Current Spikes Minimization Method for Three-Phase Permanent Magnet Brushless DC Motor with Real-Time Implementation

Abstract

Due to their high efficiency and low cost of maintenance, brushless DC motors (BLDCMs) with trapezoidal electromotive forces (back-EMFs), have become widely used in various applications such as aerospace, electric vehicles, industrial uses, and robotics. However, they suffer from large current ripples and current spikes. In this paper, a new method for minimizing current spikes appearing during BLDCM start-up or sudden set point changes is proposed. The method is based on controlling the MOSFET gates of the motor driver using R-C filters. These filters are placed between the PWM control signal generator and the MOSFET gates to smooth these control signals. The analysis of the proposed method showed that the R-C filter usage affects the BLDCM steady-state performances. To overcome this limitation, the R-C filter circuit was activated only during current spikes detection. The effectiveness of the proposed method was analytically analyzed and then validated through simulation and experimental tests. The obtained results allowed a reduction of 13% in current spikes amplitude.

Permanent Magnet Synchronous Machines

“…This trend can be seen in this special issue as a majority of the papers deals with PM motors with an emphasis on motor control. Five of the fifteen contributions target renewable energy sources [2][3][4]9,10], whereas the rest are focused on electric motors, with most examining electric vehicles [1,[5][6][7][8][11][12][13][14][15]. Three of the papers address brushless DC (BLDC) motors [7,11,12].…”

“…Five of the fifteen contributions target renewable energy sources [2][3][4]9,10], whereas the rest are focused on electric motors, with most examining electric vehicles [1,[5][6][7][8][11][12][13][14][15]. Three of the papers address brushless DC (BLDC) motors [7,11,12]. Six of the contributions present work on motor control, with the work of all six being experimentally verified [1,[6][7][8]11,15].…”

“…Three of the papers address brushless DC (BLDC) motors [7,11,12]. Six of the contributions present work on motor control, with the work of all six being experimentally verified [1,[6][7][8]11,15]. One paper is focused on fault diagnosis for hydropower generators [2].…”

“…However, alternatives exist and novel magnets have been heavily researched. Almost all the papers in this special issue are based on NdFeB-magnets, as stated by the authors in references [10][11][12][13] or as assumed from the contents in references [1,[4][5][6][7][8][9]14,15]. However, paper [3] investigates a span of magnetic properties, which could fit any magnet material.…”

“…This special issue contains the successful invited submissions [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] to a Special Issue of Energies on the subject area of "Permanent Magnet Synchronous Machines". Interest in permanent magnet (PM) synchronous machines is continuously increasing worldwide.…”