2014 IEEE Students’ Conference on Electrical, Electronics and Computer Science
Speed Control of Brushless DC Motor Using
Fuzzy Based Controllers
Md Mustafa kamal 1 Dr.(Mrs.)Lini Mathew 2 Dr. S. Chatterji 3
M.E Student 1 , Associate Professor2, Professor and Head3
Department of Electrical Engineering, NITTTR, Chandigarh
mustafakamalece@gmail.com
Abstract- The Brushless DC Motor (BLDCM) has
been widely used in industries because of its
properties such as reliability, high efficiency, high
starting torque, less electrical noise and high weight
to torque ratio. For the speed control of BLDCM,
different controllers are used. In this paper, the
performances of BLDCM with conventional
controllers such as PI and PID have been evaluated
and the results have been compared with fuzzy
based controllers (Fuzzy-PI and Fuzzy –PID). When
compared to conventional controllers, fuzzy
controllers provide better speed response but
conventional controllers offer better response with
changing load at the cost of long settling time.
MATLAB/SIMULINK environment is used to carry
out the above investigation.
Keywords - BLDCM, PI, PID, Fuzzy–PI, Fuzzy-PID,
Speed control.
I. INTRODUCTION
Industries use mainly two types of motors: (i) dc motors
where the flux is produced by the current through the
field coil of the stationary pole structure, (ii) permanent
magnet brushless dc motors (PMBLDCM) where the
permanent magnet provides the necessary air gap flux
instead of wire wound field poles. As the brushless DC
motors do not have brushes, the commutation takes
place electronically. BLDCM is actually a permanent
magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) with trapezoidal
back EMF [1].The BLDCM is gaining popularity in
industries in different fields such as appliances,
automotive, aerospace, consumer medical, industrial
and equipment automation because they have certain
advantages over conventional DC motors such as, better
speed and torque characteristics, high dynamic
efficiency, low maintenance, noiseless operation and
high speed range [2].
For the speed control of BLDCM, various types of
controllers are available but most widely used
controllers are conventional PID controllers but due to
non–linearity of BLDCM these controllers face
problems. The non-linearity arises due to armature
current limitation, change in loads and drive inertia [3].
978-1-4799-2526-1/14/$31.00 ©2014 IEEE
Hence to obtain better speed control, the conventional
PID controllers combined with intelligent techniques
such as Fuzzy logic are in widely use. Fuzzy logic
controller deals with problems having uncertainties and
use membership functions with values lying between 0
and 1. Fuzzy controller used rules to optimize the
system performances.
Nowadays, conventional controllers integrate with
different control algorithm to get better control action.
Recently the hybrid controllers are widely in use. The
conventional controller PI mainly eliminate or
minimize the steady state error and cancels the
disturbances arises due to change in load torque, while
fuzzy controllers acts well with large change in
reference input [12].
II. MATHEMATICAL MODELING OF
BLDCM
BLDCM can be modeled in the three phase abc
variables which consist of two parts. One is the
electrical part which calculates the electromagnetic
torque and current of the motor and the other is the
mechanical part, which generates revolution of the
motor [4]. The following assumptions are made to drive
the mathematical model of BLDC motor:
i. Ignore the core saturation, as well as eddy current
losses and hysteresis losses.
ii. Ignore the armature reaction, and the distribution of
air – gap magnetic field is thought to be a
trapezoidal wave with a flat – top width of 120
electrical degrees.
iii. Ignore the cogging effect and suppose the
conductors are distributed continuously and evenly
on the surface of the armature.
iv. Power switches and flywheel diode of the inverter
circuit have ideal switching feature.
BLDC motor can be expressed in the matrix form as:
0 0
= 0 0 + + --- (1)
0 0
 where Va, Vb, and Vc are the phase winding voltages equations (12), (13) and (14) in equation (11) the
and Rs is the resistance per phase of the stator winding, equivalent phase voltage becomes
while ia, ib and ic are the phase currents.
Va0+Vb0+Vc0-3Vno = ea+eb+ec ------ (15)
If there is no change in rotor reluctance with angle
V V V
because of a non-salient rotor, and assuming three Thus Vn0 ----- (16)
symmetric phase, the following can be obtained:
The torque can be expressed as
La=Lb=LC=L ----- (2)
Te = ----- (17)
Lab=Lba=Lbc=Lcb=Lca=Lac=M ----- (3)
Substituting in equation (1), the matrix becomes The mechanical part of the motor can be modelled as
0 0 J +B = (Te-Tl) -------- (18)
= 0 0 + + --- (4)
0 0 where, J is the moment of inertia in kg-m2, B is the
From the equation (4), phase voltage for phase a, Va frictional coefficient in N-mms/rad. Tl is load torque in
can be derived as Nm.
The derivative of electrical rotor position θr is expressed
Va=Rsia+L +M +M +ea ----- (5) as

Va=Rsia+L +M (ib+ic)+ea ---- (6) θ = ω ------ (19)

The stator phase currents are constrained to be balanced where p is the number of poles, ωr is the rotor speed in
rad/sec and θr is the electrical rotor position in
ia+ib+ic=0 ----- (7)
electrical radian [6] [7].
Hence equation (6) can be expressed as
III. SPEED CONTROL OF BLDC MOTOR.
Va=Rsia+(L-M) +ea ---- (8) The performance characteristics of BLDC motor with
conventional controller as well as combination of
The phase voltage of phase b and c, Vb and Vc can be intelligent controllers have been investigated.
written similarly as given below
a) PI Controller
Vb=Rs+(L-M) +eb ---- (9) The proportional plus integral (PI) controllers are
widely used in industry. The output of the PI controller
Vc=Rsic+(L-M) +ec ----- (10) in time domain is defined by the following equation:
u(t)=Kpe(t)+Ki ----- (20)
Adding equations (8), (9) & (10) we get
where Kp is the proportional gain, Ki is the integral gain
Va+Vb+Vc=Rs(ia+ib+ic)+(L-M) (ia+ib+ic)+ea+eb+ec -- (11) and e(t) is the instantaneous error in the signal [8].

As natural voltages are referred to the zero reference b) PID Controller

potential at mid-point of dc –link, which can be A proportional - integral - derivative (PID) controller is
explained as Vn0. So the phase voltages can be a generic control loop feedback mechanism widely used
expressed as: in industrial applications for controlling the system. A
PID controller attempts to correct the error between a
Va=Va0 - Vn0 ---- (12) measured variable and a desired set point by calculating
and then outputting a corrective action that can adjust
Vb=Vb0-Vn0 ----- (13)
the process accordingly. A PID controller is a simple
Vc=Vc0-Vn0 ---- (14) three term controller [10].

where Va0, Vb0 and Vc0 and Vn0 are the output voltages In terms of error, the controller can be represented
from the inverters and the potential of the star point u(t)= + + ---- (21)
referred to the neutral. In order to avoid unbalance in
applied voltage, a balanced three phase star connected where Kd is the derivative gain.
winding is to be considered. By substituting the

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Due to its simplicity and excellent performance in many Gates Decoder
3000 n_ref
applications, PID controllers are used in more than 95% Out1 I_ABC
Reference Gates emf_abc emf_abc Hall
of closed –loop operation in industrial process [12]. speed (rpm) n Stator Current
E_ABC
Fuzzy PID Speed
c) Fuzzy Logic Controller (FLC) Controller Stator Back EMF
In1 H_abc
FLC based on linguistic control strategy uses human HALL Effect Signal
interface to optimize the system performance without error Te

knowing the mathematical model of the system. Fig.1 Gate

A
A Te (N.m)
N K-
shows the basic configuration of FLC. B B Out1
rad2rpm N (rpm)
C Slection Matrix
Three phase inverter C

Knowledge BLDCM
Base

Discrete,
Ts = 5e-06 s.

Fuzzification Inference Defuzzification

Interface System Interface Fig. 2 SIMULINK model of BLDCM equipped with
Fuzzy-PID
State Control
Variables Controlled Variable
System
1
Fig. 1 Basic block diagram of FLC n_ref In1
The BLDC motor has been simulated in the MATLAB/ 2
SIMULINK environment. Fig.2 shows the SIMULINK n -K- kp
model of BLDCM equipped with Fuzzy PID controller. Gain3 Saturation
The motor is fed by a PWM inverter. The inverter gates
Out1 1 1
signals are produced by decoding the Hall effect m ki
Gain5 Out1
signals. The SIMULINK model of the subsystem Fuzzy du/dt -K-
PID speed controller is shown in Fig.3.Various Fuzzy Logic kd
parameter used for simulation shown in TABLE I. Derivative1 Gain4 Saturation1 Controller
TABLE I PARAMETERS USED FOR SIMULATION OF BLDC Fuzzy PID
MOTOR
Voltage 40 V Fig. 3 SIMULINK Model of the Fuzzy – PID
Current 20 A speed controller
Load Torque 6.8 Nm
The Fuzzy Logic Controller has been designed using
Rated Speed 6000 rpm the MATLAB Fuzzy Toolbox and the membership
Self-inductance of the Winding 0.0272 H function editor developed is as shown in Fig.4. In the
Back EMF Constant ke=0.5128V/rad/s present work, Mamdani based fuzzy system has been
used. For controlling the speed of BLDCM, error in
Torque Constant kt=0.49Nm/A
speed and rate of change in speed are taken as the input
Motor Inertia 0.0002kgm2 variables and gains (Kp, Ki and Kd) are taken as the
Winding Resistance per Phase 0.7ohm output variables. Hence in the present work, a fuzzy
system with two inputs and three outputs are simulated
Motor Damping Constant 0.2 N-m/rad/s
[9]. The triangular membership has been used for its
Number of Poles 4 simplicity and great performance [13]. Each universe of
discourse has been divided into seven fuzzy sets such as
Negative Big (NB), Negative Medium (NM), Negative
Small (NS), Zero (ZE), Positive Small (PS), Positive
Medium (PM), Positive Big (PB). A rule base
consisting of forty nine fuzzy rules has been developed
based on the pre-defined membership functions of the
two inputs (e is the error, ce is the change in error) and
the three outputs (Kp, Ki and Kd).

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 PID controller performs better than the conventional
controllers.
3500

3000

2500

S p e e d (r p m )
PI
2000
PID
Fuzzy-PI
1500
Fuzzy-PID

1000

500

0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6
Time(In Seconds)

Fig. 4 Membership function editor for Fuzzy – PID
The fuzzy rules for one output Kp is summarized in the
form of a rule matrix as shown in Table-II. Similar rule
matrices can be formulated for Ki and Kd also. The rule
base has been included in the Fuzzy Interface System
Editor of the present work by means of the Rule Editor.
TABLE-II RULE MATRIX FOR KP
Fig. 5 Speed Characteristics of BLDC motor under
No load with fixed Speed of 3000 rpm
The settling time of fuzzy–PID controller is 0.03 s
which is much less than the other controllers.
Case 2: Under Fixed Load of 3Nm and Fixed Speed
of 3000 rpm.
3500

e/ce NB NM NS ZE PS PM PB 3000

NB NB NB NB NB N NS ZE 2500
M PI
PID
S p e e d (rp m )

NM NB NB NB NM NS ZE PS 2000
Fuzzy-PI
NS NB NB NM NS ZE PS PM 1500
Fuzzy-PID

ZE NB NM NS ZE PS PM PB
PS NM NS ZE PS PM PB PB 1000

PM NS ZE PS PM PB PB PB 500
PB ZE PS PM PB PB PB PB
0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6
Time(In Seconds)
IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION. Fig. 6 Speed Characteristics under fixed load of 3Nm
The gain values Kp, Ki and Kd are obtained by tuning and fixed Speed of 3000 rpm
the controllers using Ziegler –Nicholas and fuzzy It is evident that the fuzzy-PID controller performs
method. The different gain values are listed in Table III. better than the other controller. Settling time of Fuzzy–
TABLE III GAIN VALUES OF DIFFERENT CONTROLLERS PID controller is 0.05 s which much less than
conventional controllers. The speed characteristics
Gain PI PID Fuzzy-PI Fuzzy-PID shown in Fig.6.
Kp .013 10 0.09 45
Ki 16.61 45 30 15 Case3: Under No Load and Changing Speed from
Kd --- 0.2 ---- 0.2 3000 rpm to 2000 rpm in 0.5 s.
3500

The BLDCM has been modeled and simulated with 3000

PI
PID

different controllers. The performance of BLDCM has 2500

Fuzzy-PI
Fuzzy-PID

been evaluated, under different conditions of loading 2000

and speed as described in the cases below:

S pe ed (rp m )

1500

Case 1: Under No Load and Fixed Speed of 3000 1000

rpm. 500

Fig. 5 shows the performance of Fuzzy PID, Fuzzy PI, -500

0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
Time( In Seconds)
0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1

PID and PI controllers under no load condition with

Fig.7 Speed characteristics of BLDC motor with fixed
fixed speed of 3000 rpm. The results show that fuzzy–
Load of 3 Nm and changing speed 3000rpm to
2000rpm

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 It is evident that with the changing speed fuzzy –PI Case5: Under Changing Load from 1Nm to 3 Nm in
controller perform better than the conventional 0.5 s and Fixed Speed of 3000 rpm.
controller, but fuzzy-PID controller with settling of
0.034s perform much better. The speed characteristics 3500
shown in Fig.7.
3000
Case 4: Under Fixed load of 3Nm and Changing
Speed from 2000 rpm to 3000rpm in 0.5 s. 2500
3500

S p e e d (rp m )
PI
2000
3000 PID
Fuzzy-PI PI
2500 Fuzzy -PID
1500 PID
Fuzzy-PI
2000
1000 Fuzzy-PID
S p e e d (rp m )

1500
500
1000

500 0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
0 Time (In Seconds)
Fig. 9. Speed characteristics of BLDC motor with
-500
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 Changing load of 1 Nm to 3 Nm in 0.5 s and
Time (In Seconds)
fixed speed of 3000rpm
Fig. 8 Speed characteristic of BLDC motor with fixed It is evident that with the changing load PI and fuzzy –
load of 3Nm and changing speed 3000rpm to PI controller rises faster than the other controller, but
2000rpm overall performance of Fuzzy-PID controller is better
than other controller. The speed characteristics shown
Under loading condition and changing speed, PID in Fig.9.
controller rises much faster than the other controller, The performance of BLDCM in term of settling time
but in term of settling time and peak-overshoot (ts), peak-overshoot (Mp) and rise time (tr) evaluated.
minimization fuzzy-PID controller performs well. The These values found and tabulated as in Table III.
speed characteristics shown in Fig.8.

TABLE IV COMPARISON OF DIFFERENT CONTROLLER PARAMETERS

PI Controller PID Controller Fuzzy –PI Controller Fuzzy –PID Controller

ts %Mp tr ts %Mp tr ts %Mp tr ts %Mp tr

No load and 0.6 2.7 0.037 0.482 2.5 0.0634 0.044 1.4 0.024 0.030 0.33 0.020
3000rpm
Fixed load 3Nm and 0.133 2.9 0.036 0.602 2.2 0.0551 0.127 0.23 0.0264 0.054 0.06 0.025
fixed speed
3000rpm
No load and 0.103 2.4 0.038 0.32 2.8 0.0602 0.0597 1.4 0.036 0.034 0.07 0.036
changing speed
3000 rpm to 2000
rpm
With load of 3Nm 0.066 1.8 0.037 0.543 2.5 0.011 0.0597 1.03 0.026 0.021 0.03 0.033
and changing speed
3000 rpm to 2000
rpm
Fixed speed 3000 0.53 2.4 0.037 0.415 2.0 0.0786 0.528 1.3 0.024 0.026 0.00 0.032
rpm and changing
load of 1Nm to 3Nm
With load of 3Nm 0.25 2.5 0.034 0.31 1.9 0.073 0.16 3.2 0.052 0.16 0.25 0.045
and change in speed
2000rpm to 3000
rpm

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V. CONCLUSION
Performance of BLDC motor with conventional
as well as intelligent controllers has been
simulated and discussed in this paper. We use
speed error and change in speed error for
obtaining the controller parameters in terms of
rise time, settling time and peak-overshoot. A
comparison of conventional as well fuzzy –
based controllers has been carried out under
different loading and unloading conditions.
From the simulation results it has been found
that under different loading and unloading
conditions, PI and fuzzy-PI controllers behave
almost same but PID controller has better
performance in some cases. Fuzzy – PID
controller under all operating conditions
performs better than other controllers.
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