2 BRUSHLESS DC MOTORS The most severe problem associated with PMDC motor is the commutation with the aid of brushes.
BLDC motors eliminate this problem as they have no commutator and brushes.
In BLDC motors the armature is stationary and permanent magnet field system is mounted on the rotating shaft.
The commutation is achieved by using semiconductor switches.
Thus, BLOC motor can be treated as a synchronous motor with permanent magnet rotor and is supplied current from a DC source through an inverter which is automatically synchronised 3 CLASSIFICATION
4 CONSTRUCTION
5 CONSTRUCTION The stator of the BLDC motor is similar to that of a conventional induction motor.
The stator core is made up of silicon steel stampings which are stacked together and fixed on the stator frame.
The stator core has slots in the inner periphery to house the armature conductors. Closed or open-type winding is used.
The armature winding is connected to the DC source through suitable semiconductor
switching circuit.
The rotor is made up of forged steel and carries permanent magnets. The rotor core is mounted on the shaft.
For successful commutation, the rotor position should be known continuously. For this purpose, a position sensor is to be mounted on the shaft. The sensor output is used6 to CONSTRUCTION The permanent magnet can be fixed on the rotor in two different ways, resulting in surface mounted permanent magnet rotor and interior permanent magnet rotor.
If the magnets are mounted on the surface of the rotor, it is known as surface-mounted permanent magnet (PM) rotor.
In interior PM rotor, the magnets are placed in groves or slots as shown in the figures. In interior PM rotor construction, even though the rotor appears to be of smooth cylindrical shape, magnetically it is a projecting pole rotor.
Compared with the surface-mounted PM rotor,
the interior PM rotor has the advantages like robust construction, ability to operate at high speeds, smaller effective air gap length and 7 ELECTRONIC COMMUTATION In conventional and PMDC motors, the armature and the commutator are rotating while the magnetic poles are stationary.
For maximum voltage, brushes are placed in the interpolar axis.
In electronic commutator, the functions of commutator and brushes are performed by power semiconductor devices. DC supply is connected to the armature through these devices.
It is therefore essential to have stationary armature and rotating field system for implementing electronic commutator.
As the field is rotating it is necessary to supply DC voltage to the tapping points on the armature winding which are on the magnetic neutral axis, which is moving along with the rotor.
To accomplish this, each tapping point on the armature winding is connected to the junctions of two semiconductor switching devices in such a way that one conducts in one direction while the 8 ELECTRONIC COMMUTATION For illustrating the commutation process, consider an armature winding with 12 tapping points as shown.
In Fig. 3.13, the field is assumed to be rotating in the clockwise direction.
For the instantaneous positions (a) and (b) of the magnets,
the currents should flow in the directions shown (along the interpolar axis).
All the 12 tapping points should be connected to the
junctions of 12 pairs of static switches.
9 ELECTRONIC COMMUTATION
10 ELECTRONIC COMMUTATION The number of switching devices required for commutation can be reduced by selecting smaller number of tapping points.
The tapping points can be reduced by connecting more number of armature coils in series, to form phase belts which can be commutated simultaneously.
For three-phase motor, efficient commutation can be achieved by using six switching devices as shown in Fig. 3.15. The gate signals for the switching devices are generated by using the signals from the shaft position sensor.
11 ELECTRONIC COMMUTATION
12 ADVANTAGES DUE TO ELECTRONIC COMMUTATION The removal of commutator and brush fittings reduces the length of the motor allowing high-speed operation.
Also, the inertia of the rotor is much reduced.
As the armature is on the stator, more space can be used for winding.
The heat produced by losses are conducted easily through the frame.
Greater specific torque can be obtained by increasing electric loading, which is
possible in BLDC motor.
13 WORKING OF A BLDC MOTOR
Switches in ON state 1 S1 S5 S6 2 S1 S2 S6 3 S4 S2 S6 4 S4 S2 S3 5 S4 S5 S3 14 6 S1 S5 S3 WORKING OF A BLDC MOTOR The block diagram of a BLDC motor supplied by voltage-fed inverter, is shown.
The inverter converts the DC voltage into variable frequency voltage. With this circuit, four-quadrant operation is possible.
The harmonics generated by the inverter is blocked by the filter capacitor.
The motor is provided with position sensor. The position sensor provides necessary signals for switching the appropriate power switches of the inverter.
The switching is done in such a way that all the three phases conduct at all time. This is required for obtaining 180° conduction. The switching interval is 60°.
15 Due to the spatial arrangement of the phases of the armature winding, the mmf WORKING OF A BLDC MOTOR
Switches in ON state 1 S1 S5 S6 2 S1 S2 S6 3 S4 S2 S6 4 S4 S2 S3 5 S4 S5 S3 6 S1 S5 S3 16 WORKING OF A BLDC MOTOR For stopping, keep the switches in the same condition (ON/OFF) corresponding to the last operation.
Thus, when supply is switched ON, current flows through the armature winding whose distribution depends on rotor position and the switching ON of devices at various instants.
Due to the interaction between current and magnetic field, rotor experiences torque, and if this torque is greater than the load torque, rotor starts moving. BLDC motor is thus a self-starting motor.
17 HALL EFFECT SENSOR A Hall Effect Sensor is essentially a transducer based on the principle of Hall Effect.
The effect of getting a measurable voltage when a conductor or semiconductor with
current flowing in one direction is introduced perpendicular to a magnetic field, is called the Hall Effect.
In simpler terms, a voltage is produced across an electric conductor when a
magnetic field is applied to it in a direction perpendicular to the flow of current.
18 HALL EFFECT SENSOR – MAGNIFIED VIEW
A small value of current runs through
the Hall Strip at all times.
As already mentioned, the alternating
field from this rotor magnet will create a voltage across the Hall Strip.
The voltage is then fed to the digital
circuitry (shown in the diagram above), which in turn, gives a digital signal as the Hall Effect Sensor output. 19 HALL EFFECT SENSOR - WORKING IN BLDC MOTOR Typically, a BLDC motor will have three Hall Effect Sensors fitted on the rotor or the stator.
These Hall sensors are placed 120 degree
apart from each other, giving 0 to 360 degree angle position.
When these hall sensors come in contact with
the magnetic field of the rotor, it generates respective digital pulse in terms of 1 and 0, as shown in the diagram. 20
