Control of brushless direct current motor using a PLC-based fuzzy logic controller

This study focuses on the precise speed control of Brushless Direct Current Motors (BLDC), extensively utilized in industrial automation systems. BLDC motors, recognized for their ability to operate over a wide speed range, often experience significant performance degradation in speed and load control under variable conditions when traditional PID control methods are employed. Conversely, Fuzzy Logic Controllers (FLC) demonstrate superior performance in motor control, particularly under variable operating conditions, due to their flexible and adaptive structure. For this reason, an FLC was employed to control BLDC motors in this study. Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) have recently gained widespread use in industrial systems for monitoring and control due to their modularity, broad integration capabilities, and fast processing times. This study implemented the proposed FLC structure for BLDC motor control in real time using a Siemens S7-1500 PLC. The results obtained were compared with those of a conventional PID controller implemented within the same PLC environment.The experimental results indicate that both the FLC and the classical PID controller effectively managed the speed control of the BLDC motor under variable operating conditions. However, the FLC exhibited better performance compared to the PID kontroller, particularly under variable conditions, demonstrating its effectiveness and adaptability.