator is the stationary part and
contains stator windings. In BLDC permanent magnets are attached in the rotor
and move the electromagnets to the stator. The high power transistors are used to
activate electromagnets for the shaft turns. The controller performs power
distribution by using a solid-state circuit.

Types of Brushless DC Motors

Basically, BLDC are of two types, one is outer rotor motor and other is inner
rotor motor. The basic difference between the two is only in designing, their
working principles are same.
Inner Rotor Design
In an inner rotor design, the rotor is located in the centre of the motor and the stator
winding surround the rotor. As the rotor is located in the core, rotor magnets do not
insulate heat inside and heat get dissipated easily. Due to this reason, inner rotor
designed motor produces a large amount of torque and validly used.

Outer Rotor Design

In outer rotor design, the rotor surrounds the winding which is located in the core
of the motor. The magnets in the rotor trap the heat of the motor inside and do not
allow to dissipate from the motor. Such type of designed motor operates at lower
rated current and has low cogging torque.
dvantages of Brushless DC Motor
The advantages of a BLDC motor are:

1. Brushless motors are more efficient as its velocity is determined by the

frequency at which current is supplied, not the voltage.
2. As brushes are absent, the mechanical energy loss due to friction is less
which enhanced efficiency.
3. BLDC motor can operate at high-speed under any condition.
4. There is no sparking and much less noise during operation.
5. More electromagnets could be used on the stator for more precise control.
6. BLDC motors accelerate and decelerate easily as they are having low rotor
inertia.
7. It is high performance motor that provides large torque per cubic inch over a
vast sped rang.
8. BLDC motors do not have brushes which make it more reliable, high life
expectancies, and maintenance free operation.
9. There is no ionizing sparks from the commutator, and electromagnetic
interference is also get reduced.
10.Such motors cooled by conduction and no air flow are required for inside
cooling.
Disadvantages of Brushless DC Motors
The disadvantages of a BLDC motor are:

1. BLDC motor cost more than a brushed DC motor.

2. The limited high power could be supplied to BLDC motor, otherwise, too
much heat weakens the magnets and the insulation of winding may get
damaged.