Modified Field Oriented Control for Smooth
Torque Operation of a BLDC Motor
Marek Lazor, Marek Stulrajter
Freescale Semiconductor, Inc - AMPG, Roznov pod Radhostem, Czech Republic
e-mail: marek.lazor@freescale.com.marek.stulrajter@freescale.com
Abstract-this paper describes a novel approach to field
oriented control of a BLDC (Brushless Direct-Current)
motor producing a significantly reduced torque ripple. This
paper presents a standard mathematical model of a BLDC
motor in the abc reference frame which is suitable for
simulation of the six-step control strategy, and
mathematical model of a BLDC motor in the dq reference
frame suitable for standard and modified field oriented
control strategies. An extended dq transformation, in other
words a Park's-Iike transformation, is described
implemented in the simulation model. Simulation results of
all the control strategies are evaluated and compared.
Keywords-modified field oriented control, BLDC motor,
smooth torque, extended Park's transformation.
I. INTRODUCTION
Efficient and effective motor control with smooth
torque operation is an important feature for many specific
applications in industry. Plenty of motor control
developers and engineers work on new and sophisticated
control strategies for permanent magnet (PM) motors in
order to increase the efficiency and eliminate the torque
ripple. In general, PM motors can be divided into two
main categories, namely, the Permanent Magnet
Synchronous Motor (PMSM) with a sinusoidal back­
EMF, and the Brushless Direct Current Motor (BLDCM
or BLDC motor) with a trapezoidal back-EMF. The
difference in shape of the back-EMF is a result of the
arrangement, shape and magnetization of the PMs, stator
windings distribution, the number of stator slots and their
skew [I].
PMSMs are well known for their high efficiency,
smooth generated torque, low rotor inertia, high dynamic
properties and a high ratio between power and weight.
High-performance control of PMSM machines is
characterized by a smooth rotation over the entire speed
range and full torque control at a zero speed. To achieve
such control, a vector control technique is used, also
referred to as a field-oriented control (FOC). A certain
drawback of the PMSMs in comparison with the BLDCM
is the higher price, due to the quasi-sinusoidal conductor
density distribution and the higher precision rotor position
sensor.
Nowadays, due to the cost-reduction trends in industry,
a cost-effective solution is also required in the field of
electric motors and motor control. BLDC motors are
becoming strong players in applications such as fans,
pumps and commercial compressors thanks to their high
power density, a simpler construction which leads to a
lower price and the possibility of easy control with lower
accuracy sensor or even without sensor. Power density
978-1-4799-3721-9/14/$31.00 mOl41EEE
and power per volume ratio are higher than in the PMSM
with the same copper losses. Six-step commutation
control is the most common control technique suitable for
BLDC motors. Despite the power density being 15%
higher than in the PMSM, the commutation control
a principle introduces a significant ripple in produced
torque. This torque ripple occurs six times per one
electrical revolution and is the essential property of the
six-step commutation strategy. Therefore, there is an
and effort to fmd some control strategy for the BLDCM that
will reduce torque ripple and keep all the advantages of
this type of motor drive.
The research for an optimal control strategy is based on
an idea of the fmding optimal current waveforms
reflecting the shape of the back-EMF of BLDC machines
with surface mounted PMs. Several methods have been
presented, analytically derived and proven by simulation
results [2,3]. A unique and optimal solution that constrains
the quadratic minimization problem has been clearly
expressed in closed form in [4], however, this approach
did not incorporate iron losses. An extended Park's
transformation approach, by means of the so-called
pseudo-dq axes reference frame, has been presented in
[5,6]. Various current excitation strategies have been
investigated in the past, and a modified field oriented
control with a closed control loop is presented in [7].
A new BLDC control strategy based on a specific
current harmonics injection approach is presented in this
paper. The complete mathematical model is described and
verified on a simulation model. Simulation results of the
proposed approach are analyzed and compared with the
conventional six-step control strategy considering phase
commutation.
II. TORQUE PRODUCTION
In general, synchronous torque can be expressed as:
d0 dJ.jJ e({)r) (1)
. . .
Te = Nz dt = Z de = z({)r) ----:0:-
where N is the number of turns of stator windings, i is
the phase current, <P is magnetic flux, If! is linkage
magnetic flux, e is back-EMF, �r electrical angular
position of the rotor and (2 is the mechanical angular
velocity of rotor
In three-phase non-salient machine, instantaneous
produced torque is derived from (1) as:
Te = � k=a,b,c
I ik({)r) ek({)r) (2)
As can be seen, the electromagnetic torque depends on
the current flowing through the winding and the produced
180
back-EMF. Thus, analysis of the electromagnetic torque where:
can be split into partial parts focusing on the particular \lira, \IIrb, \lire: linkage magnetic fluxes of rotor magnets
components of (2). In other words, analyzing the shape of with stator coils
the current and the back-EMF component leads to the
COr: electrical angular velocity of the rotor
localization and definition of the torque ripple source.
Ke: back-EMF coefficient equal to the peak value of
The component of produced torque can be expressed as:
magnetic flux linkage
te = To + Tripple (3)
fJr: electrical angular position of the rotor
where To represents a pure smooth torque as a DC fas(fJr), fbs(fJr), fes(fJr): normalized functions of back-EMF
value, and Tripp1e is the sum of the harmonics in produced waveforms with a unity peak value, shown in Fig.l.
torque:
To = Tavg = constant -- Ias('\)
CXJ -- Ibs(t\)
(4)
,m = ±6,±12 ...
m
Having the current and back-EMF components ideally
pure, without any other harmonics, the electromagnetic
torque will equal To while the Tripple component will not
appear. As it is known, the shape of the back-EMF
depends on several aspects in the construction of the
machine, and therefore it is not purely sinusoidal and
contains certain harmonics. According to the theory, to get 50 100 150 200 250 300 350
the smooth torque without any ripple with a back-EMF �r ["I
containing harmonics means generating such a current that
Fig. 1 Normalized functions of back-EMF
will contain a certain spectra of harmonics that will
negotiate the back-EMF harmonics impact. These functions can be expressed by a Fourier series as:
The purpose of the presented paper is to show an
approach on how to generate the proper current, with ias(fJr) = - { a1 sin(fJr) + a3 sin(3fJr)
(8)
+ as sin(SfJr) + a7 sin(7fJr) ... }
specific harmonics in order to negotiate the back-EMF
harmonics that meets the requirement of smooth The electromagnetic torque is expressed as:
electromagnetic torque.
Te pKe[ias(fJr)ia + ibs(fJr)ib + ies(fJr)icJ
= (9)
III. MATHEMATICAL MODEL OF BLOC MOTOR where p is the number of pole-pairs. The mechanical
The standard model of the BLOC motor is based on the equation of the BLDCM model is as follows:
phase voltages of the machine, as follows: dWr
J dt = peTe - Tz) (10)

where J is the inertia of the rotor and T1 is the load torque

(5)
where Van, Vbn, Ven are stator phase voltage between a
neutral point in the star connection and the end of the
phase winding, expressed as:
Fig. 2 shows an equivalent circuit of the 3-phase BLDC
motor with a star-connection of the stator windings
connected to a 3-phase full-bridge inverter. Having the
six-step control commutation strategy, the switching
sequence for inverter power devices is determined from
the information on the electrical position of the rotor. One
electrical revolution is divided into 6 normal intervals and
6 commutation intervals. During a normal interval, only
two stator phases are energized and the produced torque is

[�::l [�:�l-
ven
=

veO
vno (6)

VaO, VbO, vco: voltages between end of phase winding and

constant. The commutation interval is the initial
freewheeling interval, just after switching, when mesh
currents of the switched-off and switched-on phases are
non-zero.
the middle point of the DC voltage source
vnO: neutral connection voltage
R,: stator phase resistance
ia, ib, ic: stator phase currents ,
Ls: self-inductance of stator coil VDQ

Ms: mutual inductance between stator coils

ea, eb, ee: stator back-EMF waveforms, induced by
kinetics of rotor magnets, which are defmed as:

[:: 1 : [�;:1
e � , 1/Jre �
w,K,
[j::�:��l
ies(fJr)
(7) Fig. 2 BLOC motor connected to inverter equivalent circuit

In this interval, all 3 phases of the BLDC motor are

conducting. A commutation interval is always present,

181
 when the normal interval is switching to subsequent The electromagnetic torque for machines equipped with
normal interval. An extended model of the BLDC motor, a non-salient rotor, expressed in the dq reference frame, is
considering phase commutation, is described in [8] and is defined as:
implemented in our simulation.
3
Te = '2 P(Kefq(Br)iq + Kefa(Br)ia) ( 15)
IV. MODEL OF BLOC MOTOR IN DQ REFERENCE FRAME
A. Park's transformations The mechanical equation is the same as in (10).
To eliminate time-varying stator and rotor quantities, V. MODIFIED FIELD ORIENTED CONTROL FOR BLDC
the Park's transformation from the abc reference frame to
In contrast with the conventional FOC of the PMSM, a
the two-axis rotating dq reference frame is used and new set of variables have to be introduced into the
defined as: modified field oriented control of the BLDC motor. The
first variable "J[' represents perturbation in amplitude and
is a function of the electrical position of the rotor. It can
be expressed as:

An inverse Park's transformation from the dq reference (16)

frame to the abc reference frame is given by:
cos (tir) ti
-sin ( r) where aj is the amplitude of the fundamental harmonic
of the normalized function of the back-EMF waveform.
(tir - Zrr ) (tir - Zrr )
p-l(tir) = cos
3 -sin
3 (12) The second added variable, "fl", represents perturbation
Zrr Zrr in position/phase and is a function of the electrical
(tir + (tir +
cos
3) -sin
3) position of the rotor and can be expressed as:
Since the investigated motor is supposed to be a fa(Br)
/1 = - (17)
symmetrical three-phase machine, zero components are a1
neglected in the model definition. Introducing both variables (16, 17) allows the
B. Formulation o{vectorial model transformation of those non-sinusoidal required currents
for a smooth produced torque to the dq reference frame
Applying the standard Park's transformation (11) on with unalterable magnitude. This transformation is
equation (5), the voltage equations are obtained for the achieved in two following steps:
general three-phase BLDC machine, defmed as:

[::] (13)
I. The non-sinusoidal currents are transformed to a

s
s : ] [�� ]
- rL stationary two-axis a� reference frame with a Clark's
P(Br)
Pr s
+ transformation, defmed as:
R lqs e
c
1
Substituting equation (11) and (7) in equation (13), the
model of the BLOC motor is acquired [9], described by: 2 (18)
V3
2
(14) 2. Subsequently, the a� currents are transformed to the
rotating dq frame respecting the electrical rotor
position and its displacement (f:lr + fl) and a gain of
The auxiliary functions fd(I\) and fq(f:lT) are depicted in transformation 1/k. Then, the resulting transformation
Fig. 3 and represent trapezoidal back-EMF waveforms in matrix is defined as:
the dq reference frame. If the function fd(f:lT) is equal to
zero and function fq(f:lT) is equal to 1, then the standard T(Br' k ,/1 ) =
�
[
cos(Br + /1) sin(Br + /1) ] (19)
model of the PMSM would be achieved. k - sin(Br + /1) cos(Br + /1)

14
. .------,--.---,--,-;
Utilizing this transformation procedure, a modified
FOC structure is proposed which is supposed to negotiate
12
. the ripple in back-EMF by introducing an "inverse" ripple
1 ---�--- �----r --- �---�-- into the currents. Such an approach will suppress or
eliminate the ripple in produced torque. However, for a
* 08 . - - - { - ---: -----
: - - - { - ---:--
�-�---t real implementation, it is recommended to add suitable
$:-'- �6
-� ---�--- �----� --- �---�----� ---� decoupling voltage terms to the output of the current
I I I I
---�---�----�---�--- controllers. Thus, as seen in Fig.8, the current control loop
signal is smooth and the loop bandwidth does not have to
�2 ---�--- �----� --- 4---�----� ---4
be so broad. Oecoupling terms are defined for the dqx
reference frame which rotates with angle (f:lT + fl) and a
varying amplitude according to "k", [7].
-O 2
. �- � :--- � :------:-":-:: -� :-::- - -:-': - � :--
50 1OO 15O 200 2 5c-O --=3OO --":-::'
35--=- O
0 The modified decoupling terms can be expressed as
�r ["I follows:
Fig. 3 Waveforms of auxiliary functions fd(BT) and f�(BT)

182
 vector modulation (SVM) or conventional pulse width
modulation (PWM) is not implemented in the simulation.
3.5 .-
----,--,---,

--id_real

--iq_real

2.5 --id_m:xI
--iq_m:xI
� 2 - - - - - 1- -----
. �=o 1.5 - - - - - I- -----
1
C

()
§ - - - - 1- _____
I
I I
O�.-......r-
- - - 1- __________
�

I 0.22 0.23 0.24

Wcdem

-0.5 L-____---'-__
- ____"---__
-- __---"-______-"---____---.J
o 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25
Time [51
Model of
BLDC Fig. 6 Feedback currents in dq reference frame
motor
eqn.14,15
Fig. 6 compares the dq feedback currents on the output
of the BLDC model (with significant perturbation of the
magnitude) and on the output of extended transfonnation
(modified currents) with unalterable magnitude. As can be
seen, the extended transfonnation provides current
feedback significantly smoother than the standard FOC.
fig.6 fig.9 fig.6 This behavior can also be clearly observed in the current
error signal entering the PI controllers, Fig. 7.
Fig. 4 Modified field oriented control strategy
0.
Using a Park's transformation in (11) instead of the 3i---:---T-----:-
I --=====;l
-;=
J-
I
extended model (18), the standard voltage decoupling 02
. 5 _____ eq-FOC-Dec

terms for the PMSM controlled by FOC are expressed as:

0.2 - - - - - 1. - ----
I
______1_
1 -- eiq-MFOC-Dec
L

(21) � 0.1 5 -----+----- - - - - - -1 - - - - - -f- - ----

.0-
'" 0.1
I
- - - - - T - ----
0.05
VI. SIMULATION RESULTS

: �1t-llfrjHH ----
j
1111111111111
The proposed approach with the modified FOC has
been verified on a simulation model employing a BLDC � -00
motor with an almost ideal trapezoidal shape of back­
�1 -----+-----�-
EMF. The normalized functions of the back-EMF have
been determined by (8). Harmonics higher than 19th have -0.15 '------�--'--"
o 0.05 0.1 0.15 02
. 0.2 5
been neglected. Tim [51
e

A. Modified FOe Fig. 7 Error signal on the input of current controllers

25.------,------,-------,-�--_,--�__.
Smooth error signals ensure that the PI controllers will
20 control primarily DC, hence the current loop bandwidth
can be lower and the control loop more stable.
15 1.4 .-------,--,---�--�

I I I
----------------------------
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
12 ----- � -----+----- ______
1
I

1 - - - - - t-
-- - - - t+---�"'4------___j_--Il:::-____
:l ____l

KNVwWtiW>JWW"ffl'N\- - - - - - � - - - - - � - ----
--
I �: I � ---t --
-----r-----
-5

-10
'--____---"-______--'---______'---__
-- __---"-____-----.l 0.4
o 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25
Time [5]
0.2 - - - - r - ----
Fig. 5 Voltages in the dq reference frame after decoupling 0.23

Fig. 5 represents the decoupled voltages in the dq frame o

0
'--------cL =�-
O .05 .:-' ---------:-L :------ :"- :------�
0. 1 0. 15 0.2 0.25

which supply the model of the motor. Inverter lime [sl

nonlinearities are not taken into account because space Fig. 8 Electromagnetic and load torque

183
 Fig. 8 shows the produced electromagnetic torque and To express the power requirements for each control
applied load torque, including a detail of the torque strategy, it is appropriate to evaluate the root mean square
behavior in the steady state. As can be seen, a very (RMS) value of currents with the following equation:
smooth torque behavior with minimized torque ripple is
achieved. ...jIIOO ·2
h=1,2,3 ... 1h (23)
B. Comparison of control stategies IRMS =
..J2
Keeping the same simulation conditions, such as the The quality of produced torque is quantified by torque
same commands for the desired angular velocity, same ripple, expressed as:
load torque commands and the same parameters of the
Te max - Te min
BLDe motor, the six-step commutation strategy, the Tripple
_

- (24)
standard Foe and proposed modified Foe (MFOC) Te_avg
focusing on produced torque, the total harmonic where Te max and Te min are the maximum and minimum
distortion of the current, and the power rating can all be instantaneous values, -and Te_avg is the average value of
compared. One period of the current waveforms of all the produced torque.
control strategies is shown in Fig.9.
1.1 ,------�--,____--�__,
3
�--- -,----�====��
I --Foe
I --MFoe
-- SIX-S TEP
1.05

c
'"
� 0
:0
....
Q)
" :0
Q)
<fl � 0.95 -­
'" f-
-1
.c

D- - - - - - - - r- ------- r --

Q --- -- - ----
9
-2 - - - - - - - � - - - - - - - � - -- I --Foe
I
--MFoe
I --SIX-STEP
Q� -------------- -------------- --
_3L- �________�______�_________L� 0.225 0.23 0.235 0.24 0.245
0.225 0.23 0.235 0.24 0.245
______

Time [s]
Time [s]

Fig. 11 Produced electromagnetic torque of three different control

Fig. 9 Current waveforms of three different control strategies
strategies
Their harmonic spectrum is analyzed using a fast
As seen in Fig. 11, produced torque with the Six-step
Fourier transformation and the graphical interpretation is
control strategy has a significant torque ripple due to the
shown in Fig. 10.
phase current commutation which occurs six-times per
3 one electrical revolution. Electromagnetic torque
produced during the Foe control has also some ripple in
.
2 5 the torque caused by the rippled back-EMF (Fig. 3).
2
Significantly reduced ripple in produced electromagnetic
� � torque has been achieved by the proposed modified Foe
"
� .
15 by injecting the right current harmonics (Fig.6 - detail).
:;
u
The results achieved are summarized in Table 1.

0.5 TABLE 1.
STMULAnON RESULTS
o
_. . • •

Parameter FOe MFoe SIX-STEP

7 9 11 13 15 17 19
Harmonic order
THD [%] 0 0.55 20.05
IRMs [A] 1.8605 1.8615 1.9382
Fig. 10 Harmonic contents of the phase currents Tlipple [%] 12.05 0.3 18.06
The amount of distortion in a phase current in the
machine is quantified by the total harmonic distortion VII. CONCLUSION

(THO), which is defined by: The paper presents a new approach to the control of PM

JIOO
motors with non-sinusoidal back-EMF focusing on a
·2
h=2,3 ,4 .... 1h (22)
smooth torque. A standard Foe concept with
THD% =
. 100% modification in backward transformation and voltage
11 decoupling terms has been adopted in order to negotiate
the ripple in the back-EMF shape via currents and to
consequently suppress the torque ripple.

184
 The results presented in Table confirm the
expectations of the proposed modified FOC, and the
torque ripple is significantly reduced, to less than 1%. The
injected currents contain the right ratio of hannonics
required for production of smooth torque, and, therefore
total harmonic distortion is kept under I%. This fact also
predicts the lower iron losses.
Experimental verification of the proposed control
strategy and investigation of the source of the residual
ripple in the produced torque will be the subject of further
work.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The authors would like to thank the Freescale Company in

Czech Republic for the support

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