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LabVIEW FPGA Based BLDC Motor Control by Using Field Oriented Control
Algorithm

Conference Paper · September 2020

DOI: 10.1109/SEST48500.2020.9203104

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 LabVIEW FPGA Based BLDC Motor Control by
Using Field Oriented Control Algorithm
Guner TATAR
Electrical-Electronic Engineering
Fatih Sultan Mehmet Vakıf University
İstanbul, Turkey
gtatar@fsm.edu.tr
Hayriye KORKMAZ
Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Marmara University
İstanbul, Turkey
hkorkmaz@marmara.edu.tr
N. Füsun Oyman SERTELLER
Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Marmara University
İstanbul, Turkey
fserteller@marmara.edu.tr

Kenan TOKER
Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Marmara University
İstanbul, Turkey
ktoker@marmara.edu.tr

Abstract—BLDC (Brushless Direct Current) motors are widely the results. For the control of BLDC motors, the rotor position
used today due to its high reliability and high efficiency. Theseand the motor control mechanism must be known. Many meth-
motors are synchronous motors that have a linear relationship ods have been developed in this process. Some of these are
between voltage-speed and current-torque. To control these kinds
of motors, inverters are needed. Inverters create a rotational listed as Trapezoidal Drive Control, Sinusoidal Drive Control,
movement in the motor by switching at the appropriate time Simplified Vector Control, Vector Control (FOC), Sensorless
according to the rotor position information. Rotor position is Trapezoidal Drive Control, Sensorless Vector Control. These
obtained in two ways, with and without sensor. Sensor method methods are generally determined according to the position
uses encoders, resolvers or hall effect sensor. Hall-effect sensors
detection logic in the motor and it is possible to determine
are generally preferred for the control of BLDC motors in
terms of cost. In this study, the rotor position was obtained these positions with suitable software. Here, FOC with FFC
by using hall-effect sensor. Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) as the control method and LabVIEW graphical programming
is used to control the frequency and voltage of the inverters. language were chosen as the software language.
Today, Sinusoidal PWM (SPWM) and Space Vector Pulse Width Similar studies have been taken into account and differences
Modulation (SVPWM) techniques are frequently used in such have emerged. In [6], Speed control for permanent magnet syn-
applications. This study explains the development of a Field
Oriented Control Algorithm (FOC) based on SVPWM technique chronous motors was made using FOC algorithm. However,
by using the LabVIEW FPGA Module for a BLDC Motor. It also the FFC control algorithm was not used. The software part of
shows the effects of using PI and FFC (Feed Forward Control) the study was developed in LabVIEW and Compact-RIO was
algorithm together and separately in the controller for the control
used as the hardware part. Although the motor types used in
of Id and Iq reference currents. In addition, simulation of all this study and [6] are the same, the powers are different. The
project was developed and run in Matlab/Simulink.
Index Terms—BLDC, LabVIEW-FPGA, PI regulators, FFC, feedback sensors are also completely different. In a similar
FOC, hall effect sensors, SVPWM. study [7] Rapid Control Prototyping system has been discussed
which is based on Xilinx System Generator. In this study,
I. I NTRODUCTION FOC algorithm with FFC was discussed to drive the BLDC
motors. Although the study uses the same theoretical structure,
Most of the electrical motors used in industrial applications the software and hardware implementations are completely
are three-phase induction motors or Brushed Direct Current different. In [7], decoder was used as feedback sensor and
Motors. While these two type of motors have low efficiency, single drive inverter board was used as driver. The method-
BLDC and any similar motors have high efficiency and high ology of the study of [8] shows the highest similarity with
power to volume ratio [1]–[5]. Although BLDC motors have our study in terms of development platform. Some LabVIEW
significant advantages, their drive and control operations are code blocks were taken from there, because similar control
more complicated and difficult. Before starting any application method was used. However, the power of the motor used and
on a real system, working on a simulation will provide the user the driver board are different. In addition, the sensors used for
with considerable convenience. For this reason, a platform in the feedback signals are also different. On the other hand, used
LabVIEW FPGA Module was developed to test and monitor power electronic components shows a considerable difference.
the behavior of BLDC motors. In addition, a Matlab /Simulink During the study, NI LabVIEW graphical development
model of the same system was developed in order to compare platform was used to program the test platform, to develop
a user interface for monitoring and logging the results. The
978-1-7281-4701-7/20/$31.00 ©2020 IEEE
model was implemented on sbRIO-9637 development card.
In the project block diagram; first, software was created in
LabVIEW FPGA module and then transferred to the FPGA
core. This module is a software package that converts graph-
ical code blocks developed in the LabVIEW environment to
VHDL and transfers them into the FPGA core. Simulation
in Matlab/Simulink of the test set-up was constructed in
order to evaluate the reliability of the real system. In order
to emphasize the positive effect of FFC on PI controller,
experimental results were given for different motor speeds
in no-load condition. The hardware components necessary
for driving the electric motors must be selected according
to the torque, speed and the motor type. Each motor has its
own specifications given in the technical documents from the
manufacturers. Therefore, a driver developed for one motor
can not be used for any other motors. In this project, driver
and controller were designed for 1kw light electric vehicles.
The paper organisation is as follows; in Section II system
development and working principle were explained, in Section
III BLDC motor and its equations were given, in Section
IV hardware structure was introduced, in Section V SVPWM
technique was explained, in Section VI software design was
given, in Section VII system simulation was done, in Section
VIII simulation result and the last Section IX conclusion and
discussion were announced.
II. S YSTEM D EVELOPMENT AND W ORKING P RINCIPLE
In BLDC motors, control is undertaken by an electronic con-
troller. The controller includes a micro controller that provides
semiconductor circuit elements and switching related timing
to carry out the high-current switching task. The controller
must follow the rotor position at an appropriate speed so that
there is no disruption of the motor rotation. For this reason,
the rotor position must be precisely determined. That’s why,
motor parameters (such as sensitivity, cost, efficiency) and
speed should also be taken into consideration. In this project,
the closed loop torque control was considered and the Id
flux reference value was taken (assumed) as zero. Among the
existing control methods, FOC algorithm (fig.1) is widely used
since it is more efficient than the others [9], [10]. The FOC
method is based on the positioning of space vectors. The basic
principal behind this and similar vector control algorithms is
to enable separate control of the current components forming
the magnetic flux and torque in synchronous or asynchronous
motors. Stator current is required to perform independent
control of torque and flux production as specified. The stator
current vectors are projected to the static reference plane as αβ,
then to the rotational reference as dq [7], [8], [11]. In order to
understand the concepts mentioned, it is necessary to know the
difference between the electrical and mechanical position of
the rotor. The mechanical position is the actual position of the
rotor shaft, and the electrical position is related to the rotation
of the rotor’s magnetic field and it depends on the number of
pole pairs. Relationship between two terms is expressed as in
(1).
θe = θm np (1)
Here, np represents pole pairs. Since the rotation speed is the
derivative of the rotor position, the relationship between the
electrical and mechanical rotation speed can be given in (2).
ωe = ωm np (2)
Velocity and rotor position are calculated by using feedback
data (θ). Current values are calculated with the help of sensors.
Since the total amount of symmetric currents are zero ( Ia +
Ib + Ic = 0), it is sufficient to measure any two of the stator
phase currents.
Fig. 1. Overall Block Diagram of the Project [7]
PWM affects the performance of the driver and hence the
performance of the motor. The PWM controller is capable
of generating the desired output waveform. While doing this
some harmonics can occur. These harmonics are produced
by the iron and copper as it causes the loses to increase
which in turn leads to overheating of the motor. Furthermore,
power loses in the electric motor drive cause electromagnetic
interference and impact torques.
In the switching circuits driven by the SVPWM method
according to the conventional PWM, an output voltage with
less harmonic content is obtained due to the shape of the input
voltage. Switching circuits are power electronic devices that
convert the voltage at the output to the AC voltage at the
desired frequency and voltage at the output. Although it is
desirable that the current or voltage curves at the inverter
output be sinusoidal, it is inevitable that harmonics which
often distort the output sinus signal was generated. By using
high-frequency semiconductor circuit elements and switching
techniques, it is ensured that the most of the harmonics gener-
ated at the output voltage can be reduced. The development of
the semiconductor elements used in the power converters and
the digital signal processors having fast processing capabilities
are used for complex conversion and control algorithms. The
amplitude, phase and frequency of the voltage applied to
the motor windings can be changed by applying a suitable
PWM signal to the inverter using the techniques described
above. By comparing the control signal generated by the PWM
algorithms with the high frequency carrier signal, the inverter
sets the "on-off" duration of the semiconductor switching
elements. In this way, a fundamental voltage is produced with
a desired voltage value [11], [12].
 III. DYNAMIC BLDC M OTOR E QUATIONS
For vector control of BLDC motors, the stator variables in
the fixed plane must be transformed into the rotating rotor
plane. In this way, it is possible to reduce the degree of the
equations to get a faster solutions [6], [13]–[15]. However,
the speed of the system to be discussed must be known in
the reference plane. The examination of the reference plane is
possible with Park and Clark transformations. In the equivalent
circuit, the current and voltage equations are converted from
three phases to two phases using Park transformations. In this
case, the stator voltage equations in the reference plane of the
BLDC motors are determined by Kirchhoff’s law [14], [16],
[18], [19]. Equivalent equations for d and q values of BLDC Fig. 2. Hardware Structure of the System
motors were given (3) and (4).
IV. H ARDWARE S TRUCTURE
d(Iqs+φ )
Vds = Rs Ids − ωr Lqs Iqs + Lds (3) Figure 2 shows the hardware structure of the system. 1 kW
dt
BLDC motor is fixed on the bicycle wheel. The system was
d(Iqs ) tested by using a 1 kW motor and the results were examined.
Vqs = Rs Iqs + ωr Lds Ids + Lqs + ωr φ (4) The motor parameters used was given in table I.
dt

dφ TABLE I
=0 (5) M OTOR PARAMETERS
dt
Parameters Value Unit
Then; Applied Voltage 24-48 V
d(Iqs ) Rs (Stator Resistance) 0.16 ohm
Vds = Rs Ids − ωr Lqs Iqs + Lds (6) Ls (Stator Inductance) 2.716 mH
dt
T m (Load Torque) 12.12 Nm
Average Power 1 kW
dIqs Average input current 8.1009 A
Vqs = Rs Iqs + ωr Lds Ids + Lqs + ωr φ (7) Number of pole pairs 12
dt
Rated speed 300 rpm
The electromotive force is obtained by (8) Stator Flux Density 1.788 Tesla
J (Inertia) 0.0458604 kgm2
Te = 0.75np(Iqs φ + (Lds − Lqs )Iqs Ids ) (8) Ke (Ideal Back-EMF Constant) 1.36524 Vs/rad
KT (Rated Torque Constant) 1.4967 Nm/A
Since the magnetic flux in the rotor of BLDC motors is
generated by the permanent magnet and the rotor resistance
is very high, the magnetization component of the current V. SVPWM
becomes zero (Ids = 0). In addition, the motors where the In order to apply the correct phase voltage to the stator,
magnets are placed on the rotor surface have no oscillation. the inverter needs an appropriate pulse width modulation
Therefore, the d and q − axis inductance match each other. signal. These PWM signals are obtained by Space Vector
In this case, if the electromagnetic moment is re-arranged. Modulation. The SVPWM converts the two reference vectors
(Vαref , Vβref ) to the appropriate binary key patterns for driv-
Te = 0.75npIqs φ (9) ing the inverter using pulse width modulation. These switching
patterns lead to the induction of voltage in the stator phases
Electrical angular speed and position of the motor are obtained to obtain the stator currents that will produce the desired flux
by (10) and (11). vector [20]. For a better understanding of space vector pulse
width modulation, it is necessary to know the 3-phase inverter
dωr Te − Bωr − TL
= (10) structure.
dt J As fig.3 shows, each phase of the inverter consists of two
lower and upper switch groups. When the upper switch group
dθ (Q1, Q2, Q5) is connected to the positive DC line; the sub-
= ωr (11)
dt key group (Q2, Q4, Q6) is connected to the negative DC line.
Here; In the inverter circuits, there are 2 switches for each cable
Rs : Stator line resistance, Lsq and Lsd : Stator inductance, Isq and 6 switches in total, and those switches drive the motor
and Isd : Stator currents, ωr : Mechanical speed, φ: Magnetic according to the 23 = 8 possible combinations. 000 and 111
flux, Te : Electromagnetic moment, np: Number of pole pairs. of these combinations are not used.
 A. PI Controller
Totally, two PI controllers were used. These PI controllers
were taken from the internal PID block running on the FPGA.
It is used by adjusting the PI from the PID block. They
were used to regulate and stabilize the Id and Iq currents
obtained from the Park transformation. Ideal continuous-time
and discrete-time PI controller equations were given in 12, 13.
The LabVIEW code part of the PI blocks was given in fig. 5.
Z
Fig. 3. Inverter Structure [1]
u(t) = Kp e(t) + Ki e(t)dt (12)
n
Kp T X
u[n] = Kp e[n] + e[k] (13)
VI. S OFTWARE D ESIGN Ti
k=0

In this motor control application, LabVIEW graphical devel-

opment platform was preferred. Three main VIs are operating
on two different platforms (PC and sbRIO) and three different
layers of operations (PC, RTOS and FPGA) running simultane-
ously. The study consists of main programs and subprograms
running in parallel. Project screen overview was given in fig.4.

Fig. 5. Internal LabVIEW PID code block

B. Feed Forward Control Algorithm

Another controller that runs parallel to PI controllers is
FFC. Since the feed forward controller can predetermine the
disturbing effects that will affect the throughput, when used
with the feedback control, it can significantly improve perfor-
mance over feedback only [17]. Therefore, feed forward and
feedback controllers were used together. The FFC algorithm
was also used to model the electrical dynamics of the motor
[8]. LabVIEW code block and mathematical equations of FFC
algorithm were given in fig.6 and equations 14, 15 respectively.
The block diagram of FFC algorithm was given in fig.7
together with all other programs.
disd
Vsd = Rs isd + Ld − ωs Lsq isq (14)
dt
Fig. 4. Project Explorer
disq
Vsq = ωs (Ls + disq ) + Lsq + Rs isq (15)
dt
As mentioned earlier, LabVIEW allows to run different
subprograms in parallel. Therefore, all programs run in the
same window. Block diagram including all components of
the FOC algorithm is shown in fig 4. Here, Clark, Park,
inverse Clark, inverse Park transformation, subprograms, feed-
forward control (FFC) algorithm and SVPWM were given
together. The FFC algorithm and PI controllers were described
as follows. Block RAM structure was used for communication
between FPGA and Real-Time operating system. DMA FIFO
(Direct Memory Access First In First Out) structure was used
for user interface and FPGA communication. Fig. 6. FFC algorithm LabVIEW code block [8]
 application for one of three phase (U, V, W) was shown in
fig.13.

Fig. 7. Block diagrams of all programs running on FPGA

VII. S YSTEM S IMULATION

To verify the functionality of the application, the system was
simulated in a Matlab / Simulink environment and the results
were obtained. These results were compared with real time
application. Figure 8 shows the Matlab model of the project.
To simulate the system, relatively similar motor equations were
used. Basically in this study, the system was made by using
FFC algorithm and PI controllers and changing PI reference Fig. 9. Matlab/Simulink Simulation Results
parameter values Iq. In the section VIII, the simulation and
real-time application results were given.

Fig. 8. Matlab Model

VIII. S IMULATION R ESULTS

Both fig. 9 and 10 show the Matlab/Simulink and LabVIEW
application results. Different proportional and integral coef-
ficients were tried and simulation results at different speeds
were discussed. As can be seen from the figures 9 and 10,
system response is more reliable when FFC algorithm and PI
controller were used together. In this study, Iq ref = 1 − 5A
and PI parameters for the speeds in the range of 20-120 rpm
were determined as 5.2 and 0.2, respectively. For this case, Fig. 10. LabVIEW-based Real-Time Application Results
Matlab simulation results were given in fig. 11 and 12. Figure
11 shows that three-phase stator currents. Transients response IX. C ONCLUSION AND D ISCUSSION
of the motor in the range of 0-0.04 sec seems unstable. The As a result, the control of the BLDC motor was realized
reason for this is that, like every motor, it draws current above with LabVIEW graphical development platform by using
the desired current at the first start. After 0.04 sec, it changed FOC algorithm. PI controllers and FFC algorithm were used
to the steady state. Figure12 shows that the electromagnetic together in order to keep the reference current at the desired
moment generated by the motor and Isq current. Real time value. For the feedback current data, any two phases of
the motor were used. Hall-effect sensors were used for the
electrical angle. The results were compared according to the
P I and Iqref parameter values and Matlab simulation results
showed more optimized results than real-time application in
fig.9 and fig.10. When the simulation and real-time application
results are compared, the use of both PI and FFC algorithms
instead of PI alone reduced the error rate. The determined PI
parameters and Iqref current values worked well in the range
of 20-120 rpm. Motor control can be made at higher speeds
by using different PI parameter values.
Fig. 11. Matlab/Simulink simulation result of stator currents at 120 rpm
Fig. 12. Matlab/Simulink simulation results of Isq and Te [N m]
Fig. 13. Test Result of stator voltage for one phase
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