On the analysis and control of a three‐switch three‐phase inverter‐fed brushless DC motor drive

Abstract

Purpose

This study seeks to examine the analysis and control of a three‐switch three‐phase inverter (TSTPI)‐fed brushless DC motor (BDCM) as well as the comparison of its performance with those yielded by six‐switch three‐phase inverter (SSTPI)‐fed BDCM drives.

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis of the six operating sequences of the TSTPI‐fed BDCM drive followed by the implementation of a dedicated self‐control strategy in such a drive and the comparison of its performance with those given by an SSTPI‐fed BDCM drive.

Findings

The dedicated self‐control strategy required the integration of a torque loop in the implementation scheme in order to reduce torque ripple amplitude during sequence‐to‐sequence commutations. It has been shown that the TSTPI‐fed BDCM offers high performances which are almost the same as those of the SSTPI‐fed BDCM.

Research limitations/implications

This work should be extended by building a test bench made up of a TSTPI‐fed BDCM and the comparison between simulation results and experimental ones.

Practical implications

A 50 per cent reduction in cost and compactness, and a 50 per cent increase in reliability make the TSTPI an interesting candidate especially in large‐scale production applications such as the automotive industries.

Originality/value

The paper proposes an approach to improve the cost‐effectiveness and the volume‐compactness of BDCM drives which represents a crucial challenge in electric and hybrid propulsion systems. It is the best solution compared with the conventional SSTPI and the four‐switch three‐phase inverter.

Citation

Ben Rhouma, A., Masmoudi, A. and Elantably, A. (2007), "On the analysis and control of a three‐switch three‐phase inverter‐fed brushless DC motor drive", COMPEL - The international journal for computation and mathematics in electrical and electronic engineering, Vol. 26 No. 1, pp. 183-200. https://doi.org/10.1108/03321640710714056