Educational Set-up for Brushless Motor Drives

Traditionally the brushed DC motor is the first motor that students encounter in a laboratory assignments on electrical drives. However a number of simplifications are taken into account when explaining the workings of the brushed DC motor. Considering basic knowledge of electromagnetic principles, the attraction between a magnet and a current carrying winding is easily accepted by students. A Brushless DC motor drive, which is based on this electromagnetic principle, is an easy to understand motor drive when it comes to the control of the motor. All underlying physical properties of the brushless DC motor drive are easier to visualize compared to the brushed DC motor with mechanical commutator. Therefore this motor drive more is suited as an introductory course in motor drives. Virtual online experiments as well as lab assignments are demonstrated that visualize every aspect of the brushless motor drive. The basic models for simulation and animation are presented and a typical laboratory set-up is demonstrated.