Chapter 2

The mathematical model of a Brushless DC Motor

In this chapter, the mathematical model of a brushless DC (BLDC) motor will be

described by a set of dynamic equations, including electrical equations and

mechanical equations. Using space vectors, Section 2.1 derives the dynamic equations

for a p-pole 3-phase BLDC motor, which generally possesses stator windings and a

rotor with surface-mounted magnets. Since the mathematical model is often

established in three-axis system, which is more complicated than a two-axis system,

called d-q coordinate system. Thus, the coordinate transition is necessary and will be

proposed in Section 2.2. Furthermore, the state-space equation will be presented in

Section 2.3.

2.1 Dynamic equations of BLDC motors in vector space

The dynamic equation of the BLDC motor with Y-connected stator winding will

be introduced in this section. Assume that the permeability of iron is infinite. Besides,

the slot effect, the iron lost, and the end winding effect are negligible.

When the neutral point is isolated, the phase currents of the p-pole BLDC motor,

ias(t), ibs(t), and ics(t) can be expressed as

ias (t ) + ibs (t ) + ics (t ) = 0 (2-1)

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 2π
Because the three windings are distributed with in electrical degree apart to
3

each other, the stator current in vector space are generally represented as

2π 4π
I s (t ) = ias (t ) + ibs (t )e + ics (t )e
j j
3 3
(2-2)
2π 4π
where ias (t ) , ibs (t )e , and ics (t )e
j j
3 3
are the corresponding three phase currents.

Let λas (θ e , t ) , λbs (θ e , t ) and λcs (θ e , t ) be the fluxes related to the three phases

of the stator and Lls, Lss, and Lms correspondingly represent the magnetic leakage, the

self-inductance and the mutual inductance of the stator. Hence, the stator flux can be

expressed as

2π 4π
λas (θ e , t ) = (Lls + Lss )ias (t ) + Lms ibs (t )e + Lms ics (t )e
j j
3 3
+ λ pm e jθe (2-3)
2π 2π ⎛ 2π ⎞
−j j ⎜ θe − ⎟
λbs (θ e , t ) = Lms ias (t )e + (Lls + Lss )ibs (t ) + Lms ics (t )e
j
3 3
+ λ pm e ⎝ 3 ⎠
(2-4)
4π 2π ⎛ 4π ⎞
−j −j j ⎜ θe − ⎟
λcs (θ e , t ) = Lms ias (t )e 3
+ Lms ibs (t )e 3
+ (Lls + Lss )ics (t ) + λ pm e ⎝ 3 ⎠
(2-5)

where θ e is the permanent magnetic electrical angle. Besides, λ pm is the flux

magnitude produced by the permanent magnets, which are assumed sinusoidally

distributed in the air-gap.

Based on the stator flux in (2-4)-(2-6), the stator voltages, vas(t), vbs(t), and vcs(t),

can be formulated as

d
vas (t ) = Rs ias (t ) + λas (θ e , t ) (2-6)
dt
d
vbs (t ) = Rs ibs (t ) + λbs (θ e , t ) (2-7)
dt
d
vcs (t ) = Rs ics (t ) + λcs (θ e , t ) (2-8)
dt

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where Rs is the stator’s resistance of each phase. Furthermore, the last term in each

equation illustrates the back-EMF eemf, which can be calculated as following

dλ(θ e ,t ) ∂λ(θe ,t ) ∂λ(θ e ,t )

eemf = = ωe + (2-9)
dt ∂θ e ∂t
dθe
with ωe = as the electrical angular velocity. Actually, the back-EMF contains on
dt

the right-hand side of (2-11) corresponds to the motional voltage and the second to the

transformer voltage. Rewriting the self-inductance as Ls=Lls+Lss and employing (2-9)

are shown the back-EMF of each phase as following

λ&as (θe ,t ) = Ls i&as (t ) − Lms i&bs (t ) − Lms i&cs (t ) − ωe λ pm sin θe

1 1
(2-10)
2 2
⎛ 2π ⎞
λ&bs (θe ,t ) = − Lms i&as (t ) + Ls i&bs (t ) − Lms i&cs (t ) − ωe λ pm sin ⎜ θe −
1 1
⎟ (2-11)
2 2 ⎝ 3 ⎠
⎛ 4π ⎞
λ&bs (θe ,t ) = − Lms i&as (t ) − Lms i&bs (t ) + Ls i&cs (t ) − ωe λ pm sin ⎜ θe −
1 1
⎟ (2-12)
2 2 ⎝ 3 ⎠

Then the dynamic mathematical equation of the 3-phase stator is represented as

R ωe λ pm
i&as (t ) = − s ia (t ) + vas (t ) +
1
sin θ e (2-13)
L L L
R ωe λ pm ⎛ 2π ⎞
i&bs (t ) = − s ib (t ) + vbs (t ) +
1
sin⎜ θ e − ⎟ (2-14)
L L L ⎝ 3 ⎠
R ωe λ pm ⎛ 4π ⎞
i&cs (t ) = − s ic (t ) + v cs (t ) +
1
sin⎜ θ e − ⎟ (2-15)
L L L ⎝ 3 ⎠
1
where Ls + Lms is replaced by L.
2

Besides, the two important things for a BLDC Motor are torque and rotational speed.

The torque of a motor produces from the differential magnetic co-energy and the

kinds of torque are separated by inductance, such as the reluctance torque and the

cogging torque relate to the self-inductance, and the alignment torque relate to mutual

9
inductance. In BLDC motor, the alignment torque is concerned as reciprocal effect

between stator and rotor.

In order to investigate the electromagnetic torque of the BLDC motor, the

synchronous AC motor should be considered first. It is possible to obtain an

expression for the electromagnetic torque by putting the rate of change of the

mechanical output energy equal to the mechanical power.

dWmech
Pmech = = Te ωe (2-16)
dt

Let We be the input electrical energy, Wloss be the stator and rotor losses energy,

W field be the magnetic energy stored in the field, and Wmech be the mechanical

output energy, the total energy and the differential mechanical output energy can be

represented as (2-18) and (2-19), respectively.

We = Wloss + W field + Wmech (2-17)

dWmech = dWe − dWloss − dW field (2-18)

In general, for a p-pole 3-phase machine, the differential input electrical energies

could be expressed as

dWe =
p
2
( *
Re va ias )
+ vb ibs* + vc ics* dt (2-19)

The loss energies are due to heat dissipation across the stator winding resistance,

hysteretic and eddy current losses within the magnetic material, friction loss between

moving parts and either their bearings or the surrounding air, and dielectric loss in the

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electric fields. However, if only the windings loss are considered, the differential loss

energies related to the stator and rotor windings can be expressed as

dWloss =
p
2
(Rs ias + Rs ibs + Rs ics dt
2 2 2
) (2-20)

The differential field energies can be obtained the induced stator and rotor transformer

back-EMF, respectively.

p ⎡ d (Lias ) d (Libs ) d (Lics ) ⎤

dW field = ⎢ias + ibs + ics dt (2-21)
2⎣ dt dt dt ⎥⎦

Thus, differential mechanical energies can be calculated by using (2-6)-(2-8) and

(2-19)-(2-21)

p⎡ ⎛ 2π ⎞ ⎛ 4π ⎞⎤
dWmech = ⎢ − ω e λm ias sinθ e − ω e λm ibs sin⎜θ e − ⎟ − ω e λm ics sin⎜θ e − ⎟⎥ dt
2⎣ ⎝ 3 ⎠ ⎝ 3 ⎠⎦

(2-22)

Therefore, the electromagnetic torque can be formulated by multiplying each phase of

the stator current and back-EMF, such as

p ⎡ ⎛ 2π ⎞ ⎛ 4π ⎞⎤
Te (t ) = − λ pm ⎢ias sin θe + ibs sin⎜ θe − ⎟ + ics sin⎜ θe − ⎟⎥ (2-23)
2 ⎣ ⎝ 3 ⎠ ⎝ 3 ⎠⎦

According to the Newton law, the electromechanical equation can be expressed

as

Te −
2
(+ Bm ωe + TL ) = 2 (Jω& e ) (2-24)
p p

Jω& m + Bm ωm + TL =
2
(Jω& e + Bm ωe + TL ) = Te (2-25)
p

where J is the motor’s inertia, Bm is the viscous damping, TL is the load torque, ω m is

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the mechanical angular velocity.

Note that (2-13)-(2-15) and (2-25) are represented the whole dynamic equations

of the BLDC motor. In these dynamic equations, there are four state variables, ias ,

ibs , ics , and ω e , and three input voltages, vas , vbs , and vcs , and one external load

torque TL . It is difficult to design a BLDC motor controller using the three-axis

system. In order to simplify the design process, three-axis system should reduce to

two-axis system, called d-q axis system, and will be proposed in next section.

2.2 The coordinate transition process

In this section, two transformations in the coordinate transition process will be

proposed. First, the Clarke transformation transforms the three-axis system to

stationary reference frame ( α - β coordinate), shown in Figure. 2.1. Second, the Park

transformation transforms stationary reference frame to rotating reference frame (d-q

coordinate), shown in Figure. 2.2.

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 f bs
fβ
Fs

fα
f as

f cs

Figure. 2.1 The Clarke transformation

fβ
fq
Fs

θ fd

θ
fα

Figure. 2.2 The Park transformation

Before introducing the Clarke transformation, the transformed coefficient is

existed and it can be deduced from power. The total instantaneous power in the

three-axis system and the stationary reference frame are expressed as follows

{
Pabcs = Re vas ias
*
+ vbs ibs* + vcs ics* } (2-26)

{
Pαβ = Re vα iα* + v β i*β } (2-27)

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When the neutral point is isolated, the balanced current and voltage of the stator are

shown as

2π 4π
j j
ias + ibs e 3
+ ics e 3
=0 (2-28)
2π 4π
j j
vas + vbs e 3
+ vcs e 3
=0 (2-29)

After employing above two equations, the total instantaneous power will be equal

with each other.

3 2
Pαβ = k Pabcs (2-30)
2

There are two methods to decide the transfer constant k . First, called power invariant

2
method, k is chosen as . Second, called non-power invariant, k is chosen as
3
2
.
3

In general case, the function Fs (t ) can be the current of the stator I s (t ) or the

voltage of the stator Vs (t ) , and the each phase of the stator in three-axis system can

be expressed as

⎛ j
2π
j
4π
⎞
Fs = ⎜⎜ f as + f bs e 3 + f cs e 3 ⎟⎟ (2-31)
⎝ ⎠

Assume that the α -axis coincide with the a-axis and k is the transfer constant, can

be represented as

⎛ j
2π
j
4π
⎞
Fs = f α + jf β = k ⎜⎜ f as + f bs e 3 + f cs e 3 ⎟⎟ (2-32)
⎝ ⎠

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 2
Suppose that the non-power invariant is chosen; k = , the Clarke
3

transformation can be represented as

⎡ fα ⎤ ⎡ f as ⎤
⎢f ⎥ =T ⎢f ⎥ (33)
⎢ β⎥ s ⎢ bs ⎥

⎢⎣ f 0 ⎥⎦ ⎢⎣ f cs ⎥⎦

⎡ ⎛ 2π ⎞ ⎛ 4π ⎞⎤
⎢cos(0 ) cos⎜ 3 ⎟ cos⎜ 3 ⎟⎥
⎢ ⎝ ⎠ ⎝ ⎠⎥
2⎢ ⎛ 2π ⎞ ⎛ 4π ⎞ ⎥
where Ts = sin(0 ) sin⎜ ⎟ sin⎜ ⎟ is the transformation matrix and f 0 is
3⎢ ⎝ 3 ⎠ ⎝ 3 ⎠⎥
⎢ 1 1 1 ⎥
⎢ ⎥
⎣⎢ 2 2 2 ⎦⎥

the zero-sequence component and it is equal to zero. Later, the inverse of Ts , found

⎡ ⎤
⎢ cos(0 ) − sin(0 ) 1⎥
⎢ ⎥
⎢ ⎛ 2π ⎞ ⎛ 2π ⎞ ⎥
as (Ts )−1 = cos⎜
⎢ ⎝ 3 ⎠
⎟ − sin⎜ ⎟ 1 , will be employed in calculating the
⎝ 3 ⎠ ⎥
⎢ 4π ⎞ ⎥
⎢cos⎛⎜ ⎛ 4π ⎞ ⎥
⎟ − sin⎜ ⎟ 1
⎣⎢ ⎝ 3 ⎠ ⎝ 3 ⎠ ⎥⎦

differential of the flux.

Next, the Park transformation will be deduced from which the angle between the

stationary reference frame and the rotating reference frame is θ . From Figure (2), the

quantity of d-axis and q-axis are composed of stationary reference frame respectively.

f d = fα cos θ + f β sin θ (2-34)

f q = fα (− sin θ ) + f β cos θ (2-35)

Then the matrix form of the Park transformation is denoted as

⎡ f d ⎤ ⎡ cosθ sinθ ⎤ ⎡ fα ⎤
⎢f ⎥=⎢ ⎢ ⎥
cosθ ⎥⎦ ⎣ f β ⎦
(2-36)
⎣ q ⎦ ⎣− sinθ

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Integrating utilization of above two processing, the coordinate transformation from

three-axis system to rotating reference frame is represented as

⎡ fd ⎤ ⎡ f as ⎤
⎢f ⎥=K ⎢f ⎥ (2-37)
⎢ q⎥ s ⎢ bs ⎥

⎢⎣ f 0 ⎥⎦ ⎢⎣ f cs ⎥⎦

⎡ ⎛ 2π ⎞ ⎛ 2π ⎞ ⎤
⎢ cos θ cos⎜θ − ⎟ cos⎜θ + ⎟
3 ⎠⎥
⎢ ⎝ 3 ⎠ ⎝ ⎥
2⎢ ⎛ 2π ⎞ ⎛ 2π ⎞⎥
where K s = − sin θ − sin⎜θ − ⎟ − sin⎜θ + ⎟ . Later, the inverse of K s ,
3⎢ ⎝ 3 ⎠ ⎝ 3 ⎠⎥
⎢ 1 1 1 ⎥
⎢ ⎥
⎣⎢ 2 2 2 ⎦⎥

⎡ ⎤
⎢ ⎥
⎢ cosθ − sinθ 1⎥
⎛ 2π ⎞ ⎛ 2π ⎞
found as K s = ⎢cos⎜θ −
−1
⎟ − sin⎜θ − ⎟ 1⎥ , will be employed in calculating
⎢ ⎝ 3 ⎠ ⎝ 3 ⎠ ⎥
⎢ 2π 2π ⎥
⎢cos⎛⎜θ + ⎞ ⎛
⎟ − sin⎜θ +
⎞
⎟ 1⎥
⎣⎢ ⎝ 3 ⎠ ⎝ 3 ⎠ ⎦⎥

the differential of the flux.

2.3 The state space equation in d-q coordinate

In this section, the dynamic equations proposed in section 2.1 will be

transformed into rotating reference frame. First, the voltage equations (2-6)-(2-8) can

be re-expressed as

d
Vabcs = RI abcs + ( Λabcs ) (2-38)
dt

where Vabcs = [vas vcs ] , I abcs = [ias ics ] , and

T T
vbs ibs

Λabcs = [λas λbs λcs ]T .

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 By using the transformation matrix Ts , (2-38) can be rearranged as

Vαβ 0 = RI αβ 0 +
d
(Λαβ 0 ) (2-39)
dt
dθ e
where Vαβ 0 = TsVabcs = vα [ vβ ]T
v0 , R = Ts RTs
−1
, ωe =
dt
,

[
Iαβ 0 = Ts I abcs = iα iβ ]T
i0 , and Λαβ 0 = Ts Λabcs .

After arrange the equations, the stator voltage equations and dynamic equations of the

stationary reference frame are expressed respectively as

R 1 ω
i&α = − s iα + vα + e λ β (2-40)
L L L
R 1 ω
i&β = − s i β + v β − e λα (2-41)
L L L

where λα = λ pm cos θ e and λ β = λ pm sin θ e are the flux of the permanent magnet on

the rotor decomposed into the stationary reference frame and the rotor position θ e

⎛ λβ ⎞
can be calculated by tan −1 ⎜⎜ ⎟⎟ .
⎝ λα ⎠

On the assumption that the d-axis is the magnet, θ is equal to θ e . By using the

transformation matrix K s , (2-38) can be rearranged as

Vdq 0 = RI dq 0 +
d
(Λdq 0 ) (2-42)
dt
dθ e
where Vdq 0 = K sVabcs = v d [ vq ]
v0 , R = K s RK s−1 , ωe =
T

dt
,

[
I dq 0 = K s I abcs = id iq ]
T
i0 , and Λdq 0 = K s Λabcs .

After arrange the equations, the stator voltage equations and dynamic equations of the

rotating reference frame are expressed respectively as

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 R 1
i&d = − s id + vd + ωeiq (2-43)
L L
R 1 1
i&q = − s iq + vq − ω e id − ωe λ pm (2-44)
L L L

where λ d = λ pm and λ q = 0 are the flux of the permanent magnet decomposed into

the rotating reference frame.

Furthermore, the electromagnet torque will be transformed to stationary

reference frame and rotating reference frame through the process presented before and

the calculated result can be shown respectively as

λm [− iα sinθ e + iβ cos θ e ]
3p
Tαβ = (2-45)
22
3p
Tdq = λ pm iq (2-46)
22

and the dynamic equation of the electrical angular velocity can be shown as

3 p2 B 1
ω& e = λ pm iq − ω e − TL (2-47)
8 J J J

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