International Journal of Electrical, Electronics and Data Communication, ISSN: 2320-2084 Volume-2, Issue-4, April-2014

SIMULATION OF SPEED CONTROL OF BRUSHLESS DC MOTOR,

WITH FUZZY LOGIC CONTROLLER
1
C. SHEEBA JOICE, 2P.NIVEDHITHA
1,2
Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Saveetha Engineering College, Chennai, India
Email: sheebajoice@saveetha.ac.in, nivedhitha.sembian@gmail.com

Abstract— The electronically commuted Brushless DC motors are widely used in many industrial applications which
increase the need for design of efficient control strategy for these noiseless motors. This paper deals with the efficient speed
control mechanisms for these drives using meaningful fuzzy sets and rules. The fuzzy logic controller is developed using a
MATLAB/ Simulink tool. The paper deals with the possibility of designing a control strategy, to achieve accurate speed
control with the advantages of low cost. The proposed method is simple and efficient compared with the conventional
controllers.

Keywords— BLDC motor drive, Fuzzy Logic Controllers, Fuzzy sets and Fuzzy rules, Speed control.

I. INTRODUCTION The rotor position is sensed which enables

commutation logic for the three phase inverter circuits
A. BLDC Motor with Hall Sensors that contain MOSFET switches.
Brushless DC motors works similar to the
conventional DC motor with the mechanical TABLE I
Clockwise Hall Sensor Signals and Drive Signals
commutation replaced by an electronically controlled
commutation system. These motors have the rotating Ha Hb Hc Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6
permanent magnets and stationary armature. The 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
BLDC motor that are utilized in the proposed control 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0
design is star connected BLDC motor. The power 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0
distribution is achieved by the intelligent electronic
0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0
controller. The electronic controller requires rotor
position information for proper commutation of 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
currents in the respective stator windings. The rotor 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0
position can be sensed using Hall effect sensors 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1
embedded in the stator and thus stator windings are 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
energized accordingly.
BLDC motor drive control can be done in sensor or Where Ha, Hb, Hc represents the Hall sensor signals.
sensor less mode. Though the sensor less control offers Q1 - Q6 represents the MOSFETs in the Switching
the advantage of reduced cost, the sensor less control circuit.
offers low performance at transients or low speed The Hall sensors should be kept 120˚ apart to obtain
range with increase in complexity of the control symmetrical operation of motor phases. With the rotor
electronics and algorithms makes the use of Hall position sensed, three bit codes of Hall sensed signal is
sensors more efficient. Embedded control of BLDC obtained as shown in TABLE I. Each code value
motors using dsPIC30f4013 generates a PWM signal specifies the rotor position and the corresponding
that controls the inverter topology there by controlling stator windings that are to be energized. Ha, Hb, Hc
the drive. High flexibility of control can be obtained by signals are high or low depending whether the sensor
implementing efficient control algorithm in the is near the N or S pole of the rotor magnets.
controller . Depending on these signals the switches Q1 - Q6 are
ON/OFF. From TABLE I it is seen that when HC is
high, the switch Q4-Q5 conducts energizing the
corresponding stator windings are energized. Digital
PWM signals are generated and Speed regulation is
achieved by using high and low level duty cycles.

B. Fuzzy Logic Controller

The speed control of BLDC drive can be simulated
using the fuzzy logic controller. The Fuzzy logic
Fig.1. Bldc Motor Transverse Section with Hall Sensors system plays a central role in the controlling of linear

Simulation Of Speed Control Of Brushless Dc Motor, With Fuzzy Logic Controller

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International Journal of Electrical, Electronics and Data Communication, ISSN: 2320-2084 Volume-2, Issue-4, April-2014

systems and in industrial applications where the a= Rb =Rc=R (4)

control and automation plays a vital role. The fuzzy
aa=Lbb =Lcc=Ls (5)
logic control is designed using the fuzzy inference
ba=Lab =Lca=Lac=Lbc=Lcb=M (6)
systems with the definition of input and output
membership functions. The fuzzy sets and rules are
designed and accordingly the drive can be controlled.
With the usage of single antecedent fuzzy rule the = + + (7)

intersection of fuzzy rule problem can be eliminated.

With the fuzzy rules designed the desired control can Since a+ib+ic=0, and with (Ls – M) = L, we have
be achieved.
The complete drive system can be modeled with
MATLAB/Simulink tool by categorizing the model = + + (8)
into BLDC motor, switching circuit/Inverter topology, R: Stator Resistance per phase assumed to be equal for
PWM driver circuit and the Controller circuit. The all phases.
Fuzzy combined controllers can also be used if there Ls: Stator inductance per phase assumed to be equal
exists a need to combine all local fuzzy controllers that for all phases.
minimizes the chattering effects and the stability is M: Mutual inductance between the phases.
improved. Fuzzy rule bases are determined by the ia,, ib, ic - Stator current /phase.
Fuzzy clustering methods (FCM) to obtain the The instantaneous induced EMFs can be written as in
membership functions that are utilized in the design of equation (9)-(11)
fuzzy rules for the generation of PWM pulses. a=fa r)λpωm (9)
This paper describes the speed control of the BLDC
b=fb r)λpωm (10)
motor drive designed with fuzzy logic controller that
=f
c c )λ ω
r p m (11)
is simulated and the dynamic characteristics are
obtained and analyzed using the MATLAB/Simulink Where ωm, is the rotor mechanical speed and r is the
Tool. This paper is organized as follows. Section II rotor electrical position.
describes the mathematical model. Section III With the rotor position being sensed the three phase
describes the Fuzzy sets and rules evaluation for Speed switching sequence can be illustrated using Fig.2.
control of BLDC motor. Section IV describes the
MATLAB/Simulink model. Section V provides the
results of the Simulink model and its outputs are
analyzed. Section VI concludes the system with the
future prospects of the design.

II. MODEL DESCRIPTION

A. Mathematical Model of BLDC Motor Drive

In a brushless motor, the rotor incorporates the
magnets, and the stator contains the windings. As the
name suggests brushes are absent and hence in this Fig.2.Three Phase Switching Sequence

case, commutation is implemented electronically with

a drive amplifier that uses semiconductor switches to The switching instant of the individual transistor
change current in the windings based on rotor position switches, Q1-Q6 with respect to the trapezoidal EMF
feedback. In this respect, the BLDC motor is wave is shown in the Fig.2.It is seen that the EMF
equivalent to a reversed DC commutator motor, in wave is synchronized with the rotor. So switching the
which the magnet rotates while the conductors remain stator phases synchronously with the EMF wave make
stationary. Therefore, BLDC motors often incorporate the stator and rotor mmfs rotate in synchronism. Thus,
either internal or external position sensors to sense the the inverter acts like an electronic commutator that
actual rotor . receives switching logical pulses from the rotor
The principle of operation and the dynamic model of position sensor. This is why a BLDC drive is also
BLDC motor can be explained as follows. The circuit commonly known as an electronically commutated
equations of the stator windings in terms of electrical motor (ECM).
constants is given by equations (1)-(8) B. Fuzzy Logic Controller
In recent years, fuzzy control has emerged as a
an =Raia+ aa ia+Lba ib+Lca ic)+ea (1) practical alternative to classical control schemes when
one is interested in controlling certain time varying,
bn = Rbib+ ab ia+Lbb ib+Lcb ic)+eb (2) non-linear, and ill-defined processes. There have in
cn = Rcic+ ac ia+Lbc ib+Lcc ic)+ec (3)
fact been several successful commercial and industrial

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International Journal of Electrical, Electronics and Data Communication, ISSN: 2320-2084 Volume-2, Issue-4, April-2014

applications of fuzzy control. Fuzzy controllers are decisions can be made. The process of fuzzy inference
used to control consumer products, such as washing involves membership functions, fuzzy logic operators,
machines, video cameras, and rice cookers, as well as and if-then rules. There are two types of fuzzy
industrial processes, such as cement kilns, inference systems that can be implemented in the
underground trains, and robots. Fuzzy control is a fuzzy logic toolbox which are Mamdani-type and
control method based on fuzzy logic. Fuzzy logic can Takagi–Sugeno (T–S) type. The basic structure of a
be described simply as computing with words rather Mamdani- type F.L.C as illustrated in fig.3 below
than numbers; fuzzy control can be described simply consists of the following components:
as control with sentences rather than equations. A Fuzzification, which converts controller inputs into
fuzzy controller can include empirical rules, and that information that the inference mechanism can easily
is especially useful in operator controlled plants. use to activate and apply rules.
Fuzzy logic controller (FLC) is capable of improving Rule-Base, (a set of If-Then rules), which contains a
its performance in the control of a nonlinear system fuzzy logic quantification of the expert’s linguistic
whose dynamics are unknown or uncertain. Fuzzy description of how to achieve good control.
controller is able to improve its performance without Inference Mechanism, (also called an “inference
having to identify a model of the plant. Fuzzy control engine” or “fuzzy inference” module), which emulates
is similar to the classic closed-loop control approaches the expert’s decision making in interpreting and
but differs in that it substitutes imprecise, symbolic applying knowledge about how best to control the
notions for precise numeric measures. system.
Fuzzy controllers are more robust because they can Defuzzification Interface, which converts the
cover a wide range of operating conditions. Fuzzy conclusions of the inference mechanism into actual
controllers are more flexible and the modifications of inputs for the process.
the Fuzzy rules are simpler when compared to the
conventional controllers. With these benefits Fuzzy
controllers can be utilized as industrial tool for control
applications.
The fuzzy controller takes input values from the real
world. These crisp input values are mapped to the
linguistic values through the membership functions in
the fuzzification step. A set of rules that emulates the
decision making process of the human expert
controlling the system is then applied using certain
inference mechanisms to determine the output.
Finally, the output is mapped into crisp control actions
required in practical applications in the
Fig.3. Basic block diagram of flc
de-fuzzification step.
In a fuzzy controller the data passes through a III. Fuzzy sets and rules evaluation- Speed control of
pre-processing block, a controller, and a BLDC Motor drive
post-processing block. Pre-processing consists of a The basic block diagram of the speed control of BLDC
linear or non-linear scaling. Linguistic variables are motor drive using Fuzzy logic controller is illustrated
central to fuzzy logic manipulations. They are in Fig.4.The error signal generated as the result of
non-precise variables that often convey a surprising variation in the reference speed and the actual speed of
amount of information. Usually, linguistic variables the motor sensed by the hall signals is utilized for the
hold values that are uniformly distributed (µ) between
formulation of Fuzzy rules which results in the
0 and 1, depending on the relevance of a context
generation of the PWM signals to drive the switching
dependent linguistic term.
circuit and with flexibility of fuzzy controllers wide
The collection of rules is called a rules base and the
range of speed can be controlled using this Fuzzy
rules are in the familiar if-then format, and formally
controller.
the if-side is called the condition and the then-side is
called the conclusion. The computer is able to execute
the rules and compute a control signal depending on
the measured inputs error and change in error.
Therefore the rules reflect the strategy that the control
signal should be a combination of the reference error
and the change in error. Fuzzy inference is the process
of formulating the mapping from a given input to an
output using fuzzy logic.
The mapping then provides a basis from which Fig.4.Block Diagram of Fuzzy Controlled Bldc Motor Drive

Simulation Of Speed Control Of Brushless Dc Motor, With Fuzzy Logic Controller

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International Journal of Electrical, Electronics and Data Communication, ISSN: 2320-2084 Volume-2, Issue-4, April-2014

A. Steps in Fuzzy Decision algorithm: To evaluate the disjunction of the rule antecedents the
Step1: The Fuzzy rules are designed and the rules that OR fuzzy operation is used. Fuzzy expert systems
are verified are invoked using the membership make use of the classical fuzzy operation union
functions and the truth values obtained. expressed in equation(12),
Step2: The result is mapped to the membership A B (x) = max( A B (x) ) (12)
function and the variable to control the output Similarly, in order to evaluate the conjunction of the
variable. rule antecedents, the AND fuzzy operation is used and
Step3: The final step is the defuzzification providing the classical fuzzy operation intersection is given by
the crisp output needed to control the system. The equation (13).
combination of fuzzy operation and rule based
A B (x) = min( A B (x) ) (13)
inference system provides a fuzzy expert system. The min-max compositional rule of inference is used.
There are several defuzzification methods, in this
design the centroid technique specified in Fig.7 is
utilized. It finds the point where a vertical line would
slice the aggregate set into two equal masses.

Fig.5.Flow Model Of Fuzzy Speed Reference Control

The fig.5 represents the flow model for fuzzy speed

reference control.
This Fuzzy flow model describes the conversion of all Fig.7.Centroid Defuzzification Method
crisp inputs of both the reference model and the model
to be controlled into the fuzzy inputs. Mathematically this centre of gravity (COG) can be
The purpose of the Model Reference Adaptive Fuzzy expressed as:
Control (MRAFC) specified in Fig.5 is to change the
rules definition in the direct fuzzy logic controller = (14)
(FLC) and rule base table according to the comparison Where ∑ denotes the algebraic sum, represents
between the reference model output signal and system centroid of each member ship function. Thus the
output. With MRAFC, good tracking characteristics fuzzification, inference and defuzzification are
were obtained even under severe variations of system performed using equation (14).
parameters. The MRAFC observes the model outputs Fig.8 represents the fuzzy inference system of the
and adjusts the rules in a direct fuzzy controller, so designed fuzzy controller. Fuzzy inference system
that the overall system control capability is improved. contains the input signals and output signals that
High performances and robustness have been achieved provide the input membership functions and the
by using the MRAFC. output membership functions.

B. Fuzzy Membership Functions:

The membership functions illustrated in Fig.6 used to
fuzzification two input values and defuzzification
output of the fuzzy controller. For seven clusters in the
membership functions, seven linguistic variables are
defined as: Negative Big (NB), Negative Medium
(NM), Negative Small (NS), Zero (Z), Positive Small
(PS), Positive Medium (PM), and Positive Big (PB).

Fig.8.Fis For Speed Control Of Bldc Motor

The hall signals senses the rotor position, with the

rotor position corresponding speed is detected. The
desired speed of the motor is known. The inference
Fig.6 Membership Function Of Flc engine specified (motor) in Fig.8contains the Fuzzy
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International Journal of Electrical, Electronics and Data Communication, ISSN: 2320-2084 Volume-2, Issue-4, April-2014

rules that produces the corresponding PWM signals.

The input member ship function of the two inputs of The developed MATLAB model in Fig.12 provides
the system is represented in Fig. 9 and Fig. 10. The the speed control of BLDC Motor using Fuzzy logic
Fuzzy system contains two input membership controller. The simulation results provide the
functions, one is the hall signal and the other is the necessary waveforms for the analysis of speed control
speed signal. It contains PWM signals as one output of BLDC motor drives.
membership function.

Fig.12.matlab/simulink model of bldc motor using fuzzy logic

Fig.9 input membership function of hall signal controller.
The implemented Fuzzy rules provide the following
waveforms in the speed control of BLDC Motor drive.

IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The Hall sensor signals that is the signals with respect

to the rotor position of the BLDC motor are generated.
In reference to these Hall signals the PWM signals are
generated. The PWM signals generated provide the
control signals for the switching circuits that energize
the stator windings accordingly and the actual speed
of the motor is varied with respect to the reference
Fig. 10 input membership function of actual speed signal speed.
The reference speed of the BLDC motor is seen in the
The corresponding output membership functions of oscilloscope as in Fig.15.
Ref Speed
the PWM signals are represented in the Fig.11 3000

2500

2000
Speed(rpm)

1500

1000

500

0
0 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.1 0.12 0.14 0.16 0.18 0.2
Time(Sec)

Fig.15. Reference speed of bldc motor drive

The speed of the motor with Fuzzy logic controller is

Fig.11 Output Memebership Function Of Pwm Signals seen as in Fig.16.
Ac tual Speed
3000

The Fuzzy Inference system is designed with the

2500
Fuzzy rules specified in the Mamdani type of
FIS.With the designed fuzzy rules the PWM signals 2000
Speed(rpm)

are generated that provides the necessary gate signals 1500

for the switchng of the Inverter bridge circuit that

1000
energises the respective windings of the three phase
BLDC motor and hence the speed of the motor is 500

controlled as desired. 0
0 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.1 0.12 0.14 0.16 0.18 0.2
Time(Sec)

III. SIMULINK MODEL Fig.16.Speed Of Bldc Motor Using Fuzzy Controller

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International Journal of Electrical, Electronics and Data Communication, ISSN: 2320-2084 Volume-2, Issue-4, April-2014

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