University of Utah
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Labs for ECE 5670/6670 -- Control of Electric Motors

Return to the class web page: http://www.ece.utah.edu/~bodson/5670

Labs are held in the Analog Lab (MEB 2365)

READ THIS CAREFULLY!!!

Handle the equipment with care.The equipment is fragile and difficult or impossible to replace.

Be sure to properly align connectors when attaching cables. Do not apply excessive force to attach a cable. Do not pull on a cable to detach it. Handle the connector.

Be careful when carrying the equipment from the stockroom. Do not take more than you can carry safely at one time. Make two trips if needed.

Any equipment that you find to be defective (or possily defective) should be returned to the lab staff with a note explaining the problem as clearly and as completely as possible. Use one of the tags made for this purpose. Preferably, confirm the problem with the TA before returning the equipment.

Students are expected to read the handouts BEFORE coming to the labs. The TA is authorized to take points off the lab grades of students that come unprepared to the lab.

Useful information

To extract the data collected by the dSPACE board and software, use the Matlab macro Mat_Unpack.m.
If you encounter a problem with a lab, check the list of common problems and solutions checklist.html.
Test program for dSPACE A/D's, D/A's, and encoder inputs (dspacetest.mdl, dspacetest.lay, and dspacetest_info.txt )

Equipment used in the labs

See the pictures at the end of the page.

Analog Lab Equipment Documentation and Tutorials

Dual 50V power supply (manual)

Lab experiments

Lab 1 - dSPACE and Simulink Tutorial

The purpose of this lab is to provide an introduction to the dSPACE ControlDesk and Simulink software and to explain their use with the dual power amplifier and the various motors.

Lab Documents:
Lab 1 Handout (Lab1.pdf)

Lab 2 - Modeling and Parameter Estimation for the Brush DC Motor

The objective of this lab is to become familiar with the hardware and the software used in the lab and to begin experimentation with a brush DC motor. The responses of the DC motor to steps of voltage are measured, and its parameters are estimated.
Lab Documents:
Lab 2 Handout (Lab2.pdf)
Experiment files (Lab2.mdl, Lab2.lax, and Lab2.xml)

Lab 3 - PID Control of a Brush DC Motor

The objective of this lab is to experiment with a proportional -integral - derivative (PID) control law for the positioning of a brush DC motor. Integral control is found useful to achieve zero-steady state errors in the presence of constant load disturbances. To avoid overshoot in the responses, simple modifications are applied to the control law. Controller parameters are selected by trial and error and by a procedure based on the principle of the symmetric optimum.

Lab Documents:
Lab 3 Handout (Lab3.pdf)
Experiment files (Lab3.mdl, Lab3.lax, and Lab3.xml)

Lab 4 - Modeling and Identification of a Stepper Motor

The objective of this lab is to verify the model of a permanent magnet stepper motor. The parameters of the motor are determined using electrical measurements, measurements of the position under open-loop stepping, and measurements of the position under open-loop DQ control. The performance of the stepper motor is compared to the performance measured for the DC motor in previous labs.

Lab Documents:
Lab 4 Handout (Lab4.pdf)
Experiment files (Lab4.mdl, Lab4.lax, Lab4.xml, and Lab4_Trigger_Rule.txt )

Lab 5 - Closed-Loop Control of a Stepper Motor

The objective of this lab is to develop and test a closed-loop control algorithm for a stepper motor. First, field weakening is combined with a DQ transformation to maximize the achievable speed and to guarantee synchronism of the motor with the rotating magnetic field. Then, a PID control law is implemented for position control.

Lab Documents:
Lab 5 Handout (Lab5.pdf)
Experiment files (use the files of Lab 4)

Lab 6 - Parameter Estimation of a Brushless DC motor

The objective of the lab is to determine the parameters of a brushless DC motor and to experiment with control strategies using sinusoidal commutation.

Lab Documents:
Lab 6 Handout (Lab6.pdf)
Experiment files (Lab6.mdl, Lab6.lax, and Lab6.xml )

Lab 7 - Brushless DC Motor Control with 6-Step Commutation (Simulations)

The objective of the lab is to implement 6-step commutation on a simulation of a brushless DC motor and add an outer loop first for current regulation and then for velocity tracking

Lab Documents:
Lab 7 Handout (Lab7.pdf)
Experiment files (Lab7.mdl) -- This is a simulation only lab.

Lab 8 - Torque Curves of Induction Motors

The objective of the lab is to measure the torque curves of induction motors. Acceleration experiments are used to reconstruct approximately the torque curves, assuming that the load torque is constant and that a steady-state approximation is valid. The dependency of the torque on the electrical frequency is also investigated.

Lab Documents:
Lab 8 Handout (Lab8.pdf)
Experiment files (Lab8.mdl, Lab8.lax, Lab8.xml, and Lab8_Trigger_Rule.txt ))

Lab 9 - Slip Control of Induction Motors

The objective of the lab is to implement a slip control strategy on an induction motor. Both velocity and position control are considered.

Lab Documents:
Lab 9 Handout (Lab9.pdf)
Experiment files (Lab9.mdl, Lab9.lax, Lab9.xml, and Lab9_Trigger_Rule.txt )

Project - Brushless DC Motor Control with 6-Step Commutation (Experiments)

The objective of the project is to build a circuit for 6-step commutation of a brushless DC motor and to implement control algorithms for the regulation of the current and of the speed of the motor.

Project Documents:
Project Handout (Project.pdf)
Experiment files (Project.mdl and Project.lax)