This article has been accepted for publication in a future issue of this journal, but has not been
fully edited. Content may change prior to final publication. Citation information: DOI
10.1109/TPEL.2014.2328655, IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics
> IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS <
Sensorless Control for High-speed Brushless DC
Motor Based on the Line-to-line Back-EMF
Gang Liu, Chenjun Cui, Kun Wang, Bangcheng Han, Member, IEEE, and Shiqiang Zheng, Member,
IEEE
 two requirements need to be satisfied. The first one is to get the
Abstract—A sensorless control method for high-speed brushless
DC (BLDC) motor based on the line-to-line back electromotive
force (back-EMF) is proposed in this paper. In order to obtain the
commutation signals, the line-to-line voltages are obtained by the
low pass filters. However, due to the low pass filters, wide speed
range and other factors, the actual commutation signals are si g-
nificantly delayed by more than 90 electrical degrees which limits
the acceleration of the motor. A novel sensorless commutation
algorithm based on the hysteresis transition between ‘90-α’ and
‘150-α’ is introduced to handle the severe commutation retarding
and guarantee the motor works in a large speed range. In order to
compensate the remaining existing commutation errors, a novel
closed-loop compensation algorithm based on the integration of
the virtual neutral voltage is proposed. The integration difference
between the adjacent 60 electrical degrees interval before and
after the commutation point is utilized as the feedback of the PI
regulator to compensate the errors automatically. Several expe-
riment results confirm the feasibility and effectiveness of the
proposed method.
Index Terms—Brushless DC (BLDC) motor, line-to-line
back-EMF, commutation errors, sensorless control, virtual neu-
tral voltage.
I. INT RODUCTION
HE h igh-speed brushless DC (BLDC) motor is increa-
T singly used in blower, compressor, aerospace, military, etc.
because of its high torque, compactness, high efficiency
and low cost [1]. For proper commutation of the phase currents,
the conventional BLDC motor rotor position must be obtained
by the position sensors. However, there are so me constraints to
the position sensors including high cost, installation difficu lty
of mechanics and poor reliab ility. Therefo re, the development
of the BLDC motor sensorless operation has been a hot issue in
recent years.
Precise sensorless control is beneficial to the imp rovement of
the motor efficiency and the reduction of the motor loss. To
achieve precise sensorless control for high-speed BLDC motor,
This work was supported in part by the National Nature Science Funds of
China under Grant 61374029 and 51107002, in part by the National Major
Project for the Development and Application of Scientific Instrument Equip-
ment of China under Grant 2012YQ040235, and in part by the aviation science
fund of China under grant 2012zb51019.
All the authors are with the College of Instrumentation Science and Op-
toelectronics Engineering, BeiHang University, Beijing 100191, China. (e-mail:
lgang@buaa.edu.cn; cuichenjunupc@163.com; wangkunggg@163.com;
hanbangcheng@buaa.edu.cn; zhengshiqiang@buaa.edu.cn).
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1
sensorless commutation signals in a wide speed range. The
second one is to compensate the sensorless commutation errors
between the actual co mmutation signals and the ideal co mmu-
tation signals.
For the first requirement, many studies have been devoted to
get the commutation signals. A sensorless method of detecting
the terminal voltage to extract the back-EM F zero crossing
points (ZCPs) is described in [2]-[3]. Since the back-EMF is
zero at standstill and is proportional to the rotor speed, it is not
easy to detect the ZCPs at lo w speed. In [4], a low pass filter is
introduced to eliminate the switching noise at the price of in-
ducing the phase delay. Also, it is not easy to detect the ZCPs at
low speed. Moreover, for high-speed BLDC motor, the wide
speed range will lead to a large phase delay which affects the
high-speed performance. Another method using the third har-
monic of the back EM F [5]-[7] can be implemented in a wider
speed range than the terminal voltage sensing method. But the
large noise interference and integral errors at low speed limit its
application. The back-EMF integration method [8]-[9] can
extract the rotor position by integrating the back EMF of the
unexcited phase. However, this method has an error accu mu-
lation problem at low speed. Another integration method using
both back-EMF integration and a phase-locked loop [10]-[11]
can detect the commutation signals by keeping the integration
results of the unexcited voltage at zero. Ho wever, the terminal
voltage is distorted by the freewheeling current, and the com-
mutation erro rs at high speed and under heavy load limit its
application. The flu x linkage estimation method is proposed in
[12]-[13], but the in itial rotor position is needed. Meanwhile,
there are some constraints to its application including large
amounts of calculation, sensitive to the motor parameters and
an accumulated estimat ion error at low speed. The freewheel-
ing current method [14] can estimate the rotor position by de-
tecting the freewheeling current of the unexcited phase. How-
ever, that six co mparators and six isolated power supplies are
required increases the complexity of the system design. A new
sensorless method based on the neural network [15] has high
detection accuracy. But the application is restricted by large
amounts of co mputation, rigorous hardware/software require-
ments and the limited real-t ime performance. The G-function
method [16] can estimate the commutation points using a
speed-independent flu x lin kage function. Ho wever, it can be
operated only at low speed. In [17], the accurate commutation
signals can be acquired by using the estimated torque constant
as a reference signal for the position detection. But this method
increases the complexity of the algorithm and needs large
amounts of calculation. Moreover, the high-speed performance
This article has been accepted for publication in a future issue of this journal, but has not been fully edited. Content may change prior to final publication. Citation information: DOI
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> IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS <
is uncertain. The method, wh ich is not limited to the BLDC
motor with trapezoidal back-EMF wave, based on the
line-to-line back-EMF is p roposed in [18]. The amp litude of the
line-to-line back-EMF is larger than that of the phase
back-EMF. So it can be detected easily at low speed. However,
it does not consider the large co mmutation retarding wh ich can
be greater than 90 electrical degrees in a wide speed range for
high-speed BLDC motor. In conclusion, these methods cannot
be directly used in h igh-speed BLDC motor in a wider speed
range, though they have shown good performances in some
certain applicat ions.
Hardware circuit or software calculation is utilized to obtain
the commutation signals in the aforementioned methods.
However, there will be inevitable commutation errors due to
the inaccurate hardware parameters, wide speed range, diffe r-
ent load condition, variable operating temperature and other
factors. The results of the commutation errors are the reduction
of the motor efficiency, the decrease of the torque/ampere ratio,
acoustic noise , as well as reduced overall electro mechanical
performance[19]-[21][25]. Moreover, the larger commutation
errors (more than 30 electrical degrees) may cause the motor
out of step. Therefore, the second requirement mentioned
above is needed to eliminate the commutation errors.
Some study has been devoted to compensate the commuta-
tion errors. The neutral voltage is used to estimate the rotor
position errors [22] wh ich are co mpensated by the PI regulator.
However, the back-EMF waveform must be trapezoidal and the
motor neutral point needs to be provided. The rotor position
signals can be obtained by direct detection of the back-EMF
zero-crossing signals in [23] and by the truth table in [24]. The
phase shift of the low pass filter is avoided and the position
errors are reduced to a certain extent. But they have a limited
real-t ime co mpensation performance. The commutat ion errors
can be estimated and adjusted by the closed-loop compensation
method [25]-[26], but the estimation algorith m is complicated
and has a poor reliability. A conclusion that abnormal motor
phase currents are caused by the rotor position detection errors
is given in [27] by experiments. But it does not propose an
effective way to eliminate the errors. A hysteresis comparator is
used to compensate the commutation errors [28] by ad justing
both the resistance ratio and the output voltage level of the
hysteresis comparator. This method presents a good perfor-
mance in a wide speed range. However, it needs off-line co m-
pensation, and also has a limited real-time co mpensation per-
formance. A straightforward co mmutation errors compensation
method based on the dc-link current is proposed in [29]. It has a
good performance in a large speed range. Unfortunately, it also
has a limited real-time co mpensation performance. In conclu-
sion, these methods cannot be directly used to realize a
real-t ime co mmutation errors co mpensation performance in a
wider speed range.
To the best knowledge of the authors, both the sensorless
method and the real-time co mmutation errors compensation
method for high-speed BLDC motor in a wide speed range have
not been fully investigated. Therefore, it attracts the authors to
give a reliab le sensorless method and an effective real-time
commutation errors compensation algorithm to achieve precise
commutation in a wide speed range.
This paper proposes a sensorless control method for
high-speed BLDC motor based on the line-to-line back-EM F.
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2
Two new algorith ms are included: a new sensorless commuta-
tion algorithm and a novel co mmutation errors co mpensation
algorith m. The aim of the sensorless commutation algorith m is
to guarantee the high-speed motor can operate in a wider speed
range without the position sensors, while the aim of the co m-
mutation errors co mpensation algorithm is to eliminate the
commutation errors and achieve precise commutation. There-
fore, the remainder of the paper is organized as follows. A new
sensorless commutation algorith m based on the line-to-line
back-EMF is described in section Ⅱ . It is shown that the virtual
neutral voltage integration difference in the adjacent interval
before and after the commutation point reflects the commuta-
tion errors. This is given in section Ⅲ . Then a novel
closed-loop commutation errors compensation algorith m based
on the integration of the virtual neutral voltage is proposed. The
experimental results are shown to validate the proposed method
in section Ⅳ .
II. SENSORLESS COMMUT ATION ALGORITHM BASED ON T HE
LINE -T O-LINE BACK-EMF
A. Mathematical model of the BLDC motor
Generally, the phase pulse width modulation (PWM) control
is extensively used in high-power/low-power BLDC motor
drive. Unfortunately, the high frequency and the large-range
current ripple will inevitably increase the motor loss. In order to
achieve low power consumption, a PWM-controlled buck-type
dc-to-dc power converter in front of the three-phase inverter
bridge is emp loyed for the low-inductance BLDC motor drive
[30]-[32]. In addition, the conclusion that the Pulse A mplitude
Modulation (PAM) control for the BLDC motor provides
higher efficiency than the PWM control is given in [33].
Therefore, the inverter topology based on the buck converter is
selected for decreasing the torque ripple and the loss of
high-speed BLDC motor as shown in Fig. 1. The anterior buck
converter provides an adjustable DC output voltage to realize
the PAM control. Meanwhile, the inverter legs only participate
in the commutation instead of involved in the modulation.
Buck converter Three-phase
inverter bridge
VT7 VT1 VT3 VT5
U ud D1 D3 D5
2 RV RV R L-M + eA -
2 M A
B R L-M + eB -
ud N
U RV C R L-M + eC -
RV VT4 VT6 VT2
2 2
D4 D6 D2
R1 R1 R1
G
N’
Fig. 1. The inverter topology based on the buck converter. U is the bus voltage,
u d =D·U is the output voltage of the buck converter, D is the duty ratio, RV is the
grading resistance, eA, eB, and eC are the back-EMFs, R is the phase-winding
resistance, L is the phase-winding inductance, M is the phase-winding mutual
inductance, “ N” is the neutral point, “N‟” is the virtual neutral point , and “M” is
the midpoint of the DC bus.
The line-to-line voltages equations of the BLDC motor are
expressed as
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uAB   R R 0  iA  retarding will be reduced at the p rice of a poor filtering effect.
  
uBC    0 R  R  iB   Moreover, there will be so me d istorted communication signals
 causing incorrect commutation as shown in Fig .4. Therefore,
uCA    R 0 R  iC  (1)
in order to min imize the electro magnetic interference, the
L  M M L 0   diA dt   eAB  line-to-line voltages need to be heavy filtered.
 
 0 LM M  L   diB dt   eBC  u A‟
  uA RX
+
 M  L L  M   diC dt   eCA 
R3
0 RY C
IN+ VCC R6
- HallA
OUT
IN-
where u AB, u BC, and u CA are the line-to-line voltages, iA , iB, and GND

iC are the phase-winding currents, eAB, eBC, and eCA are the
uB RX u B‟
line-to-line back-EM Fs. +
R4
IN+ VCC R7
The back-EM Fs of the experimental prototype are designed RY C
- HallB
into non-ideal trapezoidal close to sinusoidal waveforms. OUT
IN-
Moreover, the sensorless commutation algorithm based on the GND

ZCPs detection of the line-to-line EMFs is also suitable for the

uC RX u C‟
BLDC motor with sinusoidal back-EMFs [18]. Therefore, the +
R5
IN+ VCC R8
commutation signals detection method based on the line-to-line RY C
-
OUT HallC
back-EMF is adopted in this paper. The relationship between
IN-
the line-to-line back-EMFs and the commutation points is GND

shown in Fig. 2. The six line-to-line back-EM F ZCPs 0 (2π), Low pass Voltage Photocoupler Schmitt trigger
π/3, 2π/3, π, 4π/3, and 5π/3 correspond to the six co mmutation filter comparator Isolation circuit Shaping circuit
points. So we can realize the sensorless commutation by the
Fig. 3. The diagram of the sensorless commutation signals detection circuit.
ZCPs detection of the line-to-line EMFs.
Commutation point ZCP of the line-to-line EMF Fig. 4 shows the output HallA signal filtered by several d if-
2 eAC eBA eCB ferent cut-off frequencies under different speeds. The first three
filters with low cut-off frequency produce pure signals wh ile
1 eA eB eC eA the fourth filter with the cut-off frequency up to 1000Hz pro-
Magnitude (1V/div)

duces a distorted signal with a higher degree of noise which will

cause incorrect commutation. So the filter needs to be carefully
0 designed.
500r/min 5000r/min 10000r/min 20000r/min fco

5Hz
-1
Voltage (2V/div)

10Hz
-2
0 π/3 2π/3 π 4π/3 5π/3 2π
ψ2 ψ2 ψ2 ψ2
HA 100Hz
ψ2 ψ2 ψ2 ψ2

HB ψ2 ψ2 ψ2 ψ2 1000Hz
HC
50ms/div 5ms/div 500us/div 50us/div
Fig. 2. The relationship between the line-to-line back-EMFs and the commu- Time
tation points. HA, HB and HC are the ideal commutation signals, ψ2 is the
commutation errors, α1 is the actual commutation point advanced ψ2 electrical Fig. 4. The output HallA signal filtered by several different cut-off frequencies
degrees, and α2 is the actual commutation point lagged ψ2 electrical degrees. under different speeds.

The amplitude-frequency characteristic, the phase-frequency

B. Low pass filter design characteristic and the cut-off frequency of the low pass filter
The diagram of the sensorless commutation signals detection [18] are respectively described as
circuit is shown in Fig. 3. The co mmutation signals are ob-
tained by heavy filtering the line-to-line voltages and passing  uAB ‟ 1
through the voltage comparators, isolation and shaping circuit  H ( ) = u
 RX RY  1 +  RX C 
2 2
which cause the commutation retarding in the line-to-line  AB

back-EMF ZCPs. In the conventional sensorless commutation  (2)

  RX C 
algorith m, the detected back-EM F signals are filtered by the  ( )=-arctan  
low pass filters with high cut-off frequency for decreasing the   RX RY  1 
retarding. However, for h igh-speed and high-power BLDC  RX +RY
 fco 
motor, the electro magnetic interference is serious. If a filter  2 RX RY C
with h igh cut-off frequency is still taken, the co mmutation 

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This article has been accepted for publication in a future issue of this journal, but has not been fully edited. Content may change prior to final publication. Citation information: DOI
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> IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS <
where RX and RY are the divider resistances, C is the filter ca-
pacitance, u AB‟ is the fundamental wavefo rm of u AB, |H(ω)| is
the amplitude-frequency characteristic, ψ(ω) is the
phase-frequency characteristic, and fco is the cut-off frequency.
Fro m Fig. 3, we can find that uAB‟ is input to the voltage
comparator. Therefore, it should meet the input voltage range
of the voltage comparator described as
 H (0)ud(0)  VCC -2.0
 d3=2.8°
0.4   H (2 f L )uABp-p  f L   VCC -2.0
 (3)

0.4   H (2    f H )uABp-p  f H   VCC -2.0

 (2 f max )  -90

where VCC is the power supply voltage of the voltage co mpa-
rator, u ABp-p is the peak-to peak value of u AB, ud(0) is the initial
output voltage value of the buck converter when the motor
starts, fL and fH are respectively the lo wer limit frequency and
the upper limit frequency of the motor, fma x is the maximal
operation frequency, and λ=1.5~2 is the safety factor.
If several lo w pass filters meet (3), the lo wer cut-off fre-
quency is a top priority premised on enough safety margins for
two reasons. The first one is that the low pass filter with lo wer
cut-off frequency will minimize the electro magnetic interfe-
rence to a higher degree. The second one is that the lower
cut-off frequency will lead to a large commutation retard ing
which will decrease the switching speed n + given in part D and
increase the reliab ility. In this paper, the cut-off frequency is
5Hz with the filter parameters shown in TableⅠ .
TABLE I
FILTER PARAMETERS
RX RY C fco
480 kΩ 240 kΩ 0.2μf 5 HZ
C. Causes of the commutation retarding
Fro m Fig. 3, it can be deduced that the main causes of the
commutation retard ing are: the fixed 30 electrical degrees re-
tarding γ (the ZCPs of the line-to-line back-EMFs lag the ZCPs
of the phase back-EMFs), the retarding d 1 caused by the low
pass filter, the retarding d 2 caused by the simplified circu it, the
device retarding d 3 and the software retarding d 4 . They can be
expressed as
 d1  arctan  CRX RY   RX  RY  
 commutation point M 1 . For co mmon BLDC motor, α is far


 d 2  arccos U L 2  EL 2  Z 2 I L 2  2U L EL  (4)
 d 3  t3
 and high-power BLDC motor, a low pass filter with lo wer
 d 4  t4
where UL is the virtual value of the line-to-line voltage, EL is
the virtual value of the line-to-line back-EMF, IL is the virtual
value of the open phase current, Z is the impedance of the
phase-winding, ω is angular velocity of the motor obtained by
the method given in [21], and Δt3 and Δt4 are respectively the
device delay t ime and the software delay t ime which are ob-
tained by off-line measurements and stored in a data table.
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4
It is obvious that in the five main causes, d 1, d 2, d 3, and d 4 vary
with the motor parameters, filter parameters, motor operating
frequency and load condition. They are all calculated auto-
mat ically by the controller. Here, the five retarding values
under 10000r/ min and 20000r/ min are shown in Fig. 5. We can
see that d1 and γ account for most of the commutation retarding,
while the software retarding accounts for least of the commu-
tation retarding.
d3=6.3°
d2=2.2°
d4=0.28°
d4=0.16° d2=0.9°
γ=30°
γ=30°
d1=89.143° d1=89.573°
(a) (b)
Fig. 5. The five retarding values at 10000r/min and 20000r/min. (a) n=10000
r/min. (b) n=20000 r/min.
Generally, for proper sensorless commutation, the co mmu -
tation retarding should be compensated by considering the five
causes. In this paper, the sensorless method just by compen-
sating ψ1 =γ+d 1 +d 2 +d3 +d 4 is defined as the coarse adjustment. In
order to compensate the remaining existing commutation errors
ψ2 after the coarse adjustment, a novel closed-loop compensa-
tion algorith m is proposed to compensate ψ1 +ψ2 in section Ⅲ
and is defined as the fine adjustment. The precise co mmutation
is realized by the fine adjustment.
D. Sensorless commutation algorithm based on the hysteresis
transition between ‘90-α’ and ‘150-α’
In the common „90-α‟ co mmutation mode, the symbol „α‟ is
the commutation retarding (Here, ψ1 +ψ2 is α.). Assuming, for
instance, that eBA drops to zero from the positive polarity
(t(eBA-=0)), the point Z1 should be the ideal co mmutation point
as shown in Fig. 6(a). Ho wever, eBA is changed into eBA ‟ to
produce the commutation signal. If α is less than 90 electrical
degrees, Z1 will be retarded to Q1 before M 1 . In o rder to obtain
the accurate commutation signal, Q1 should be retarded by 90-α
(90-α>0 must be satisfied.) electrical degrees to the actual
smaller than 90 electrical degrees. So 90-α>0 is easy to be
satisfied, and the „90-α‟ mode is valid. However, for high-speed
cut-off frequency is taken at the price of causing a large phase
delay as explained in part B. Therefore, α will be greater than
90 electrical degrees even at low speed. For example, if α is
equal to 130 electrical degrees as shown in Fig. 6 (b), i.e., Q1 is
lagged behind M 1 , 90-α will be equal to -40 electrical degrees.
If the „90-α‟ mode is still taken, M 1 will be still selected to be
the commutation point and 40 electrical degrees commutation
errors (lag) will inevitably emerge. The motor may be out of
step. So the „90-α‟ mode is invalid when the „150-α‟ mode is
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needed. Q1 should be retarded by150-α (150-α>0) electrical TABLE Ⅲ

degrees to the actual commutation point N1. THE COMMUTATION CONDITIONS OF THE „150-α‟ MODE
Therefore, a novel sensorless commutation algorith m based
Work Commutation Commutation Commutation
on the hysteresis transition between „90-α‟ and „150-α‟ is status time phase device
proposed. At low speed (ψ1 +ψ2 <90 °), the „90-α‟ mode, of 1 t(eBA+=0) C+, A- VT 5, 4
which the commutation requirements are shown in Table Ⅱ , is 2 t(eAC-=0) C+, B- VT 5, 6
adopted. At high speed (ψ1 +ψ2 >90 °), the commutation mode is 3 t(eCB+=0) A+,B- VT 1, 6
switched to the „150-α‟ mode with the corresponding commu- 4 t(eBA-=0) A+, C- VT 1, 2
5 t(eAC+=0) B+, C- VT 3, 2
tation requirements shown in Table Ⅲ . This is one of the main
6 t(eCB-=0) B+,A- VT 3, 4
contributions of this paper.
Ideal ZCP of phase back-EMF 90° where „-‟ represents the line-to-line back-EMF drops to zero
α<90° 90-α
Ideal commutation point fro m the positive polarity, and „+‟ represents the line-to-line
Actual ZCP of line-to-line back-EMF γ=30°
back-EMF rises to zero fro m the negative polarity.
eAC eBA eCB
The expression of the hysteretic switching can be obtained as

eAC‟ eBA‟ eCB‟ 1 n6  n5  n4  n3  n2  n1  n+ 

 (n)   (5)
0 n6  n5  n4  n3  n2  n1  n- 

where n - and n + are the two endpoint speed of the hysteresis, n 1 ,

P1 Z1 Q1 M1 N1 n 2 , n 3 , n4 , n 5 , and n6 are six consecutive motor speed.
The hysteresis loop schematic diagram is show in Fig. 7.
The region between n - and n + is defined as the transition region.

The motor is accelerating

The motor is decelerating
0 π/3 2π/3 π 4π/3 5π/3 2π 1
(a)
150°
Ideal ZCP of phase back-EMF
Ideal commutation point
Actual ZCP of line-to-line back-EMF γ=30°
α>90° 150-α
90-α 150-α
eAC eBA eCB

0
eCB‟ eAC‟ eBA‟ n- n+
Fig. 7. The hysteresis loop schematic diagram.

P1 Z1 M1 N1 If τ (n) =1, the „150-α‟ mode will work, while if τ (n ) = 0, the

Q1
„90-α‟ mode will work. Since the motor angular velocity ω
according to n+ is 2πPn +/60 (P is the number of pole pairs.), we
can obtain n + by solving 90-α=0. Meanwhile, n - can be ex-
pressed as n - = n + - Δn (Δn is the hysteresis width.).
The proper hysteresis width is selected by doing many ex-
0 π/3 2π/3 π 4π/3 5π/3 2π periments to accelerate and decelerate the motor to pass the
(b) transition region with different hysteresis widths automatically
when the motor firstly runs. The principle of the proper hys-
Fig. 6. The schematic diagram of the „90-α‟ commutation mode and the „150-α‟ teresis width Δn is minimizing the current ripple before and
commutation mode. (a) „90-α‟ mode. (b) „150-α‟ mode. after the switching shown as
TABLE Ⅱ n

 ((i
THE COMMUTATION CONDITIONS OF THE „90-α‟ MODE 1
n = min -1 ( A ( n+ , j ) 2  iB  ( n+ , j ) 2  iC  ( n+ , j ) 2 )
n 1 j 0
Work Commutation Commutation Commutation
n

 ((i
status time phase device 1
 A (n , j ) 2  iB  (n , j ) 2  iC  (n , j ) 2 )))
1 t(eAC-=0) C+, A- VT 5, 4 n 1 j 0
2 t(eCB+=0) C+, B- VT 5, 6
3 t(eBA-=0) A+,B- VT 1, 6 (6)
4 t(eAC+=0) A+, C- VT 1, 2
5 t(eCB-=0) B+, C- VT 3, 2 Once Δn is selected, it will be saved and does not need to be
6 t(eBA+=0) B+,A- VT 3, 4 calculated in the subsequent experiments.

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This article has been accepted for publication in a future issue of this journal, but has not been fully edited. Content may change prior to final publication. Citation information: DOI
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III. PROPOSED COMMUTAT ION ERRORS COMPENSAT ION u N‟ M = D·

U/ 6 (11)
ALGORIT HM
In this paper, the BLDC motor with sinusoidal back-EM Fs is
VT1 VT3 VT5
taken for analysis example . The analysis method is also appli- ud D1 D3 D5
cable for the BLDC motor with ideally or any non-ideal tra- RV A R L-M + eA-
pezoidal back-EM Fs. 2
M B R L-M + eB -
The phase back-EMFs can be described as ud N
RV C R L-M + eC -
2 VT4 VT6 VT2
eA  2 E cos(t )  Emax cos(t ) D4 D6 D2
R1 R1 R1

 (7)
eB  2 E cos(t  2 3)  Emax cos(t  2 3)
N‟
 G
eC  2 E cos(t  2 3)  Emax cos(t  2 3)
 Fig. 8. The equivalent circuit during the commutation period.

where E is the back-EMF v irtual value, Ema x is the back-EMF
maximu m value.
Fro m Fig. 1, u N‟N , u NG , and uN‟G [5] [34] can be exp ressed as
uNN‟ =(eA  eB  eC ) / 3

uN‟ G  (uAG  uBG  uCG ) / 3
 seriously considered, since it affects the virtual neutral voltage.
uNG =uNN‟ +uN‟ G =(uAG  uBG  uCG  eA  eB  eC ) / 3
where u N‟ N is the neutral point-to-virtual neutral point voltage,
u N‟G is the virtual neutral point-to-ground voltage, u NG is the
neutral point-to-ground voltage, u AN‟ , u BN‟ , and u CN‟ are the
terminal-to-virtual neutral point voltages, u AG , u BG , and uCG are
the terminal-to-ground voltages.
In order to keep consistent with the subsequent analysis, the
virtual neutral voltage is defined as the voltage between the
virtual neutral point “N‟” and the midpoint “M” of the DC bus
as follows:
uN‟ M  uN‟ G  ud 2=(uAG  uBG  uCG ) 3  D U 2
A. Virtual neutral voltage under normal commutation
For the BLDC motor, there are six co mbinations of the stator
excitation in one cycle. The inverter co mmutation should be
performed every 60 electrical degrees. When the co mmutation
begins under normal commutation, a state called commutation
period will firstly occur. In this period, the three phase wind-
ings conduct because the commutation needs a finite time due
to the phase inductance. Then a new state called normal con-
duction period will emerge. During this period, the open phase
current is zero and the excited phase current builds absolutely.
Let us assume that at a particular commutation process, the
current transfers from phase C to phase A is considered. This
transfer is performed by switching off VT2 and switching on
VT4.
(1) Co mmutation period when ωt ∈ (2π/3, 2π/3+ωtc]
In this period, the phase C current cannot vanish instanta-
neously conducted by D5. Therefore, VT3, VT4 and D5 are
conducting simultaneously. The equivalent circuit during the
commutation period is shown in Fig. 8.
In Fig. 8, the terminal-to-ground voltages can be obtained as
It can be seen from (11) that the virtual neutral voltage is a
DC value proportional to the duty ratio D in the commutation
period. It is well known that the co mmutation period is a tran-
sition process that is far shorter than the normal conduction
process due to the very small armature inductance of
(8) high-speed BLDC motor. Ho wever, this short period must be
The duration of this short period is tc that can be obtained by
solving the following equations .
ud  uBN  uAN =uCN  uAN =D  U

 uAN  RiA  ( L  M ) diA dt  eA
 (12)
uBN  RiB  ( L  M ) diB dt  eB
u  Ri  ( L  M ) di dt  e
 CN C C C

A B C
i + i + i =0
where u AN , u BN , and u CN are the phase-winding line-to-neutral
voltages, iA , iB, and iC are the phase-winding currents.
Therefore, tc can be described as
(9)
tc =   1  ln
 D  U + 3E 2  3 (13)
I b0 R   D  U + 3E 2  3
where Ib0 is the initial current of phase B in the beginning of the
commutation, τ1 = (L-M)/R is the time constant.
It can be seen from (13) that t c increases with a heavier load.
The inductance and the resistance of high-speed BLDC motor
are very small. Moreover, the impedance of the armature in-
ductance is much smaller than that of the armature resistance.
Accordingly, the time constant τ1 is smaller than the traditional
low-speed BLDC motor, so is the duration tc.
(2) Normal conduction period when ωt ∈ (2π/3+ωtc, π]
During the normal conduction period, the phase C current
vanished and the anti-parallel d iode D5 switched off. Therefore,
only VT3 and VT4 are conducting. The normal co mmutation
period is a steady-state process which accounts for most of the
commutation cycle. The equivalent circuit during this period is
shown in Fig. 9.
The terminal-to-ground voltages can be obtained as
u AG = 0, u BG = u d = D·
U, u CG =ec + u NG (14)

u AG = 0, u BG = u d = D·
U, u CG = u d = D·U (10) Therefore, fro m (7), (8) and (14), u N‟ M can be expressed as

Considering (9), u N‟M can be expressed as u N‟ M = Emax cos(ωt+2π/3)/ 2 (15)

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when the open phase current is zero, the unexcited phase

VT1 VT3 VT5 freewheeling current drops to zero and the excited phase cur-
ud D1 D3 D5
RV R L-M +eA - rent builds absolutely.
A
2 (1) Co mmutation period when ωt ∈ (α1 , α1 +ωtc]
M B R L-M +eB -
ud N where α1 =2π/3-ψ2 is the actual co mmutation point advanced ψ2
RV C R L-M +eC -
2 VT4 VT6 VT2 electrical degrees as shown in Fig. 2 and belongs to (π/3, 2π/3],
D4 D6 D2 tc is the duration of this short period.
R1 R1 R1
u N‟ M is the same as (11) and t c is shown as (13) in this period.
G N‟
(2) Unexcited phase freewheeling period when ωt ∈
(α1 +ωtc, α1 +ωtc+ωtz1 ]
Fig. 9. The equivalent circuit during the normal conduction period. where tz1 is the duration of this period.
Assuming that the unexcited phase freewheeling has not
It can be seen fro m (15) that the virtual neutral voltage is an appeared, i.e., iC =0 and iA +iB=0, the terminal-to-ground vol-
AC value proportional to the maximu m value of the phase tages are the same as (14). Therefore, UNG and UCG can be ob-
back-EMF in the normal conduction period. tained fro m (7), (8) and (14) as
Using the same analysis method, the virtual neutral voltage
in the other five conduction intervals can be obtained. The u NG = D·U / 2+Ema x cos(ωt+2π/3)/ 2 (16)
virtual neutral voltage waveform d iagram under normal co m-
mutation is illustrated in Fig. 10. u CG = D·
U /2+3E max cos(ωt+2π/3)/ 2 (17)

The value of 3Ema x cos(ωt+2π/3)/2 is less than -3E max/4 in the

conduction interval and its absolute value increases with the
growing of the advanced angle. The back-EMF maximu m
value Ema x increases at high speed when the value of
3E maxcos(ωt+2π/3)/ 2 may be less than -D· U/ 2. It can be seen
fro m equation (17) that UCG will be less than zero, i.e., phase C
terminal voltage is less than the ground voltage. Hence, the
phase C current flows through D2 (unexcited phase freew-
heeling) after it drops to zero and a reverse-wheeling spike
occurs. The freewheeling circuit is shown in Fig. 11.

VT1 VT3 VT5

ud D1 D3 D5
Fig. 10. The virtual neutral voltage waveform diagram under the normal RV A R L-M +eA -
commutation. 2 R L-M + eB -
ud M B
N
RV C R L-M + eC -
For facilitate analysis, the interval when u N‟ M crosses fro m 2 VT4 VT6 VT2
the positive plane to the negative plane in the steady state is D4 D6 D2
R1 R1 R1
defined as the negative crossing conduction interval (NCCI),
while the interval when u N‟ M rises fro m the negative p lane to the G N‟
positive plane is defined as the positive crossing conduction
interval (PCCI). Fig. 11. The equivalent circuit during the unexcited phase freewheeling period.
In the adjacent interval, the integration of u N‟M in NCCI is
equal to that in PCCI under normal co mmutation ignoring the It is well known that a larger ψ2 will lead to a smaller α1
impact of the co mmutation process , i.e., ∫u -N‟ M dt = ∫u +N‟M dt. If (α1 =2π/3-ψ2 ) and a smaller α1 +ωtc. Moreover, the value of
the impact of the commutation process is considered, ∫u -N‟ M dt 3E max cos(ωt +2π/3)/2 will decrease when ωt is equal to α1 +ωtc.
will decrease and ∫u +N‟ M dt will increase. Therefore, it can be concluded fro m (17) that a larger ψ2 will
Here, ∫u -N‟ M dt is the virtual neutral voltage integration in bring a s maller UCG . Meanwhile, a severe unexcited phase
NCCI, while ∫u +N‟ M dt is the virtual neutral voltage integration freewheeling phenomenon will occur.
in PCCI. The three terminal-to-ground voltages can be obtained as
B. Virtual neutral voltage under advanced commutation
u AG = 0, u BG = u d = D·
U, u CG = 0 (18)
The motor currents are div ided into three stages under ad-
vanced commutation. When the commutation begins, a state Hence, u N‟M during the unexcited phase freewheeling period
called co mmutation period will firstly emerge. During this can be expressed as
period, the three phase windings conduct because the commu-
tation needs a finite time due to the phase inductance. After this
u N‟ M = -D·U/6 (19)
period, there will be a new state called unexcited phase
freewheeling period due to the advanced commutation. And
The duration t z1 of this period can be obtained by solving the
then the third period called normal conduction period occurs
following equation.

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This article has been accepted for publication in a future issue of this journal, but has not been fully edited. Content may change prior to final publication. Citation information: DOI
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3E maxcos(2π/3+α1 +ω(t c + tz1 ))/2 = -D·
U/ 2
(3) No rmal conduction period when ωt ∈ (α1 +ωtc+ωtz1 ,
α1 +π/3]
u N‟ M under advanced commutation is the same as that under
normal conduction as shown in (15).
Therefore, the wavefo rm d iagram of u N‟ M under advanced
commutation is shown in Fig. 12.
. commutation is reflected by ∫u -N‟M dt < ∫u +N‟ M dt. When the
Fig. 12. The virtual neutral voltage waveform diagram under advanced com-
mutation.
Fro m Fig.12, we can find that in the adjacent interval, the
integration of u N‟ M in NCCI is more than that in PCCI ignoring
the impact of the co mmutation process , i.e., ∫u -N‟ M dt > ∫u +N‟ M dt.
Moreover, a larger ψ2 will bring a larger integration difference.
If the impact of the co mmutation process is considered, ∫u -N‟ M dt
will decrease a little and ∫u +N‟ M dt will increase a little. So the
difference decreases slightly. Fro m this point of view, the
commutation process leads to a slightly lagged commutation
which co mpensates the advance angle to some extent.
C. Virtual neutral voltage under lagged commutation
The motor currents are also divided into three stages under
lagged commutation similar to under advanced commutation.
However, the three stages appear in a different order co mpared
with these under advanced commutation. Using the aforemen-
tioned analysis method, the waveform d iagram of u N‟ M under
lagged commutation is shown in Fig. 13.
Fig. 13. The virtual neutral voltage waveform diagram under lagged commu-
tation.
tc is obtained by (13) and tz2 can be obtained by solving the
following equation.
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8
(20) 3E maxcos(2π/3+ωtz2 )/2 = -D·U/2 (21)
Fro m Fig. 13, we can see that in the adjacent interval, the
integration of u N‟ M in NCCI is less than that in PCCI ignoring
the impact of the co mmutation p rocess , i.e., ∫u -N‟ M dt < ∫u +N‟ M dt.
Also, a larger ψ2 will bring a larger difference. If the impact of
the commutation process is considered, ∫u -N‟M dt will decrease
slightly and ∫u +N‟ M dt will increase slightly. Therefore, the dif-
ference increases a litt le. Fro m this point of v iew, the commu -
tation process leads to a slightly lagged commutation wh ich
aggravates the lag angle to some extent.
D. Commutation errors compensation algorithm
It can be concluded fro m the previous parts A, B, and C that
the virtual neutral voltage integration difference between NCCI
and PCCI in the ad jacent interval before and after the co mmu-
tation point reflects the commutation errors. When the impact
of the commutation process is not considered, the accurate
commutation is reflected by ∫u -N‟ M dt = ∫u +N‟ M dt, the advanced
commutation is reflected by ∫u -N‟M dt > ∫u +N‟ M dt and the lagged
commutation process is considered, ∫u -N‟M dt decreases slightly
and ∫u +N‟M dt increases a little wh ich means the existence of
commutation process is equivalent to a slightly lagged com-
mutation. It is well known that the commutation process causes
the torque ripple of the BLDC motor. Hence, it can be mitigated
by a slightly advanced commutation.
As mentioned above, in order to achieve precise commuta-
tion, the remain ing existing co mmutation errors ψ2 after the
coarse adjustment need to be considered, i.e., the fine adjust-
ment will work. A new closed-loop commutation errors co m-
pensation algorithm is proposed here to correct the commuta-
tion errors with the purpose of ∫u -N‟M dt = ∫u +N‟ M dt. This is
another one of the crucial contributions of this paper.
Here, Δu is defined as the integration difference of u N‟M
between NCCI and PCCI and taken as the feedback of the PI
regulator, Hence, the output value ψ2 of the PI regulator reflects
the commutation errors that can be obtained as
ψ2 (k+1)=k P (Δu(k +1)-Δu(k))+ Ti k IΔu(k +1)+ ψ2 (k) (22)
where k P is the proportional coefficient, k I is the integral coef-
ficient, ψ2 (k) is the k-th output value of PI regulator, ψ2 (k +1) is
the (k+1)-th output value of PI regulator, Ti is the sampling
period, Δu(k) is the k-th voltage integration difference, Δu(k +1)
is the (k+1)-th voltage integration difference.
The commutation signals should be retarded by Θ=Φ-ψ1 -ψ2
electrical degrees fro m the ZCPs of the line-to-line back-EM F.
where Φ is 90 or 150, Θ is defined as the final closed-loop
compensation angle, i.e., the fine adjustment angle.
When Δu> 0, i.e., under advanced co mmutation, ψ2 de-
creases and Θ increases. Then Δu decreases and the lead angle
decreases until Δu = 0 when Θ is unchanged; When Δu< 0, i.e.,
under lagged commutation, ψ2 increases and Θ decreases. Then
Δu increases and the lag angle decreases until Δu = 0 when Θ is
unchanged. When Δu = 0, i.e., under accurate commutation, ψ2
is a constant and Θ is unchanged.
The new speed control system with the commutation errors
compensation is shown in Fig. 14. It contains a speed loop
controller, a current loop controller, a co mmutation signals
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detection circuit, a buck chopper circuit, a co mmutation logic motor is connected to the generator by a flexib le coupling. The
control link, a commutation erro rs compensation link and a sensorless BLDC motor drive system is shown in Fig. 16.
commutation algorith m link, etc. Co mpared with the usual
Controller Filter reactor
BLDC motor speed control system, a closed-loop commutation Silicon Controlled Rectifier
errors compensation algorithm and a sensorless commutation and trigger board
algorith m based on the hysteresis transition between „90-α‟and
Power
„150-α‟ are increased. In order to implement the closed-loop analyzer
compensation algorithm, only an additional voltage acquisition Brake tube
Filter capacitor group
circuit ry and simp le software calculation are needed. of the buck circuit
Oscilloscope
Filter capacitor group
Commutation errors compensation link
Δu Vrtual neutral voltage
Chopper tube
PI controller
integration difference
Current
detection Inverter
+ n* i
Velocity loop i* - Current loop Buck Commutation
BLDCM
n- controller + controller chopper logic control

Delay Delay Inductor of the buck circuit Outlet terminals

Optimal hysteresis
Width selection Θ=90-α Θ=150-α
90-α mode
(a)
ψ2 + Solving 1 Table Ⅱ
Commutation ψ1 α n- n+
+ 90-α=0
delay calculation Fig.7
to obtain n+ 150-α mode
2
Table Ⅲ
Commutation algorithm link

Commutation Line-to-Line
Speed
signals voltages
Calculation
detection detection
Commutation signals detection circuit

Fig. 14. New speed control system with the commutation errors compensation .

The impact of the co mmutation process does not need any

additional treat ment because it lasts a very short time and its
frequency may be higher than the voltage sampling frequency.
Accordingly, the virtual neutral voltage of the commutation High-speed magnetically Flexible High-speed magnetically
suspended motor couplings suspended generator
process may not be collected each time. If not collected by AD,
the closed-loop compensation algorith m can only co mpensate
the actual commutation erro rs. However, the duration of the (b)
commutation process increases with a heavy load. If the voltage
surge caused by the commutation process is captured, not only Fig. 15. Experimental platform. (a) Control system. (b) Experimental motors.
the actual co mmutation errors but also the slightly lag angle due
to the commutation process can be compensated by the pro-
posed compensation algorithm. Buck converter Inverter BLDC
iBuck
generator
CT load
IV. EXPERIMENTAL EVALUATION
The proposed sensorless control method has been success- AC
A CT
M iA B CT
fully imp lemented on the experimental h igh-speed magneti- 380V
iB
cally suspended BLDC motor coupled to a magnetically sus- C
iC BLDC
pended generator connected to a variable resistor for loading. motor
The specification of the experimental BLDC motor is shown in G
Table Ⅳ . Voltage regulation Buck
signal
Commutation
driver signal driver signal
N’
Table Ⅳ Commutation
MOTOR PARAMETERS signals
Surface Mounted BLDC Motor detection
Rated DC voltage 480V HallA
Rated current 218A TMS320F HallB
HallC
Rated speed, n 32000r/min 28335 uN’M
Rated Power 100kW
Number of pole pairs, P 2 iA iB iC iBuck
Torque constant, Kt 0.1367N.m/A
Back-EMF constant, Ke 0.0052V/ r/min
Moment of inertia, J 0.024059kg·m2 Fig. 16. Proposed sensorless BLDC motor drive system.
Phase resistance, R 1.5 mΩ
Phase inductance, L 53 μH A simplified flowchart of the proposed sensorless control
method is shown in Fig. 17. The motor is started by the
The experimental platform which consists of the control three-step starting method [35]. Once the reliable position
system and the experimental motors is shown in Fig. 15. The signals are availab le for detection, the sensorless operation

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> IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS < 10

mode will work. speed continues to increase, the total commutation retard ing
will rise to far larger than 90 degrees which will induce the
Start
motor stepping out. Therefore, the motor cannot run in a wider
Three-step starting
speed range in the „90-α‟ mode. However, for the proposed
commutation algorith m, when the speed reaches n + (300 r/ min),
the commutation mode has switched to the „150-α‟ mode. The
Detect the edge N peak-to-peak value is only 6.9A at 750r/ min. The co mmutation
of Hallx errors can be co mpensated by the closed-loop compensation
Y algorith m which achieves symmetrical phase A current iA and
Read iA ,iB, iC and uN‟M and
precise sensorless operation in a wide speed range.
Calculate ψ1 , ψ2 ,n and n+

Current (2A/div) Current (20A/div)

Peak-to-Peak: 86A iA’
N N
Speed up? n<n+-Δn
Y
Y
N
α=ψ1+ψ2≤90 unexcited phase freewheeling
Y
Peak-to-Peak: 6.9A iA
Lag 90-α Lag 150-α

Read Commutation Read Commutation

logic Table Ⅱ logic Table Ⅲ

Generate the compensated Time (15ms/div)

commutation signals
Fig. 19. The phase A current in the „90-α‟ mode and the proposed sensorless
method at 750r/min.
Three-phase inverter

The phase A current during the hysteresis transition process

Fig. 17. Flowchart of the proposed sensorless control method.
The phase A current waveform of the three-step starting
process switching to the sensorless operation is shown in Fig.
18. It is well known that during the three-step starting process,
the rotor is accelerated according to given firing sequences with
decreasing time intervals. Therefo re, the actual co mmutation
signals cannot match well with the ideal commutat ion signals.
Fro m Fig.18, we can see that during the starting process, the
inaccurate commutation signals lead to a large-range current
ripple. But when the motor works in the sensorless operation
mode, the current ripple decreases due to the accurate com-
mutation signals obtained from the proposed method.
Three-step starting
Current (20A/div)
is shown in Fig. 20. Fig. 20(a) is the transition with a proper
hysteresis width when the motor is accelerating. Fig. 20(b) is
the transition with an improper hysteresis width when the motor
is accelerating. It can be observed that if a suitable hysteresis
width is selected, the current ripple before and after the transi-
tion will be s mall. On the contrary, if an improper hysteresis
width is selected, the commutation mode will switch between
the „90-α‟ mode and the „150-α‟ mode repetitiously due to the
large current ripple induced before and after the transition.
Meanwhile, the motor will accelerate and decelerate repeti-
tiously which aggravates the current ripple. Moreover, if a poor
hysteresis width is selected, the motor may be stop.
15 5 45
Peak-to-Peak:5.6A Peak-to-Peak:76A
Sensorless operation 10 30

5 -5 15
Current (A)

0 0

-5 -15 45
-10 90-α 150-α -30

-15 n=300r/min -45 -45

Time (1S/div) Time (1S/div)
15 (a) 45 (b)
5
Peak-to-Peak:6.1A Peak-to-Peak:81A
10 30
Current (A)

5 -5 15

Time (750ms/div) 0 0

-5 -15 45
Fig. 18. The phase A current waveform when the three-step starting process -10 150-α 90-α -30
switches to the sensorless operation.
-15 n=300r/min -45 -45
Time (1S/div) Time (1S/div)
(c) (d)
Fig. 19 gives the phase A current in the conventional „90-α‟
mode and the new co mmutation algorith m. iA ‟ and iA are re-
Fig. 20. The phase A current during the hysteresis transition process. (a)
spectively the phase A current in the „90-α‟ mode and the Transition process of accelerating with a proper hysteresis width. (b) Transition
proposed commutation algorith m when the speed reaches process of accelerating with an improper hysteresis width. (c) Transition
750r/ min. It can be seen that in the „90-α‟ mode, the serious process of decelerating with a proper hysteresis width. (d) Transition process of
commutation errors and unexcited phase freewheeling phe- decelerating with an improper hysteresis width.
nomenon occur in iA ‟, as ψ1 +ψ2 is more than 90 electrical de- Fig. 20 (c) and (d) respectively show the transition when the
grees. Moreover, the peak-to-peak value reaches 86A. If the motor is decelerating. For the same reason, a proper hysteresis

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This article has been accepted for publication in a future issue of this journal, but has not been fully edited. Content may change prior to final publication. Citation information: DOI
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> IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS < 11

width induces a small current ripple while an imp roper hyste- phase freewheeling phenomenon worsens the distortions simi-
resis width induces a large current ripple. As mentioned in lar to advanced commutation as marked in the circles. But the
Section Ⅱ B, the lo w pass filter with lower cut-off frequency unexcited phase freewheeling phenomenon occurs at different
will decrease the switching speed n + and increase the reliability. time fro m the advanced commutation. Fig.21(c) shows the
If the n + is higher, the load current at n + will increase. Therefore, relationship after the fine adjustment. We can see that iA , uAB,
an improper hysteresis width may cause a larger current ripple and uN‟ M are all symmetrical and the unexcited phase freew-
and even damage the motor and the power device. heeling phenomenon disappears .
The experimental co mparisons of the coarse adjustment (Fig. Fig. 22 shows the experimental co mparisons of the coarse
21(a) and (b)) and the fine adjustment (Fig. 21(c)) at adjustment and the fine adjustment at 20000r/ min. Fig. 22(a)
10000r/ min are g iven below. Fig. 21(a) gives the relat ionship shows the relationship between iA , uAB, and uN‟ M under ad-
between iA , u AB, and uN‟ M under advanced commutation. They vanced commutation process. Because of the advanced com-
are all distorted because of the advanced commutation. mutation, the unexcited phase freewheeling phenomenon ag-
Meanwhile, the unexcited phase freewheeling phenomenon gravates the distortions as marked in the circles. Meanwhile,
aggravates the distortions as marked in the circles. Fig. 21(b) the degree of the waveform distortion is larger than that at
shows the relationship under lagged co mmutation. Also, they 10000r/ min because of the heavier load induced by the higher
are distorted due to the lagged commutation. The unexcited speed. Fig. 22(b) shows the relat ionship under lagged

Voltage (V) Voltage (V) Current (A)

Voltage (V) Voltage (V) Current (A)

Voltage (V) Voltage (V) Current (A)

50 iA 50 iA 20 iA
0 0 0
-50 -20
50

100
uAB 100
uAB 100
uAB
0 0 0
-100 -100 -100

uN’M uN’M uN’M

20 20 20
0 0 0
-20 -20 -20
Time (1ms/div) Time (1ms/div) Time (1ms/div)
(a) (b) (c)

Fig. 21. The relationship between iA, uAB and u N‟M under advanced commutation, lagged commutation and precise commutation after closed-loop compensation at
10000r/min. (a) Advanced commutation. (b) Lagged commutation. (c) After closed-loop compensation.
Voltage (V) Voltage (V) Current (A)

Voltage (V) Voltage (V) Current (A)

iA iA
Voltage (V) Voltage (V) Current (A)

60 60 60 iA
0 0 0
-60 -60 -60

200 uAB 200

uAB 200 uAB
0 0 0
-200 -200
-200
uN’M uN’M uN’M
40 40 40
0 0 0
-40 -40 -40
Time (500μs/div) Time (500μs/div) Time (500μs/div)
(a) (b) (c)

Fig. 22 The relationship between iA, u AB and u N‟M under advanced commutation, lagged commutation and precise commutation after closed-loop compensation at
20000r/min. (a) Advanced commutation. (b) Lagged commutation. (c) After closed-loop compensation.

commutation. Similar to the case under advanced commutation, effective performance of the proposed method when the speed
the distortion is more severe than that at 10000r/ min. Also, the reaches to the commanded speed. On the other hand, it can also
unexcited phase freewheeling phenomenon worsens the dis- be seen fro m Fig. 23 that the motor can operate in a wide speed
tortions as marked in the circles. Fig. 22(c) shows the rela- range with the proposed method.
tionship after the fine adjustment. It can be observed that iA , u AB, Fig. 24 shows the waveforms of iA , u AB, and n with sudden
and uN‟ M are also symmetrical without the unexcited phase load change. The motor load suddenly increases from 6.8 N. m
freewheeling phenomenon. to 8.6N. m by decreasing the generator load resistance at
A step speed command fro m 1000 to 20000 r/ min is given in 20000r/ min to test the dynamic performance of the proposed
Fig. 23. The waveforms o f iA , u AB, and the motor speed, n as method. That the motor continues to run even after a sudden
shown in the state 1 verify the good performance of the pro- changing load is evident from Fig. 24, thus validating the per-
posed method for a suddenly changed speed command. formance of the proposed method even for a transient load
Meanwhile, the waveforms as shown in the state 2 validate the condition.

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This article has been accepted for publication in a future issue of this journal, but has not been fully edited. Content may change prior to final publication. Citation information: DOI
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> IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS < 12

100
iA component accounts for up to 52.6%. The har mon ic content is
Current (A) 0
greatly reduced by the fine adjustment.

-100
400 uAB
Voltage (V)

-400
×104
Speed (r/min)

Speed command
2
n
1

0
State 1 Time 5s/div State 2

45 200

80 750

measurement noise
measurement noise
150 400

Fig. 23. The waveforms of iA, u AB , and n during a step speed command sudden
change.

Fig. 25. The harmonics content distribution map of the virtual neutral voltage
under advancing 10°, lagging 10°,and the fine adjustment at 20000r/min. (a)
Advancing 10°.(b) Lagging 10°. (c) The fine adjustment.

The experimental co mparison of the coarse adjustment

Fig. 24. The waveforms of iA, uAB , and n during loading transient .
In order to verify that the advanced commutation affects the
motor performance less than the lagged commutation for the
same co mmutation errors, the harmonics content comparison of
the virtual neutral voltage under leading 10°, lagging 10°, and
the fine adjustment at 20000r/ min is executed. Fig. 25(a) shows
the harmonics content distribution map under leading 10° in
which the fundamental co mponent accounts for 44.5%, wh ile
Fig. 25(b) shows the harmonics content distribution map under
lagging 10°in which the fundamental co mponent only accounts
for 41.3%. It is known fro m the previous analysis that the
commutation process is equivalent to a slightly lagged com-
mutation. Moreover, the duration of the commutation process
increases with load. Therefore, for the same co mmutation e r-
rors, the advanced commutation has a higher fundamental
component. Fig. 25(c) is the harmonics content distribution
map under the fine adjustment in which the fundamental
(when the lagged commutation occurs) and the fine adjustment
is taken as an examp le to test the steady state performance as
shown in Fig. 26. We can see fro m Fig. 26(a) that the winding
temperature and the rotor temperature are reduced for the in-
creased waveform quality due to the fine adjustment. Moreover,
it is crucial in the experimental system because with the in-
creasing speed and power, both the permanent magnets and the
carbon fiber sleeve that is used to protect the magnets will be
close to their maximu m operation temperature. The decreasing
rotor temperature is beneficial to improve the motor reliability.
Fig. 26(b) shows that the motor efficiency and the power factor
are imp roved, as the hardly lagged commutation and the in-
creased waveform quality reduce the motor loss and the har-
monic content.
Finally, the actual co mmutation signal (phase A) obtained
fro m the fine adjustment matches well with the ideal co mmu -
tation signal obtained from a precisely installed Hall sensor
signal at different speeds as is shown in Fig. 27. Therefore, the
actual co mmutation signal fro m the proposed sensorless control
method can absolutely substitute the commutation signal fro m
the Hall sensor to achieve precise sensorless commutation.

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This article has been accepted for publication in a future issue of this journal, but has not been fully edited. Content may change prior to final publication. Citation information: DOI
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> IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS <
Fig. 26. Experimental comparison of the coarse adjustment (lagged commu-
tation occurs) and the fine adjustment over a wider speed range. (a) Rotor and
winding temperatures. (b) Motor efficiency and motor power factor.
Ideal commutation signal (upper) Actual commutation signal (lower)
5V
5V
(a) (20ms/div) (b) (2ms/div)
5V
5V
(c) (1ms/div) (d) (500us/div)
Fig. 27. Actual commutation signal A obtained from the fine adjustment and
the ideal commutation signal at different speeds. (a) n=500r/min. (b)
n=5000r/min.(c) n=10000r/min.(d) n=20000r/min.
In addition, the proposed sensorless control method can also
work with a PWM scheme for varying the voltage. However,
the precision is not as good as with a PAM scheme because of
the high frequency PWM noise in the virtual neutral voltage. It
is noted that the experiment at 32000r/ min requires further test
for the following two reasons: the first one is the coupling
resulting in changes in the rotor mode wh ich affects the stabil-
ity of the magnetic bearing suspended .The second one is the
limited power of the generator load resistance which cannot
endure high power.
V. CONCLUSION
Two new algorith ms are proposed: a new sensorless com-
mutation control algorithm and a novel co mmutation errors
compensation algorithm. Both the theoretical analysis and the
experimental results verify that the effectiveness and feasibility
can be achieved with the proposed algorithms. Co mpared with
the conventional solutions, the proposed algorithms have sev-
eral advantages as follow.
1) New co mmutation algorith m: A sensorless commutation
algorith m based on the hysteresis transition between „90-α‟
and „150-α‟ is introduced to overcome the large co mmu-
tation retarding greater than 90 electrical degrees and
guarantee the motor works in a wide speed range.
2) Precise commutation: A new closed-loop commutation
errors co mpensation algorith m based on the integration of
virtual neutral voltage is proposed to correct the commu-
tation signals errors automatically by co llect ing only on e
voltage signal.
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13
3) Insensitive to the back-EM F fundamental coefficient: The
frequency of the virtual neutral voltage is the same with the
third-harmonic of the back-EMF. However, the v irtual
neutral voltage amp litude is proportional to the back-EMF
fundamental coefficient which is much larger than the
third-harmonic coefficient of the back-EM F.
4) Cost effective: The co mmutation signals detection method
based on the line-to-line back-EM F is adopted. Therefore,
the neutral line can be eliminated. Meanwhile, in order to
realize the closed-loop co mmutation errors co mpensation
algorith m proposed in this paper, only a voltage acquisi-
tion circuit ry and simp le software calculat ion are needed.
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10.1109/TPEL.2014.2328655, IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics
> IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS < 14

[20] Mingyao, Lin, Li Qiang, and Gu Weigang, “Effect of rotor position error Chenjun Cui received the B.S. degree
on commutation in sensorless BLDC motor drives,” In Proc. IEEE
ICEMS Conf., 2005, Vol. 1, pp.497–499.
fro m China University of Petroleu m,
[21] Nikolay Samoylenko, Qiang Han and Juri Jatskevich, “Dynamic Per- Qingdao, Ch ina, in 2007, the M.S. degree
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trans. on Energy Convers., vol.23, no.3, pp. 752–763, Sep. 2008. Qingdao, Ch ina, in 2010. He is currently
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on neutral voltage compensation of brushless DC motors, ” in Conf.
working toward the Ph.D. degree in the
Rec.35th Annul IEEE Power Electronics Specialists Conference, 2004, pp. College of Instrumentation Science and
1431–1437. Optoelectronics Engineering, BeiHang
[23] Jianwen Shao, Dennis Nolan, Mamime Tsissier, et al., “A novel micro- University, Beijing, China. He is currently also a Research
controller-based sensorless brushless DC (BLDC) motor drive for aut o-
motive fuel pumps, ” IEEE Trans. Ind. Appl., vol. 39, no.6, pp.
Member of the Key Laboratory of Fundamental Science for
1734–1740, Nov./Dec. 2003. National Defense, Novel Inertial Instrument and Navigation
[24] Jiang Quan and Bi Chao, “A new phase-delay-free method to detect back System Technology. His research interests include power
EMF zero-crossing points for sensorless control of spindle motors, ” electronics and high-speed permanent magnet motor control.
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on Energy Convers., vol. 18, no.1,pp. 87–93, Mar. 2003. Kun Wang received the M.Sc. and Ph.D
[26] Nobuyuki Kasa and Hiroshi Watanabe, “A mechanical sensorless control degrees from the Robotics Institute,
system for salient-Pole brushless DC motor with autocalibration of esti-
mated position angles,” IEEE Trans. on Power Electron., vol. 47, no.2, pp. School of Mechanical Engineering and
389–395, Apr. 2000. Automation, BeiHang University, Beijing,
[27] Dong-Myung Lee and Woo-Cheol Lee, “Analysis of Relationship Be- China, in 2007 and 2010, respectively.
tween Abnormal Current and Position Detection Error in Sensorless He has been a Postdoctoral Researcher
Controller for Interior Permanent-Magnet Brushless DC Motors, ”IEEE
Trans. on Magn., vol. 44, no. 8, pp. 2074–2081, Aug. 2008. with the Science and Technology on Iner-
[28] Tae-Won Chun, Quang-Vinh Tran, Hong-Hee Lee, “ Sensorless Control tial Laboratory, Fundamental Science on
of BLDC Motor Drive for an Automotive Fuel Pump Using a Hysteresis Novel Inertial Instru ment & Navigation
Comparator,” IEEE Trans. Power Electron. vol. 29, no. 3, pp. 1382–1386, System Technology Laboratory, School of Instrument Science
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and Optoelectronics Engineering, BeiHang University, Beijing,
Based on DC-Link Current for High-Speed Brushless DC Motors With China. His current research interests include magnetic levita-
Low Inductance, ”IEEE Trans. Power Electron., vol. 29,no. 1, pp. tion technology, high-speed motor design, wall-climb ing robot
428–438, Jan. 2014. development and vibrating suction method research.
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no. 12, pp. 4952–4964, Dec. 2012.
[32] Fang, J., Zhou, X., Liu, G., “Precise Accelerated Torque Control for in 2001, and the Ph.D. degree fro m
Small Inductance Brushless DC Motor, ” IEEE Trans. Power Electron., Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Me-
vol.28, no.3, pp.1400–1412, Mar. 2013. chanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of
[33] Yen-Shin Lai, Ko-Yen Lee, Jing-Hong Tseng, etc., “Efficiency Com- Sciences, Changchun, China, in 2004. He
parison of PWM-Controlled and PAM-Controlled Sensorless BLDCM
Drives for Refrigerator Applications,” in Conf. Rec. 42nd IAS Annual is currently an Associate Professor in the
Meeting, 2007, pp. 268–273. School of Instrumentation Science and
[34] J. X. Shen , Z. Q. Zhu, David Howe, “ Sensorless Flux-Weakening Con- Optoelectronics Engineering, BeiHang
trol of Permanent-Magnet Brushless Machines Using Third Harmonic University, Beijing, China. His research interests include me-
Back EMF,” IEEE Trans. Ind. Appl., vol. 40, no.6, pp. 677–683,
Nov./Dec. 2004. chatronics, magnetic suspension technology, and attitude con-
[35] Su, G.-J., and McKeever, J.W, “Low-cost sensorless control of brushless trol actuator of spacecraft.
DC motors with improved speed range,” IEEE Trans. Power Electron.,
vol. 19, no.2, pp. 296–302, Mar./2004.

Gang Li u received the B.S. degree fro m
Shandong University, Jinan, China, in
1992, the M.S. degree fro m Shandong
University, Jinan, China, in 1998, and the
Ph.D. degree fro m the Dalian Un iversity of
Technology, Dalian, Ch ina, in 2001. He is
currently with the School of Instru ment
Science and OptoElectronic Eng ineering,
BeiHang University as a Ph.D. Supervisor. His research inter-
ests include permanent magnet motor control, spacecraft atti-
tude control, and electrical control systems.
Shiqiang Zheng received the B.S. degree
fro m Northeast Forestry University, Har-
bin, China, in 2004, and the Ph.D. degree
in electrical and electronics engineering
fro m Beijing University of Aeronautics
and Astronautics, in July 2011. Currently,
he is with the School of Instrumentation
Science and Optoelectronics Engineering,
BeiHang University, Beijing, Ch ina. His
main research interests involve the spacecraft attitude control
and magnetic bearing technology.

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