Sliding Mode and Hysteresis Controller-Based FOC of BLDC Motor for Lightweight Electric Vehicles

Brushless Direct Current (BLDC) motors are gaining popularity as a preferred option for electric vehicles (EVs), particularly for lightweight EVs like three and two-wheelers, which are commonly seen on Indian roads. The reasons behind the increasing use of BLDC motors include their superior durability, reliability, efficiency, and starting torque. However, the major issue that hampers BLDC motors’ performance is electromagnetic torque ripple. This paper proposes a sliding mode controller (SMC) and hysteresis controller-based field-oriented control (FOC) as a method to reduce motor torque ripple. FOC presented here is implemented through SMC (which is resilient to external perturbation) and hysteresis controller (which is simple to implement and gives faster response) thereby eliminating the use of PI Controllers. The Indian Drive Cycle (IDC) has been taken as a reference input for speed. The results of SMC and hysteresis-based FOC are compared with traditional FOC and a comparative analysis between the two techniques is done. The simulations are performed in MATLAB/Simulink 2022.