Speed Control for BLDC Motor for Electric Vehicles Applications by Different Kinds of Sliding Mode Control Techniques

Abstract

- Brushless DC (BLDC) motors provide many benefits over normal DC motors. They have high efficiency, stability, low noise, longer lifetime than other motor kinds, high torque to weight ratio, and most importantly, no commentator sparks. With the other advantages, BLDC motors are widely used in electric vehicle applications. But in most cases, their rotational speed has to be regulated. This paper presents a comparative study of BLDC motor speed control by three types of Sliding Mode Control (SMC) techniques, which are 1st order, 2nd order, and Integral SMC. The motor ratings are 1 kW, 3000 r.p.m, at 3 N.m load torque. The aim is to use the BLDC for electric vehicle applications. This research found that the integral SMC is superior to the 1st-order and 2nd-order SMC techniques. Also, the lowest BLDC performance is obtained using the 2nd-order SMC technique. At rated speed and full load conditions, it was found that steady-state errors for each controller are (2.4, 9.5, and 4.9) r.p.m for each integral SMC, 2nd order SMC, and 1st order SMC, respectively. The entire system is simulated successfully by MATLAB SIMULINK. The motor ratings are suitable for e-bike and tricycle applications.