Simulation and Implementation of BLDC Motor Control with Arduino Mega in Proteus

Abstract

Accurate speed control of Brushless DC (BLDC) motors generally requires rotor position sensors to be integrated into the system. This is more expensive and complicated, especially in educational or prototyping contexts. In this paper, a novel and inexpensive method to achieve closed loop control of a BLDC motor without a physical speed sensor is presented. A system was designed where control signals were generated by an Arduino Mega 2560 microcontroller driving an Electronic Speed Controller (ESC) to power an A2212/13T motor for closed-loop control without using a speed sensor. The limitation of not having a sensor was overcome by using a second microcontroller (Arduino Uno R3) to create a synthetic tachometer signal that was proportional to the actual speed of the motor to provide adequate feedback for the blended-traditional Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) control algorithm. This control architecture was first developed and rigorously tested in the Proteus Design Suite simulation software, then physical implementation. The experimental results have concluded a substantial improvement in performance: closed-loop control reduced steady state oscillation of speed by approximately 70% as the loads were modified and created consistent current draw that was stabilized compared to open-loop control which was unstable. This work is evidence that a unique sensor-less control method can provide similar function (robustness and reliability) as existing control methods.