MATEC Web of Conferences 329, 03070 (2020) https://doi.org/10.

1051/matecconf/202032903070
ICMTMTE 2020

Non-linear discrete model of BLDC motor for

studying the range of permissible values of the
voltage vector in the state space
Sergei Trefilov*
Department of Mechatronic Systems, Kalashnikov Izhevsk State Technical University, 426069,
Studencheskaya str, 7, Izhevsk, Russia

Abstract. A nonlinear discrete model of a brushless direct current (BLDC)

motor in a rotating coordinate system with vector control was developed.
The synthesis of optimal control in the state space was performed using the
Riccati equation. For practical problems of BLDC motor control, the
maximum values of voltages and currents are found while maintaining the
identifiability of the BLDC motor model. The study of the range of
admissible values of the voltage vector in the state space for the obtained
nonlinear discrete model of the BLDC motor is carried out.

1 Introduction
There are known criteria of controllability, observability and identifiability, which are
considered in the classical works [1–9]. On the control of robot drives, articles and
monographs have been published [10–15], in which frequency and vector control based on
continuous and discrete drive models are considered. In this article, a nonlinear discrete
model of a BLDC motor is developed with optimal control, taking into account the
restrictions on the maximum values of current and voltage.
When developing the BLDC motor simulation program, a linear-quadratic controller was
used, one of the types of optimal controllers that uses a quadratic quality functional. When
synthesizing control systems that are optimal according to the quadratic quality criterion, the
matrix algebraic Riccati equation is solved.

2 Development of a mathematical model of BLDC motor

The BLDC motor model is needed to identify the drive in real time for various desired angular
displacements, speeds and accelerations in the state space under vector control and to
calculate the maximum values of electric current and voltage under dynamic operating
conditions.
The BLDC motor model in the state space is presented in the following form:

* Corresponding author: [email protected]

© The Authors, published by EDP Sciences. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons
Attribution License 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
MATEC Web of Conferences 329, 03070 (2020) https://doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/202032903070
ICMTMTE 2020

x = Ax + Bu , (1)

where x  is the time derivative of the state vector of the BLDC motor;
A is a matrix of the state of the BLDC motor;
x is a vector of state of the BLDC motor;
B is a matrix of control BLDC motor;
u is the control vector of the BLDC motor.
In general, when at least one of matrices A, B are time-dependent, the problem is
nonlinear and has only particular solutions. To find the equation of state, we represent
equations (1) in discrete form, with the sampling time T tending to zero, and the trajectory at
each discrete section is linear.
Let us write down the solution for the nonlinear problem in discrete form, when the
matrices Аk, Вk are constant at time moments k, k = 0,1,2,3, ...
x k +1 − x k
= Ak xk + Bk uk ,
T (2)
or
~ ~
xk +1 = A k xk + Bk u k , (3)
where
̃ 𝑘𝑘 = 𝑇𝑇𝐀𝐀 + 𝐄𝐄,
𝐀𝐀
̃ 𝑘𝑘 = 𝑇𝑇𝐁𝐁𝑘𝑘 .
𝐁𝐁
This equation connects the transition of the system from the state xk to the state xk+1. On
the time interval T, we take the values of matrices Ak, Bk constant. For convenience, we will
remove the “wavy line” sign in subsequent entries.
The optimal solution for (3) will be in [2,3]:
𝒖𝒖𝒌𝒌 = −𝑮𝑮−𝟏𝟏 𝑻𝑻
𝒌𝒌 𝑩𝑩𝒌𝒌 𝑲𝑲𝒌𝒌 𝒙𝒙𝒌𝒌 (4)
where Kk is the Cauchy matrix, which can be found by solving the Riccati equation [2,3]:
−𝑲𝑲̇ = 𝑸𝑸 + 𝑨𝑨𝑻𝑻 𝑲𝑲 + 𝑲𝑲𝑻𝑻 𝑨𝑨 − 𝑲𝑲𝑻𝑻 𝑩𝑩𝑮𝑮−𝟏𝟏 𝑩𝑩𝑻𝑻 𝑲𝑲, (5)
where Q and G are positive arbitrarily defined matrices. The matrices Q and G are chosen
positive definite, since affect only the scale of the solution. We will select these matrices by
selection or simulation [2,3].
The quality criterion that minimizes the energy of control and displacement, in this case,
is a quadratic form:
𝟏𝟏 𝒕𝒕
𝑰𝑰 = ∫𝒕𝒕 𝒇𝒇 (𝒙𝒙𝑻𝑻 𝑸𝑸𝑸𝑸 + 𝒖𝒖𝑻𝑻 𝑮𝑮𝑮𝑮) 𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅, 𝑸𝑸 ≥ 𝟎𝟎, 𝑮𝑮 > 𝟎𝟎, (6)
𝟐𝟐 𝟎𝟎

A model of the BLDC motor based on differential equations has been developed. The
electrical part of the BLDC motor model is described by a system of equations associated
with the rotor:
𝒅𝒅 𝑹𝑹 𝑳𝑳𝒒𝒒 𝟏𝟏
𝒊𝒊 =− 𝒊𝒊 + 𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒊𝒊𝒒𝒒 + 𝑼𝑼𝒅𝒅 (7)
𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅 𝒅𝒅 𝑳𝑳𝒅𝒅 𝒅𝒅 𝑳𝑳𝒅𝒅 𝑳𝑳𝒅𝒅

𝒅𝒅 𝑹𝑹 𝑳𝑳𝒅𝒅 𝝍𝝍 𝟏𝟏
𝒊𝒊 =− 𝒊𝒊 − 𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒅𝒅 − 𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑 + 𝑼𝑼𝒒𝒒 (8)
𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅 𝒒𝒒 𝑳𝑳𝒒𝒒 𝒒𝒒 𝑳𝑳𝒒𝒒 𝑳𝑳𝒒𝒒 𝑳𝑳𝒒𝒒

𝑴𝑴𝒆𝒆 = 𝟑𝟑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒊𝒊𝒒𝒒 /𝟐𝟐 + (𝑳𝑳𝒅𝒅 − 𝑳𝑳𝒒𝒒 )𝒑𝒑𝒊𝒊𝒅𝒅 𝒊𝒊𝒒𝒒 (9)

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MATEC Web of Conferences 329, 03070 (2020) https://doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/202032903070
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where Lq, Ld are stator inductance along the q and d axes;

R is the active resistance of the stator winding;
iq, id are projections of the stator current on the q and d axes;
Uq, Ud are stator voltage projections on the q and d axes;
ω is the angular speed of the rotor;
ψ is the magnetic flux induced by permanent magnets in the stator winding;
p is the number of pole pairs;
Me is the electromagnetic moment of the BLDC motor.
Provided Lq=Ld
𝒅𝒅 𝑹𝑹 𝟏𝟏
𝒊𝒊 =− 𝒊𝒊 + 𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒊𝒊𝒒𝒒 + 𝑼𝑼𝒅𝒅 (10)
𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅 𝒅𝒅 𝑳𝑳𝒅𝒅 𝒅𝒅 𝑳𝑳
𝒅𝒅 𝑹𝑹 𝝍𝝍 𝟏𝟏
𝒊𝒊 = −𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒅𝒅 − 𝒊𝒊 − 𝒑𝒑𝒑𝒑 + 𝑼𝑼𝒒𝒒 (11)
𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅 𝒒𝒒 𝑳𝑳𝒒𝒒 𝒒𝒒 𝑳𝑳 𝑳𝑳

𝑴𝑴𝒆𝒆 = 𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝒊𝒊𝒒𝒒 /𝟐𝟐 (12)

The mechanical part of the BLDC motor model is described by a system of equations:
𝒅𝒅 𝟏𝟏
𝝎𝝎 = (𝑴𝑴𝒆𝒆 − 𝑭𝑭𝑭𝑭 − 𝑴𝑴𝑳𝑳 ) (13)
𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅 𝑱𝑱
𝒅𝒅
𝜽𝜽 = 𝝎𝝎 (14)
𝒅𝒅𝒅𝒅

where ω is the angular speed of the BLDC motor rotor;

J is the total moment of inertia of the rotor and load;
Fis the coefficient of viscous friction of the rotor and the load;
θ is the angle of the BLDC motor rotor position;
Me is the electromagnetic moment of the BLDC motor;
ML is the moment of the load.
An analog and discrete model of a BLDC motor has been developed, where a variable
load torque is present in the state matrix:

 R 
− p 0 0 1 
id   L id   L 0
   R Km   
i − p − − 0 iq  0 1 ud 
x =  q  =  L L    + 
 u 
 
Km F ML L  q
   0 − − 0    0 0
   J J J   
 0 0 1 0 0 0 
(15)
 R 
1−T Tp  (k ) 0 0 T 
id (k + 1)  L i (k ) 0
K   d  L
i (k + 1)   − Tp  1 − T R −T m 0 iq (k )   T u d (k )
x(k + 1) =  q = L L   ( k ) + 0  u ( k ) 
 (k + 1)   K F M (k )    L  q 
 (k + 1)   0 T m 1−T −T L 0  (k )   0 0
  J J J (k )   
 0 0 
 0 T 1 0
(16)

where id (k ), iq (k ), (k ), (k ) are the measured value of currents, angular velocity and
displacement;
 (k + 1) is the planned value of the angular speed;
θ(k+1) is the planned value of the angular position of the motor shaft;

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T - sampling interval, time between k+1 and k samples;

R is the active resistance of the stator winding of the BLDC motor;
Lq, Ld are inductance of the BLDC motor stator along the q and d axes;
p is the number of pairs of poles of the BLDC motor;
ψ is the magnetic flux induced by permanent magnets in the stator winding;
F is coefficient of viscous friction in the BLDC motor;
J is moment of inertia;
M(k) is the electromagnetic moment of the BLDC motor;
id (k + 1), iq (k + 1), (k + 1), (k + 1) are projection of the stator current on the d-axis,
projection of the stator current on the q axis, the angular velocity, angular displacement of
the BLDC motor at time k+1;
Uq, Ud are stator voltage projections on the q and d axes.
The electromagnetic moment of the BLDC motor is calculated by the formula
𝝎𝝎(𝒌𝒌+𝟏𝟏)−𝝎𝝎(𝒌𝒌)
𝑴𝑴𝑳𝑳 (𝒌𝒌) = 𝑱𝑱, (17)
𝑻𝑻
𝜽𝜽(𝒌𝒌+𝟏𝟏)−𝜽𝜽(𝒌𝒌)
𝛚𝛚(𝒌𝒌 + 𝟏𝟏) = . (18)
𝑻𝑻

The rotation speed ω(k+1) in (18) denotes the target point on the trajectory, which makes
it possible to calculate the required torque at each control step using formula (17), which we
substitute into the state matrix (16).
The study of the influence on the identifiability of the control model, i.e. compliance of
the control model with the control object by specifying the trajectory errors and state
measurement errors. The criterion for the identifiability of the BLDC motor model is the rank
of the extended matrix, which determines the identifiability in the theoretical sense
𝟐𝟐 𝟑𝟑
𝒎𝒎𝒎𝒎𝒎𝒎𝐝𝐝𝐝𝐝𝐝𝐝 [𝐂𝐂𝒌𝒌𝐓𝐓 ⋮ 𝐀𝐀𝐓𝐓𝒌𝒌 𝐂𝐂𝒌𝒌𝐓𝐓 ⋮ (𝐀𝐀𝐓𝐓𝒌𝒌 ) 𝐂𝐂𝒌𝒌𝐓𝐓 ⋮ (𝐀𝐀𝐓𝐓𝒌𝒌 ) 𝐂𝐂𝒌𝒌𝐓𝐓 ] > 𝛄𝛄, (19)

where CTk is the transported measurement matrix, taking into account the accuracy class of
the sensors;
γ - threshold value of determinants determined by the identification object and close to zero.

3 BLDC motor simulation

The modeling of the BLDC motor was carried out with the parameters indicated in table 1 in
MatLab software.
The vector current regulator is constructed in a rotating coordinate system dq and consists
of controllers d and q projections. With the help of the q-component of the current, in
accordance with the formula (12), the required torque is provided, and the d-component is
maintained equal to zero, which ensures the desired orientation of the current vector. As a
feedback, the regulator uses the real stator current vector measured and converted into the dq
system.
The optimal stator voltage vector is calculated based on the Riccati equation (4). Then,
using coordinate transformations, the stator voltage vector is translated into a fixed
coordinate system associated with the stator, where it is implemented using Pulse-width
modulation (PWM).

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MATEC Web of Conferences 329, 03070 (2020) https://doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/202032903070
ICMTMTE 2020

Table 1. Technical characteristics of JK42BLS01 BLDC motor.

BLDC motor technical characteristics Parameter
value
Weight, kg 0.3
Length, mm 41
Diameter, mm 20
Supply voltage, V 24
Winding resistance, Ohm 19
Winding inductance, H 0.0018
Idling speed, rpm 7400
No-load current, A 0.05
Rated current, A 1.8
Rated moment, N∙m 0.0625
Moment of inertia, kg∙m2 0.0000024
Constant torque coefficient, N/A 0.039
Constant back-EMF coefficient, V/rpm 0.0041
Power, W 26
Rated angular speed, rpm 4000
Number of poles 8
Magnetic flux,Wb 0.001
The dependence of the control energy on the resistance of the motor winding is shown in
the figure 1.

Energy dependence on winding resistance

15,00
Energy, *100

10,00

5,00

0,00
14,00
1,00
2,00
3,00
4,00
5,00
6,00
7,00
8,00
9,00
10,00
11,00
12,00
13,00

15,00
16,00
17,00
18,00
19,00

Resistance R

Fig. 1. Dependence of the control energy on the resistance of the motor winding.
With an increase in the angular velocity, the amplitude of the stator current of the BLDC
motor is limited by the growth of the EMF generated by the rotor. Consequently, with an
increase in the angular velocity, the maximum torque attainable by the engine is also limited.
The maximum possible amplitude of the stator voltage vector is limited by the capabilities
of the power converter provided by the Usmax.
The maximum limiting possible value of the BLDC motor torque depending on the
angular speed [16].
𝟐𝟐
𝐔𝐔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔𝒔 = 𝑰𝑰𝟐𝟐𝒒𝒒 𝝎𝝎𝟐𝟐 𝑳𝑳𝟐𝟐𝒒𝒒 + (𝑬𝑬 + 𝑰𝑰𝒒𝒒 𝑹𝑹𝒔𝒔 )𝟐𝟐 (20)
We transform this record and get a quadratic equation for the stator current.
Solving it with respect to the current Iq, we get the maximum value of Iqmax.
The torque is limited at the level of a certain overload torque, which is selected based on
the required dynamics of the BLDC motor and the permissible current Iq of the power
converter and the motor:

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𝟑𝟑
𝑴𝑴𝒎𝒎𝒎𝒎𝒎𝒎 = 𝒁𝒁𝒑𝒑 𝑰𝑰𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒒𝒒 𝝍𝝍 (21)
𝟐𝟐

The simulation of the optimal discrete control of the BLDC motor with the matrix Ak,
k=0,1,2,...N, with an increase in the torque up to the overload torque within the limits of the
permissible current and possible acceleration is carried out. The simulation result is the
optimal voltage (4). At each stage of enumerating the moment for a fixed angular speed of
rotation of the shaft and for the maximum moment, we obtain the values Uq and Ud, according
to which we calculate the function of the minimum determinants of the extended matrix (16):
𝟐𝟐 𝟑𝟑
𝐟𝐟(𝑼𝑼𝒒𝒒 , 𝑼𝑼𝒅𝒅 |𝑴𝑴, 𝝎𝝎) = 𝐦𝐦𝐦𝐦𝐦𝐦𝐦𝐦𝐦𝐦𝐦𝐦 [𝐂𝐂𝒌𝒌𝐓𝐓 ⋮ 𝐀𝐀𝐓𝐓𝒌𝒌 𝐂𝐂𝒌𝒌𝐓𝐓 ⋮ (𝐀𝐀𝐓𝐓𝒌𝒌 ) 𝐂𝐂𝒌𝒌𝐓𝐓 ⋮ (𝐀𝐀𝐓𝐓𝒌𝒌 ) 𝐂𝐂𝒌𝒌𝐓𝐓 ] (𝑼𝑼𝒒𝒒 , 𝑼𝑼𝒅𝒅 |(±∆𝑴𝑴𝑴𝑴
< |𝑴𝑴𝒎𝒎𝒎𝒎𝒎𝒎 |), ∆𝝎𝝎𝝎𝝎),
𝒌𝒌 = 𝟎𝟎, 𝟏𝟏, 𝟐𝟐, . . ; 𝒏𝒏 = 𝟎𝟎, 𝟏𝟏, 𝟐𝟐, … (22)

4 Conclusion
The article has developed a nonlinear discrete model of the BLDC motor in matrix-vector
form based on optimal control. The state matrix takes into account the torque that must be
provided by the diagnostics. For practical problems of BLDC motor control, the maximum
values of voltages and currents are found while maintaining the identifiability of the BLDC
motor model. The study of the range of admissible values of the stress vector in the state
space for the obtained nonlinear discrete model of the BLDC motor is carried out.

The reported study was funded by RFBR, project number 18-08-00772 A.

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