Identifying, Analyzing and Mitigating First-,

Second- and Third-Order Effects on Motor

Control Performance in Vector Control of
PMSM Motor Applications

Renesas Electronics America Inc.

Jeff Shoemaker, Sr. FAE
Date: March 13, 2012

2011 Renesas Electronics America Inc. All rights reserved.

00000-A

Agenda
PMSM vector control
First-Order Effects
z Motor parameters
z Back EMF,
z Reluctance and Cogging torque

Second-Order Effects
z
z
z
z

PWM control frequency selection

Dead time impact
Feedback resolution and sensing
Modulation techniques

Third-Order Effects
z Fixed point vs. floating point calculations
z MCU/DSP architecture

Q&A

2011 Renesas Electronics America Inc. All rights reserved.

PMSM Vector Control

Designers use vector control in PMSM applications to achieve
efficiency and performance
z Requires them to trade off many factors and effects
z A balance is required between system level functionality and
performance and efficiency

Renesas has many years of experience working with motor

control, in particular with vector control
z Many control algorithms have been developed and tested
z Showed how this can influence the MCU/DSC selection criteria

Our experience has shown us that there are many factors to

consider when developing and designing for optimum
performance and high efficiency
z We have attempted to stratify these considerations into three levels of
effects from overall system level down to the MCU/DSC level

2011 Renesas Electronics America Inc. All rights reserved.

Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor

Also known as Brushless DC (BLDC) motor

Stator Windings

Stator

Rotor

2011 Renesas Electronics America Inc. All rights reserved.

Parameter

Value

Motor Pole

Phase

Voltage

130 V

Current

1.5 A

Power

1/5 hp

Speed

2500 rpm

Inductance

27 mh

Stator Resistor

5.1 ohm

Hall sensors

Vector Control
Current loop is inside, speed loop is outside
Sensorless control has flux and position observer

r*

Commanded speed *
iq
r

id = 0
*

Observed
actual
speed

Inverse
Park transform
*
Uq

iq
Ud

,
T 1 ( )

Inverse
Clarke transform
U

id

Park transform

iq

Clarke transform

ia

id

T ( )

Current loop

r
Speed loop

2011 Renesas Electronics America Inc. All rights reserved.

ib

First-Order Effects

2011 Renesas Electronics America Inc. All rights reserved.

First-Order Effects: Parameter Mismatch

Manifests itself as a gross error in performance
z E.g., Torque or speed off by 50%, instability, etc.

A good place to start is the manufacturers datasheet or the

ratings listed on the nameplate of the motor
Table I. Motor specifications for Bodine 34B series BLDC motor.

Is there a mismatch between

what is in the datasheet versus
the parameters that are used in
the control algorithm?
Are the order of magnitude and
units correct?
What is the meaning of
specifications and ratings?

2011 Renesas Electronics America Inc. All rights reserved.

34B Series BLDC Motor Model 3306

Specifications
Model Number

3306 [CAD Drawings]

Category

34B Brushless DC Motor

Speed (rpm)

2500

Rated Torque (oz-in)

81

Rated Voltage

130V

Motor HP

1/5

Torque Constant (oz-in/A)

51

Voltage Constant (V/krpm)

38

Winding Resistance (ohms)

9.2

Winding Inductance (mH)

24

Rotor Inertia (oz-in-sec)

0.0115

Radial Load (lbs)

42

Length XH (inch)

4.06

Weight (lbs)

Product Type

34B3BEBL

Accessory Shaft

NO

Connection Diagram

BLDC Connection

First-Order Effects: Back EMF

Back EMF is present in all PM
Motors
When the motor rotates, the
magnetic field changes, and this
induces a voltage that opposes
the voltage applied to the motor
z Va = ea +Ra*Ia + La*dia/dt
z where Ra and La are the winding
resistance and winding
inductance respectively

The term, ea, is the Back EMF

denoted by
z ea = k E * m
z where kE is in units of
V/(rad/sec)
z Typically specified as V/kRPM by
manufacturers

2011 Renesas Electronics America Inc. All rights reserved.

First-Order Effects: Back EMF Waveform

Found in manufacturers
datasheet
First-order effect is that it limits
the top speed of the motor per a
given amount of applied voltage
because the higher speeds of
the motor a larger Back EMF
At some point, the amount of
Back EMF equals the bus
voltage, and there is not
sufficient voltage that can be
applied to the motor to maintain
a certain speed
Can be mitigated to some
extent by employing techniques
such as space vector modulation
9

2011 Renesas Electronics America Inc. All rights reserved.

First-Order Effects: Reluctance & Cogging Torques

The reluctance torque is the result of differences between
the q and d axis inductances in a permanent magnet
synchronous motor
It manifests itself in the torque performance of the motor
Mitigated by employing phase advancing techniques

The cogging torque is created when the magnets in the

rotor interact with the slots in the stator
Undesirable first-order effect that is apparent when the
motor is operating at low speed
Mitigated by tuning or employing adaptive feed-forward
or current injection techniques
10

2011 Renesas Electronics America Inc. All rights reserved.

First-Order Effects: Others To Consider

The motor torque constant, Kt, relates the torque produced
by the motor with the current through the motor
z Effective torque constant can be up to 20% lower at peak
current than at lower current
z Mitigate this effect is by properly characterizing Kt as a function
of current and temperature. A lookup table can be used
identify Kt and that can be used for the internal model of the
motor and control algorithm

11

2011 Renesas Electronics America Inc. All rights reserved.

Second-Order Effects

12

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PWM Control Frequency Selection

Second-order effects are more pronounced in high
performance algorithms, such as vector control, and dealt
with assuming first-order effects have been satisfied
Frequency selection is the result of a tradeoff between
performance, efficiency and available CPU bandwidth
The test data shown here is from a sensorless vector control
algorithm implemented on an RX62N CPU board with a
power stage driving a BLDC motor
Results show much better control response while
maintaining smooth current at the higher PWM freq at the
cost of double the CPU bandwidth

13

2011 Renesas Electronics America Inc. All rights reserved.

Speed Control @10kHz and 16kHz

Motor Speed Using 10kHz Carrier

Motor Speed Using 16kHz Carrier

4010
4010

4008

Accuracy is +/- 5 RPM

4008

Accuracy is +/- 3 RPM

4006
4006

4004

Speed in RPM

Speed in RPM

4004

4002

4000

3998

3996

4000
3998
3996

3994

3994

3992

3992
3990

3990
0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Time (units of 10 msec)

26.5 % Bandwidth @10kHz

14

4002

2011 Renesas Electronics America Inc. All rights reserved.

80

20

40

60

80

Time (Units fo 10 msec)

44.8% Bandwidth @16kHz

100

120

140

Current Control @10kHz and 16kHz

Phase current @10K

26.5 % Bandwidth @10kHz

15

2011 Renesas Electronics America Inc. All rights reserved.

Phase current @16K

44.8% Bandwidth @16kHz

Dead-Time Insertion and Mitigation

The time inserted between turning OFF the high side and
turning ON the low side, or vice versa
z No power provided to motor during dead time
z Keeps power module from blowing up!

As a second-order effect, dead time creates a harmonic

distortion in the current wave form and injects the
disturbance in the current loop affecting the control
performance
Mitigated by simple to complex dead-time compensation
techniques to recover performance
Cost is CPU utilization but tradeoff may be worth it
A+

Current
ON

A+

A+

Current
ON

A+

Current

A-

ON

A-

Current pass through blows

up power module

16

2011 Renesas Electronics America Inc. All rights reserved.

A-

ON

Dead time prevents the

power module blow up

A-

Dead Time Compensation @10Hz

Without compensation, current profile has distinct harmonics
With compensation, current profile is smooth
Without dead time compensation

17

2011 Renesas Electronics America Inc. All rights reserved.

With dead time compensation

Dead Time Compensation @30Hz

Without compensation, current profile has distinct harmonics
With compensation, current profile is smooth

Without dead time compensation

18

2011 Renesas Electronics America Inc. All rights reserved.

With dead time compensation

Feedback Mechanism Resolution

Digital encoders are commonly used in high-end control
where the speed loop is tightly coupled with the current loop
Designers must consider the dynamic range, accuracy and
speed loop rate that is required when selecting an encoder
z Examples given in paper

Some designers have a dynamic speed loop where the speed

loop rate can change at different speeds
z Must consider how loop dynamics and gains change in this case

19

2011 Renesas Electronics America Inc. All rights reserved.

Feedback Mechanism Resolution (2)

The ADC is used for current measurement and is available as
a peripheral on an MCU/DSC with 10- or 12-bits resolution
12-bit resolution is better at resolving the zero crossing
region and results in better performance
z e.g, 10 amp max current per phase at 10-bits resolves 20 mA
has much larger step size than 12-bits which resolves down to
5 mA

Can also employ over sampling and filtering to increase

resolution of current measurements
Be wary of encoder quantization and resolution noise that
can back feed into the speed loop
z Manifests itself as a torque ripple

Can be mitigated by employing fixed speed loop if small

counts over speed range are possible or use dynamic loop
rate at speed ranges where performance is critical

20

2011 Renesas Electronics America Inc. All rights reserved.

Second-Order Effects: Modulation Techniques

High-end control algorithms typically use sinusoidal methods and their
enhancements to continually provide power to all three phases of the motor
10000

8000

6000

4000

Sine value

2000

40

79

118

157

196

235

274

313

352

-2000

Integer value for u

-4000

Integer value for v

Integer value for w

-6000

-8000

angle
-10000

Three sine waves one for each phase

Input voltage to motor is up to max bus voltage per phase

Phase to phase voltage is less due to third harmonic being cancelled as a
second-order effect due to the phase voltages shifted 120 degrees apart
PWM @20kHz,

F = 50Hz

Vuv < Vbus

U-V current

Magnitude

Bus Voltage

Maximum Line-to-line
Voltage is 86% of Vbus

-1

W
-2
0

10

20

30

40

50

time (ms)

Current should be here

21

2011 Renesas Electronics America Inc. All rights reserved.

Current not at peak value

Second-Order Effects: Modulation Techniques

This second-order effect can be mitigated by injecting the third harmonic
back into the phase voltages before it is applied to the motor
z Known as third harmonic injection or space vector modulation
z Additional scaling is required
Additional scaling

Pure sine wave and 3 rd harmonic

Sine wave plus 3 rd harmonic

The modified sine modulation has new PWM values which recover the lost
phase to phase voltage
The current value per phase can now achieve the desired maximum value
sin +1/6sin3

PWM @20kHz,

F = 50Hz

U-V current

Magnitude

-1

-2
0

10

20

30
time (ms)

Current at peak value

22

2011 Renesas Electronics America Inc. All rights reserved.

40

50

Third-Order Effects

23

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Third-Order Effects: Fixed-Point vs Floating-Point

Vector control algorithm requires implementing complex transformations
iu

a-axis

iw

Id

b-axis

Iq

d-axis

iv

a-axis

b-axis

Clarke Transformation

i 1 2
i =
3
0

q-axis

1 i
a
2 i

3 b

i
2 c

Park Transformation

I d cos
I =
q sin

sin i

cos i

Vector control is typically implemented in a fixed-point DSP or MCU

Fixed-point implementation has several issues such as saturation,
continuous normalization and proper accuracy of the variable being used,
especially for the 16-bit DSP devices

24

2011 Renesas Electronics America Inc. All rights reserved.

Third-Order Effects: Fixed-Point vs Floating-Point

Renesas implemented both fixed-point and floating-point sensorless vector control

algorithms for BLDC motor control
Results of comparison were presented at the Motor & Drive 2011 conference
Implementation with floating-point uses significantly less code and CPU bandwidth

r*

Commanded speed *
iq
r
Speed Regulator

id = 0
*

Observed
actual
speed

iq

id

Inverse
Inverse
Park transform
Clarke transform
*
Uq
*
iq PI
U
d,q
,
Regulator
to

id PI
Regulator

Ud

,
T 1 ( )

to
a, b, c

Voltage
Source
3-phase
Inverter

SIN
PWM

Clarke transform

ia

,
to
d,q

id

PWM1~6

Motor Model
Based Flux and
Position Observer

Park transform

iq

DC Bus

T ( )

a,b,c
to

ib

Current loop

3-phase
PMSM

Speed Estimation

Speed loop

Parameter

Fixed-Point

Floating point

Ratio

Comments

CPU bandwidth (sec)

40

26

0.65

FPU 35% better

Code size (bytes)

13816

7597

0.55

Code reduced by 45%

25

2011 Renesas Electronics America Inc. All rights reserved.

Third-Order Effects: Processor Core Architecture

Processor utilization and computational performance are third-order effects that can
impact control loop response/performance and ability to perform other tasks
z

26

Directly influenced by processor architecture and MCU/DSP/DSC selection

Motor control testing by Renesas is done using a RX62x DSC

High performance core with enhanced Harvard architecture, 5-stage pipeline, 64-bit
wide pre-fetch queue minimizes bottlenecks between CPU and memories

2011 Renesas Electronics America Inc. All rights reserved.

Third-Order Effects: Processor Core Architecture

27

Wait state penalty due to slow flash is another third-order effect that impedes
processor performance
This can be mitigated by selecting a processor that has zero wait states up to the max
CPU clock

To alleviate CPU burden, take advantage of

DMA to automate data transfers such as
current measurement
RX also has DTC (Data Transfer Controller)
peripheral which allows for many more
virtual DMA channels

2011 Renesas Electronics America Inc. All rights reserved.

Third-Order Effects: Synchronized ADC/PWM Triggering

28

The designer typically wants to have an automatic triggering of A/D conversion start
relative to some point within the PWM timing cycle
Having an advanced timer set with double buffering allows for asymmetric PWM and
flexibility to set A/D conversion start trigger anywhere on the PWM timing cycle
This is especially advantageous when implementing single-shunt sensorless vector
control
Interrupt skipping capability can allow designer to set up current loop interrupt at a
fixed multiple of the PWM frequency to help reduce CPU utilization

2011 Renesas Electronics America Inc. All rights reserved.

Summary
Renesas motor control team has shared our experiences
within the engineering community
A summary of first-, second- and third-order effects has
been presented
z First-order effects are system-level effects all designers must
satisfy in order to have properly functioning motor control
system
z Second-order effects are pronounced in high-performance
motor control implementations such as vector control
z Identifying and mitigating third-order effects results in a more
optimized and robust design

The RX62T and RX62N DSC are very well suited for dealing
with second- and third-order effects

29

2011 Renesas Electronics America Inc. All rights reserved.

Jeff Shoemaker
Jeffrey.Shoemaker@Renesas.com

Thank you

30

2011 Renesas Electronics America Inc. All rights reserved.

Renesas Electronics America Inc.

2011 Renesas Electronics America Inc. All rights reserved.