Reduced sensor configuration of a power factor correction based single-ended primary inductance converter fed brushless DC motor drive

This study presents a power factor correction-based single-ended primary inductance converter (PFC-SEPIC) feeding brushless DC (BLDC) motor drive for low-power household appliances. In a conventional scheme of BLDC motor, the speed is varied by controlling the duty ratio of high-frequency pulse width modulation signals, which increase the switching losses in the voltage source inverter (VSI) feeding BLDC motor. However, this study presents a BLDC motor of which the speed is controlled by adjusting the DC bus voltage of the VSI feeding BLDC motor. Moreover, a fundamental switching frequency of VSI is employed for reduction of its switching losses by operating the BLDC motor in electronic commutation. A PFC-based SEPIC is designed for its operation in discontinuous inductor current mode such that the voltage control is achieved using a single voltage sensor with inherent PFC at AC mains; which also makes it a cost effective solution for low power applications. The proposed drive is implemented on the developed converter for the performance evaluation. This drive shows high efficiency as compared with conventional schemes of BLDC motor drive with satisfactory power quality performance at various speeds satisfying IEC 61000-3-2 standard.