PFC Converter fed PMBLDC Motor Drive for Air Conditioning

Bhim Singh, Fellow

B P Singh, Fellow
M Kumar, Non-member

The performance of a power factor correction (PFC) converter fed voltage source inverter (VSI) supplying
permanent magnet brushless dc (PMBLDC) motor drive is analyzed for the variable speed operation of an air
conditioner (air-con). A single-phase diode bridge rectifier together with a boost converter is considered as a PFC
converter, which improves the quality of the current drawn from the ac mains. This converter is capable of supplying
a constant dc link voltage to VSI fed PMBLDC motor, even when the voltage of the ac mains fluctuates. The closed
loop control of PFC converter and VSI fed PMBLDC motor provides a better control and facilitates energy
conservation in ac distribution system, PMBLDC motor and the compressor of an air conditioner. The proposed
system is modeled and its simulated performance is presented and discussed.

Keywords : PFC; VSI; PMBLDC motor; Power quality

NOTATION inverter7 − 10 . The operation of this system therefore, needs to be

ex : the back emf of phase x
J : inertia of motor and load combination
Ls : self-inductance/phase
M : mutual inductance
P : number of poles
R : resistance of motor winding/phase
T1 : the load torque
vxn : the phase to neutral voltage of phase x. ix is
the current in phase winding x
x : a, b and c are the three phase of the
PMBLDC motor
ωr : rotor speed, rad/sec
θ : rotor position
INTRODUCTION
The air conditioning load is one of the major constituents of the electric
energy consumption in urban areas. The typical air conditioning system
normally employs a single-phase induction motor with an ON/OFF
control. The efficiency of this system is low due to frequent starts of
the motor as well as the operation of the induction motor from a
constant frequency source. It may however be appreciated that frequent
starts not only subject the motor and compressor to periodic mechanical
stresses, but also produce noise. The use of a variable speed motor drive
for an air-con increases the operating efficiency due to the absence of
periodic starting losses1 − 6. Using a PMBLDC motor, which has a
higher efficiency than the single-phase induction motor, can further
enhance the efficiency of an air conditioning system. Numerous
attempts have been made in the past of impart variable speed charac-
teristics to otherwise constant speed motors. Most of them use the
rectifier and inverter combination to feed the motor, which pollutes the
source by injecting harmonics into it. To improve the quality of the ac
input power, a closed loop controlled single-phase boost converter
(PFC converter) with one switch is used to feed the dc link of the
Bhim Singh, B P Singh and M Kumar are with the Department of
Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, Hauz Khas,
New Delhi 110 016.
This paper was received on May 7, 2001. Written discussion on this paper will
received until September 30, 2003.
investigated with a view to examine the improvements it brings about
both in terms of operating power factor and the resulting reduction in
harmonic currents.
In this paper, an attempt has been made to analyze the perform-
ance of PFC converter fed VSI - PMBLDC motor driving an
air-con to demonstrate its effectiveness in bringing about energy
conservation and improved power quality of ac mains in terms of
improved power factor or reduced harmonic currents.
SYSTEM CONFIGURATIONS AND PRINCIPLE OF
OPERATION
Figure 1 shows the schematic diagram of the proposed system
wherein a PFC converter fed VSI PMBLDC motor drive is used
for the air conditioning system. An uncontrolled diode rectifier
with a boost converter (PFC converter) is used to convert the
single phase ac voltage into a constant dc link voltage, which is
fed to the current controlled voltage source inverter (CC-VSI)
supplying a PMBLDC motor. This converter draws unity power
factor current from the ac mains; eliminates harmonic currents
and regulates the dc link voltage even under fluctuating voltage
conditions of ac mains.
The PFC converter is controlled using a proportional-integral (PI)
controller to regulate its output dc link voltage. The output of the PI
controller is passed through a limiter to produce peak amplitude of
inductor reference current (I∗im ). This amplitude is then multiplied by
a rectified unit sinusoidal template (obtained from ac mains voltage)
to derive the rectified sinusoidal reference inductor current (i∗i ). A
PWM controller is used to derive the gating signal of a MOSFET of
the PFC converter. In response to the gating signal to the MOSFET,
the PFC converter regulates the dc link voltage even under nonlinear
load of a VSI fed PMBLDC motor and in face of fluctuations in supply
voltage. It also ensures that the converter draws unity power factor
sinusoidal current from the ac mains.
A current controlled voltage source inverter (CC-VSI) is used to feed
the PMBLDC motor. The inverter provides the three phase currents at
a variable frequency determined by the motor speed. A proportional-in-
tegral (PI) controller is used to maintain the speed of the motor (ωr)

22 IE(I) Journal-EL
Figure 1 Schematic diagram of PFC converter fed VSI-PMBLDC motor drive for air-con

close to its desired reference value (ω∗r ). The output of the PI controller I∗im(n) and I∗im(n − 1) are the outputs of voltage controller at nth and
is passed through a limiter to produce the reference torque (T∗). The (n −1)th sampling instants, respectively.
reference current generator outputs the three phase reference currents Kp1 and Ki1 are proportional and integral gains in PI voltage
(i∗a, i∗b, i∗c) from the reference torque and position signal. A PWM controler, respectively. Vdce(n) and Vdce(n − 1) are the dc link
current controller, which compares the reference currents (i∗a, i∗b, i∗c) voltage errors at nth and (n − 1)th instants respectively.
with winding currents (ia, ib, ic), is used to generate the switching The error in the dc link voltage at nth instant is given by :
signals of CC-VSI. In response to switching signals the CC-VSI im- Vdce(n) = V∗dc(n) − Vdc(n) (2)
presses PWM voltage across the motor terminals to produce desired
currents in the winding of the motor. These winding currents produce Reference Inductor Current
an electromagnetic torque to maintain the desired speed of the compres- The reference inductor current is estimated as :
sor of the air conditioner. The air conditioning load is taken to be a
constant torque load. i∗i = I∗im ud (3)
MODELLING OF THE SYSTEM Where
The different parts of the variable speed PMBLDC motor drive ud = vd ⁄ Vsm; vd = |vs|; vs = Vsm sin ωt, ω = supply frequency
system are modeled separately by using a set of first order in rad/sec.
differential equations, which are then integrated to get the com-
PWM Current Controller of PFC Converter
plete model of the system. The drive system is divided into
following sub-systems : The switching signal of the MOSFET of a PFC converter is
generated using PWM current control as :
Voltage Controller for dc Link
If k (i∗i − ii) > m (t) then S = 1 (4)
The error between reference (V∗dc) and sensed value of (Vdc) of dc
link voltage acts as an input to the PI voltage controller. The If k (i∗i − ii) <= m (t) then S = 0 (5)
output of the controller at nth sampling instant is given as :
Where
I∗im(n) = I∗im(n − 1) + Ki1 Vdce(n) + Kp1 (Vdce(n) − Vdce(n − 1)) (1) ii is inductor current, k is the gain factor for amplifying the current
Where error and m (t) is a triangular carrier waveform (20 KHz).

Vol 84, June 2003 23

The PFC Converter
The PFC converter is represented by two first order differential
equations of inductor current (ii) and dc link capacitor voltage
(Vdc) as :
 
pii = vd − Vdc (1 − S) − Ri ii ⁄ L (6)
 
pVdc = ii (1 − S) − i ⁄ C

 d (7)
where
p is d/dt operator, Ri is the resistance of the inductor L. C is the
dc link capacitance. id is the dc link load current (inverter input
current), which is given as :
id = ia Sa + ib Sb + ic Sc (8)

where
ia, ib, ic are the instantaneous values of three phase winding
currents of the motor and Sa, Sb and Sc are the switching functions
of the inverter. Figure 2 Variation of back emf functions and reference winding currents
of the PMBLDC motor with rotor position
PI Speed Controller
current controller compares the winding current with its reference
The difference between the reference speed, ω∗r(n) and rotor speed, value to produce switching function.
ωr(n) at nth instant is the input to the proportional-integral (PI) .If k1 ∆ia > m (t) then Sa = 1 
 (11)
speed controller. The output of the controller at nth sampling If k1 ∆ia <= m (t) then Sa = 0 
instant is given as :
.If k1 ∆ib > m (t) then Sb = 1 
 (12)
T∗(n) = T∗(n − ) + Kp (ωe(n) − ωe(n − 1)) + Ki ωe(n) (9) If k1 ∆ib <= m (t) then Sb = 0 
where .If k1 ∆ic > m (t) then Sc = 1 
(13)
Kp and Ki are proportional and integral gains of the speed con- If k1 ∆ic <= m (t) then Sc = 0 
troller respectively. ωe(n) is the speed error at nth sampling instant where
and is given by
∆ia = (i∗a − ia), ∆ib = (i∗b − ib), ∆ic = (i∗c − ic)
ωe(n) = ωr∗(n) − ωr(n). (10)
k1 is the gain required to amplify current error before comparing
ω∗r(n)is the reference speed at nth instant. ωr(n) is the rotor speed it with carrier waveform m (t).
of the motor at nth instant. Modelling of PMBLDC Motor and Load
The output of the PI speed controller (T∗(n)) is limited to a safe The first order differential equations used to model a PMBLDC
value (Tref) and is considered as reference torque. Since at any motor and load are as follows11 − 12 :
instant two phases of the motor carry current and develop torque, pix = (vxn − ix R − ex) ⁄ (Ls + M) (14)
the magnitude of the reference winding current in the star con-
nected motor will be p ωr = (P ⁄ 2) (Te − T1) ⁄ (J) (15)

I ∗ = T (ref) ⁄ (2 kb) pθ = ωr (16)

where kb is the back emf constant. Te is the developed electromagnetic torque of the motor and may
be expressed as
Motor Winding Reference Current Generation
Te = (ea ia + eb ib + ec ic) ⁄ ωr (17)
The variation of back emf function (flux linkage) of each phase
of the motor and the corresponding reference current is shown in
Figure 2. Depending on the rotor position (θ), the reference This expression for the torque runs into the computational diffi-
∗ ∗ culty at zero speed, as the induced emfs are zeros. The back emfs
winding current pattern will be (+ I , 0, − I ) with the shape as
may be expressed as a function of position θ as shown in Figure
shown Figure 2.
2, which can be written as :
Current Controller of Inverter
ea = Kb fb (θ) ωr (18)
The switching signals for the inverter switches are generated by
the rotor position information and PWM current controller. The eb = Kb fb (θ) ωr (19)

24 IE(I) Journal-EL
Figure 3 Simulated performance of PFC converter fed PMBLDC motor for air-con

ec = Kb fc (θ) ωr (20)  
Te = kb fa (θ) ia + fb (θ) ib + fc (θ) ic (21)
where
The set of first order nonlinear differential equations given by
fa (θ), fb (θ) and fc (θ) are functions of rotor position with a
equations 6, 7, 14, 15, 16 along with other essential expressions
maximum of plus or minus 1 are identical to induced emf in (such as rotor position information) form the model of the system.
trapezoidal shapes. Kb is back emf coefficient. These first order non-linear differential equations are solved using
Substituting equations (18) - (20) into equation (17), the torque the fourth order Rung-Kutta method of numerical integration for
expression becomes : the dependent variables ii, Vdc, ia, ib, ic, ωr and θ. The parameters

Vol 84, June 2003 25

of the PFC converter and PMBLDC motor used for simulation
are given in the Appendix.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Performance During Starting
Figure 3 shows the variation of single-phase ac supply voltage
(vs), current (is), inductor current (ii), dc link voltage (Vdc) and its
reference value (Vdc∗ = 400 V), dc link current (id), motor speed
(ωr) and reference speed (ω∗r ), developed torque (Te), load torque
(T1) and motor winding currents ia, ib, and ic with time.
It can be seen from this figure that the input current remains
sinusoidal and is found to be in time phase with the input voltage,
thereby demonstrating the fact that the supply current during
starting is distortion free and the operating power factor is close
to unity.
During starting of the motor the supply current is found to
increase with the speed because the power demand of the system
is proportional to the speed (the load torque being constant). Once
the motor attains the steady speed, the supply current also de-
creases due to absence of accelerating torque.
Performance during Speed Change
Initially the reference speed is set at 50 rad/sec, it is then increased
Figure 4(a) Input current and its harmonic spectrum for PFC fed
to 100 rad/sec at t = 0.3 s. The PI speed controller immediately VSI-PMBLDC motor at rated load and 50 rads/sec
comes into action and increases the winding currents and the
developed torque to its maximum value. The supply current
increases and consequently a momentary dip in the dc link voltage
is observed. At the same time PFC controller becomes active and
restores the dc link voltage to its original value. When the motor
attains a new reference speed, the developed torque becomes
equal to the load torque and both winding and supply currents are
reduced to their respective steady state values. The dc link voltage
overshoots marginally and recovers back quickly.
Power Quality at ac Mains
The input current of the PFC converter is nearly sinusoidal and
in time phase with the supply voltage. This is compared with the
input current, when dc link voltage is obtained with diode bridge
rectifier and LC filter (with same value of inductance and capaci-
tance as used in PFC converter). The comparison is carried out in
terms of total harmonic distortion (THD), input current (rms),
displacement factor (DF), power factor (PF) and crest factor (CF).
The results are given in the Table 1. It is seen from this table that
there is marked reduction in input current, THD, CF and increase
in PF (which becomes nearly unity) with PFC converter at the
input end as compared to the corresponding values without PFC
converter.
The harmonic spectrum of the supply current with and without
PFC converter is shown in Figures 4(a) and 4(b) respectively. Figure 4(b) Input current its harmonic spectrum for rectifier fed
VSI-PMBLDC motor at rated load and 50 rads/sec
From these Figures it is evident that the harmonic contents in the
supply current is drastically reduced (THD = 2.07%) with PFC ble of smooth starting at full load and the speed of the drive can
converter at the input end, compared to a diode bridge rectifier be controlled over a wide range to provide precise control of the
(THD = 115%). air conditioning system. The converter at the input end improves
CONCLUSIONS the quality of the power drawn from the ac mains in terms of
Based on this study it has been observed that the proposed PFC improved power factor (which is close to unity) and reduced
converter fed variable speed VSI-PMBLDC motor drive is capa- harmonic currents and regulates dc link voltage even with a highly

26 IE(I) Journal-EL
Table 1 Power quality of ac mains
Input End Converter Speed, (%) THD of ac Input Current Displacement Power Factor Crest Factor
rad/s Current (rms), A Factor (DF) (PF) (CF)
100 1.88 4.613 0.9998 0.9996 1.47
PFC Convertor
50 2.07 2.520 0.9998 0.9996 1.58
Diode Bridge Rectifier 50 115 3.970 0.9720 0.6380 2.72

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