A new sensorless starting method for brushless DC motors without reversing rotation

Abstract

This paper presents a new sensorless starting method for brushless DC motors without reversing rotation for unidirectional applications. The method can detect the rotor position at standstill and a specific start-up method is then used to accelerate the motor up to a middle-speed where conventional sensorless control algorithms based on the back-EMF can work properly. The proposed scheme employs only one current sensor at DC-link side of the inverter, and can be applied to a motor without knowing its parameters and additional position sensors. As compared with previous approaches, the presented technique can simplify the sensorless position detection procedure and lower the cost. The proposed initial rotor position detection technique has a resolution of 30 electrical degrees, and does not cause any rotor vibration during the detection process. The sensorless starting scheme has been implemented on a single-chip DSP controller (TMS320LF2407A) and experimental results reveal that the starting procedure can work smoothly without temporarily reversing rotation.