2017 International Conference on Intelligent Computing and Control (I2C2)

A study on Regenerative braking system with

matlab simulation

Debajit Kumar Sandilya Bubumani Kalita

Assam Engineering College Assam Engineering College
Guwahati, India Guwahati, India
[email protected] [email protected]

Siddhartha Goswami Shweta Chakraborty

Assam Engineering College Assam Engineering College
Guwahati, India Guwahati, India

Abstract— Braking is a process in which a mechanical or of the product. While operating electrical drives, it is often
electrical device inhibits motion. It is often necessary to brake the necessary to stop the motor quickly. For both these processes, a
motor rapidly and smoothly according to a given speed schedule. retarding torque is required, which may be supplied
Braking torque may be applied by electrical or mechanical mechanically or electrically. In mechanical process, the
methods or combination of both. For both of these processes, a
retarding torque is required, which may be supplied
braking action is performed by the frictional force between the
mechanically or electrically. Electrical methods are more precise rotating parts and brake pads. On the other hand, in electrical
than mechanical methods, where accurate and smooth control of braking, a braking torque which opposes the motion of a
the stopping instant is possible. In electrical braking the kinetic rotating member is developed during braking operation.
energy of the rotating parts of the equipment gets converted into Electrical methods are more precise than mechanical methods,
electric energy. The methods of braking employed in electrical when accurate and smooth control of the stopping instant is
drives can be classified as regenerative, plugging and dynamic possible. Braking torque is also needed over some parts of the
braking. In this study, we have discussed the advanced duty cycle and for emergency braking in respect of some
regenerative braking of an electric vehicle and the operation is applications such as cranes. Reversal and speed control of
performed with the help of a brushless DC motor. A comparative
study has been carried out by considering various motor drives
drives may also be undertaken by means of electric braking.
and we finally concluded that the BLDC motor is the most The kinetic energy of the rotating parts gets converted into
suitable one for performing regenerative braking operation. The electrical energy in case of electric braking.
proposed scheme is implemented using MATLAB and the results
are illustrated. The results thus obtained are analyzed and using B. Types of braking:
the results, further study is carried out to determine the Braking in ac systems: The methods of braking employed in an
regenerative power of the proposed system. The PID control is induction motor drive can be classified into: a) Regenerative
one of the most suitable methods which have been adapted in our braking, b) plugging or reverse current braking, c) Dynamic or
scheme to have a fine transition between mechanical and electric
DC Rheostat braking.
braking. The implementation of the PWM technique to the
inverter is performed using PID control to maintain the constant
braking torque. Thus it is possible to recover energy using our a) Regenerative braking: If the rotor speed becomes greater
recommended RBS. The extension of the project work carried than the synchronous speed, the relative speed between the
out here will be to test the circuit on a prototype vehicle. rotor conductors and air gap rotating field reverses. This
reverses the rotor induced emf, rotor current and component of
Index Terms— Regenerative, BLDC motor, PID control, PWM the stator current which balances the rotor ampere turns.
control, power inverter Consequently, the phase angle between the stator phase voltage
and stator phase current becomes greater than 90 degrees.
I. INTRODUCTION Thus power flow reverses, resulting in regenerative braking.
A. Braking:
Braking is a process in which a mechanical or electrical device b) Plugging or reverse voltage braking: When phase sequence
inhibits motion. It is often necessary to brake the motor rapidly of the supply of the motor running at a speed is reversed by
and smoothly according to a given speed schedule. Braking interchanging the connections of any two phases of stator with
torque may be applied by electrical or mechanical methods or respect to supply terminals, operation shifts from motoring to
combination of both. The speed and accuracy of stopping plugging. Reversal of phase sequence reverses the direction of
operations improves the productivity of a system and reliability rotating field.

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 2017 International Conference on Intelligent Computing and Control (I2C2)

c) Dynamic or rheostat braking: It is obtained when the motor in turn produces the necessary friction to stop the wheels from
is run on a single phase supply by disconnecting one phase rotating and thereby slowing down the vehicle. In conventional
from the source or leaving it open or connecting it with another braking systems, a considerable amount of energy is wasted as
machine phase. When connected to a 1-phase supply the motor the braking pads get heated up. Another type of brake system is
can be considered to be fed by positive and negative sequence the Anti-Lock Brake System. Here, continuous braking is not
three- phase set of voltages. Net torque produced by the applied, but a non-continuous braking pattern is employed
machine is the sum of torques due to top positive and negative which slows down or stops the vehicle when needed. This
sequence voltages. When rotor has a high resistance, the net system is more efficient than the conventional braking system
torque is negative and braking operation is obtained. and indeed gives superior performance. Here, we can cite one
more type of efficient braking system, which is called the
Braking in dc systems: The braking in DC systems are again regenerative braking system. An electric motor is used in
classified into three categories: (a) Regenerative braking, (b) regenerative braking system. When the driver applies the brake
Dynamic or rheostat braking, (c) Plugging or Reverse voltage pedal in an electric vehicle, the mechanism then tends to drive
braking the motor in the reverse directing by producing a torque in the
opposite direction and thus slows down the vehicle. During
a) Regenerative braking: braking the motor works as a generator giving back energy to
DC shunt motor: Regenerative braking is possible when an the battery and slowing down the vehicle at the same time.
adjustable speed motor (a motor which operates at rated Any other circuit can also be used to divert the motor current
condition with a weak field current) is used. Before bringing during braking so that the vehicle slows down. Such types of
the motor to rest the field excitation is increased to the systems also recharge the battery and help in braking. But
permissible maximum value due to which the speed of the regenerative braking systems cannot be used solely because it
motor falls to a minimum value and the KE released from the only causes the vehicle to slow down and does not completely
rotor is fed back to supply. stop the vehicle. Therefore, such systems are used in
DC series motor: Current and flux both increase with speed conjunction with conventional friction brakes or Anti-Lock
in dc series motor. Therefore it is not possible to get e.m.f Braking System.
greater than terminal voltage by this means. Also there is no
way possible to make the field current greater than armature Choice of motors used:
current in simple series motor. Hence regeneration is not
practicable in DC series motor. BRUSHED DC: The properties of the motor depend on the
composition of the material, the number of coils wound around
b) Dynamic braking: and the density of the coils. In a brushed DC, the field is a
DC shunt motor: The retarding torque varies linearly with permanent magnet and the rotor is an electromagnet. The
speed in case of DC shunt motors. The motor characteristics commutator is charged by the brushes to the reverse polarity,
slope depends upon the total resistance of the armature circuit. which in turn causes the rotor to rotate. By reversing the
Braking torque here can be obtained at very low speed. polarity of the brushes, the direction of rotation can be altered.
DC series motor: In case of DC series motor, the Efficiency is very less here.
interconnection of the armature winding and the field winding
is to be taken into account to ensure that the direction of INDUCTION TYPE: When the speed of the motor is more
current in the field remains unchanged in spite of the change in than the synchronous speed, relative speed between the motor
current in the armature winding. Only then, the self-excitation conductors and air gap rotating field reverses, as a result the
of series generator will take place. phase angle because greater than 90° and the power flow
reverse and thus regenerative braking takes place. If the source
c) Plugging or reverse current braking: frequency is fixed then the regenerative braking of induction
DC shunt motor: In plugging of DC shunt motor, the motor is motor can only take place if the speed of the motor is greater
reconnected to the line with reverse polarity. The motor now than synchronous speed, but with a variable frequency source
produces a torque opposite to that of rotation. Therefore, regenerative braking of induction motor can occur for speeds
reverse current braking is employed to get either a quick lower than synchronous speed. The major advantage of this
reversal or a rapid stop. In order to stop the motor, it is type of braking is that the power generated is usefully
necessary to employ some means to disconnect the motor from employed and the major disadvantage is that the for fixed
the supply at the time when it passes through zero speed. frequency sources, braking operation cannot be performed
DC series motor: Different constant torque loads acting on below synchronous speeds. Speed control of induction motors
the motor develop various magnitudes of plugging. Plugging is quite difficult.
torques varies significantly with changes in load torque; i.e.
with changes in motor speed before plugging. BLDC: Efficiency is a primary selling feature for BLDC
motors. As in case of BLDC motor, the rotor is the only bearer
of magnets, hence it does not require any, i.e. no commutator,
II. BRAKING IN ELECTRIC VEHICLES no connection and no brush is required for the operation and
Braking Systems in electric vehicles can be of different types. hence there is no sparking produced in the process. In place of
For example, conventional friction brakes are used in some these, the motor employs control circuitry. In order to
vehicles. In those systems, continuous braking is applied which determine the position of the rotor at different times, a hall

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 2017 International Conference on Intelligent Computing and Control (I2C2)

sensor is used along with the controllers. They come in single Properties:
and 3 phase.
Following are some generalizations regarding trade-offs For successful operation of regenerative braking system, it
between the three motor technologies. Although examples that should have the following properties:
will defy some of the mentioned parameters can be cited, our 1. Efficient energy conversion.
objective here is to present the nominal values for electric 2. Energy storage with a high capacity per unit weight and
vehicles. volume.
In terms of efficiency, we have for 3. Power rating should be high allowing large amount of
Brushed DC- Motor (80%), DC controller (94%, passive fly energy to pass through in a short duration of time.
back), NET (75%) 4. Smooth delivery of power from the regenerative system.
BLDC: Motor (93%), inverter (97%, synchronous fly back or 5. The absorption and storage of energy during braking should
hysteretic control), NET (90%) be in direct proportion to the braking operation and the delay
Induction: Motor (91%), inverter (97%, synchronous fly back and the losses should be at least over a wide range of speed and
or hysteretic control), NET (88%) torque.
In terms of service, we have for
Brush-DC: Periodic replacement for brushes and bearing are
required III. OBJECTIVE
BLDC: No replacement of bearing is required The objective of the project is to study regenerative braking
Induction: Same as in the case of BLDC MOTOR used in electric vehicles and to prepare a mathematical model
of the system with the help of MATLAB and SIMULINK.
In terms of specific cost (cost/ kW), inverter included
Brush-DC: The cost is low MOTIVATION
BLDC: The high power permanent magnets are indeed An electric vehicle is an ideal alternative to the IC engine
expensive vehicles (run on petrol/diesel). As the consumption of fossil
Induction: The cost is moderate in this case. fuels is increasing at a prominent rate, so alternative sources of
energy have to be utilized to maintain a balance and at the
In terms of Heat rejection, we have for, same time, reducing the effect of using these fossil fuels on the
Brush-DC: The removal of heat is difficult environment. In this scenario, an electric vehicle can provide
BLDC: Heat rejection is comparatively is easier. Magnets on many benefits as they are environment-friendly and to
the rotor have low-moderate eddy current induced heating maximize the benefit, the electric vehicle should have the latest
Induction: Windings on stator make stator heat rejection braking system installed as braking is a crucial element to
straightforward. The current induced in the rotor can be cooled every vehicle. Regenerative braking systems provide the
by oil when implemented in high power applications. energy efficiency to an electric vehicle and at the same time
make the vehicle safer and easier to handle. Thus, it should be
For Torque/speed behavior, implemented in the vehicles. If such a braking system is
Brush-DC: It has infinite zero speed torque, but the torque incorporated in an electric vehicle, then this will not only
drops down gradually with increasing speed. increase the sale of electric vehicles but at the same time, will
BLDC: The motor has a constant torque up to base speed and reduce the pollution rate. As the country is facing major
power is constant up to the maximum speed. Automotive problems with increasing pollution due to the plethora of
applications are viable with a single ratio gearbox. vehicles in the major cities, increase in the use of electric
Induction: Here the torque remains constant up to base speed vehicles will be beneficial to the society and to the
and the power is constant up to maximum speed. Automotive environment.
applications are viable with a single ratio gearbox. The torque
IV. WORKING PRINCIPLE OF BLDC
builds up after some delay when current is applied.
• Miscellaneous:
Brush-DC: At high voltages arcing can be problematic. BLDC motor is the one of the most preferred motors in electric
Regenerative braking is tricky and requires a more complex vehicles, because the peak point efficiency is more and the
speed controller. cooling of the rotor is simpler. The motor can also operate at
BLDC: BLDC motors are ideal for low power applications. “unity power factor,” which means that the drive can operate at
Regenerative braking comes essentially for free. its maximum efficiency levels. The batteries are the most
Induction: Cost is low and implementation for automotive crucial component of BLDC motor driven system. So, the
application is cheaper. Regenerative braking comes essentially batteries in green cars should be as efficient as possible. Hence,
for free. a rechargeable battery is most efficient when it is maintained
near to full charge.
Considering various parameters, it can be concluded that the The brushless DC motor isn’t without fault. It is currently
BLDC motor is best suited for Regenerative Braking operation. more expensive to manufacture than its brushed counterparts.
Hence, BLDC motor is widely used in braking of electric Also the magnetic field produced by the permanent magnets
vehicles. isn’t adjustable.
Regeneration during braking in BLDC motor:

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 2017 International Conference on Intelligent Computing and Control (I2C2)

conduction of switches in the arm of Inverter Bridge. The

schematic of BLDC motor is shown. DC power supply is given
as input to BLDC motor. To control the BLDC motor, the
position of rotor must be determined, which decides the
commutation. The voltage vector of BLDC motor is divided
into six switches, which is in correspondence with the Hall
Effect sensors’ signal. The corresponding hall signals are given
to the controller which generates gate signals. These PWM
signals are given to the switches in the inverter which supplies
the stator winding. Thus by taking the the help of Hall sensors,
the motor is controlled by using any micro controller.
Generally, a three phase motor uses six switches, two in each
arm of the inverter. MOSFET or IGBTs are the most widely
used components due to its low output impedance IGBTs are
Fig.1. Power Inverter Circuit commonly used in high power applications.

Regenerative braking can be achieved by the reversal of

current in the motor-battery circuit during deceleration and
redirecting the current flow into the supply battery. The same
power inverter circuit of Figure 1 can be used with an
appropriate switching strategy. One simple and efficient
method is independent switching in conjunction with pulse-
width modulation (PWM) to implement an effective braking
control.
During regenerative braking, current in the winding is reversed
and supplied back into the battery. In this mode, all switches
are turned off and the current can flow back through the
freewheeling diodes. Figure 2 shows an example of the current
flow when the winding pairs of the A and B phases are
energized. In this example, the current can flow through the
freewheeling diode of the high-phase high-side switch, A- Fig.3. Motoring Current Flow
High, through the battery and through the low-phase low-side
switch, B-Low. To control the level of braking, the PWM duty Speed Control: Commutation ensures proper rotor rotation of
cycle is varied, which essentially toggles the current flow the BLDC motor, while the motor speed depends only on the
between regeneration and coasting. The maximum level of amplitude of the applied voltage. The amplitude of the applied
regeneration occurs when the low-side switches are all turned voltage is adjusted by using the PWM technique. The required
off. Consequently, the duty cycle is varied from high to low. speed is controlled by a speed controller. The speed controller
Therefore, by simply disconnecting the inverter circuit (power is implemented as a conventional PI controller. The difference
module) from the control source controlling the inverters’ between the actual and required speed is input to the PI
switching sequence (control circuit), regenerative braking will controller. Based on this difference, the PI controller controls
occur to its maximum potential. It is noted that the low-side the duty cycle of PWM pulses, which corresponds to the
switches are switched with PWM and the others remain off. voltage amplitude required to keep the required speed.

Fig.4.Speed control
Fig.2. Regenerative Current Flow
Torque Control: For applications requiring the motor to
operate with a specified torque regardless of speed, a current
BLDC MOTOR CONTROL: As the motor is brushless, the controller can be used, since torque is directly proportional to
commutation is achieved electronically by controlling the

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 2017 International Conference on Intelligent Computing and Control (I2C2)

current. In this mode, the speed will be held at the value set by V. MODEL SPECIFICATION and SIMULATION
the speed reference signal for all loads up to the point where
the full armature current is needed. If the load torque increases
further, the speed will drop because the current-loop will not Rated Voltage 300 V Stator Resistance 0.18ȍ/phase
allow more armatures current to flow. On the other hand, when per phase
the load attempts to drive the motor above the reference value,
this will automatically reverses the direction of motor current, Rated Current 5A Stator Inductance 0.0085 H
per phase /phase
causing the motor to act as a brake and feed back the
regenerative power to the mains. The current controller is Rated Power 2 HP No. of Poles 8
implemented as a conventional Proportional-Integral (PI)
controller. The speed controller output goes to the current
controller with measured DC bus current. The output obtained Rated Speed 2000 Rated Torque 3 Nm
rpm
from the current controller will be controlling the duty cycle of
the PWM pulses. The figure below shows the combination of
both the controllers, i.e. the speed and current controller.

TABLE: Specifications of the model

In the Matlab model we have used an Electric vehicle with

BLDC motor drive having a rated voltage of 300 V. The rated
current of the motor is 5 A. We have estimated a power output
of 2 HP at an rpm of 2000, which is also considered as the
reference speed of the motor. The Stator Resistance per phase
and the Stator Inductance per phase are 0.18 ȍ /phase and
0.0085 H/phase. The no. of poles of the motor circuit is 8.
Also the torque output is around 3 Nm. From the Matlab
simulation model, we have got the behaviors of motor speed,
generated voltage, braking torque and the state of charge of
Fig.5. Speed and Torque control the battery. From the data obtained from the curves we have
In both Speed and Torque control processes, the controller also got an approximate idea of generated power output. The
uses one of two PWM techniques: behavior of the motor during braking can also be studied from
a. Unipolar PWM switching: This technique refers to the the simulation and also the way the polarity of voltage
motor phases being switched in such a way that one of the changes with braking.
phases returns current while the PWM modulation is
The flowchart for the motor speed control is added below:
happening in another phase, this is unipolar. Unipolar
switching reduces electromagnetic noise and the DC bus
ripple because there is less switching.
b. Bipolar PWM switching: This technique refers to the
voltage passing through the two phases as being modulated
with the PWM, both the input and output of current are being
modulated. Bipolar switching is better suited for sensor-less
approaches, where it is necessary to sense back
electromagnetic forces (BEMF). The bipolar approach has the
zero volt point at a 50% duty cycle; therefore there is more
time to sense the BEMF.

Both unipolar and bipolar approaches can be either

independent or complementary. Unipolar and bipolar
approaches refer to the relationship of the two phases. The Fig.6. Control flowchart of the model
complementary approach refers to the relationship of the two
signals controlling one phase. The independent approach
applies to the PWM only on one side of the phase. The
complementary approach modulates both sides. The For the BLDC motor specifications shown in the table above,
complementary and independent approaches allow the control the simulation is carried out and the results are shown below
to address either a 2 or 4-quadrant operation.

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 2017 International Conference on Intelligent Computing and Control (I2C2)

[4] Stefán Baldursson, “BLDC Motor Modeling and Control – A

Matlab/Simulink Implementation”; Institutionen för Energi och Miljö;
May 2005

[5] Module11: Regenerative Braking; NPTEL–Electrical Engineering

– Introduction to Hybrid and Electric Vehicles

[6] M. Krishnamurthy, J Leon, A Gonzalez, G. Niu and M. J. Acero,

“Case Study of an Electric-Hydraulic Hybrid Propulsion System for a
Heavy Duty Electric Vehicle”, SAE Technical Paper 2016-01-8112,
September 2016.

[7] Boretti, A. and Al-Zubaidy, S., "E-KERS Energy Management

Crucial to Improved Fuel Economy," SAE Technical Paper 2016-01-
1947, 2016, doi: 10.4271/2016-01-1947.

[8] Li, J., Tan, G., Ji, Y., Zhou, Y. et al., "Design and Simulation
Fig.7. Measured speed and generated Voltage characteristics
Analysis for an Integrated Energy-Recuperation Retarder," SAE
Technical Paper 2016-01-0458, 2016, doi: 10.4271/2016-01-0458.

VI. CONCLUSION

In this project, we have discussed the advanced RBS of an

electric vehicle and the operation is performed with the help of
a Brushless DC motor. A comparative study has been carried
out by using various motor drives and we finally concluded
that the BLDC motor is the most suitable one for performing
regenerative braking operation. The proposed scheme is
implemented using MATLAB and the results are illustrated.
The results thus obtained are analyzed and using the results,
further calculations are carried out to determine the
regenerative power obtained from the proposed system. The
PID control is one of the most suitable methods which we
have adapted in our scheme to have a fine transition between
mechanical and electrical barking. The PWM technique is
implemented to the inverter using PID control to maintain the
constant braking torque. Thus it is possible to recover energy
using our recommended RBS. By using the submitted RBS,
the safety of the vehicle is also ensured.

SCOPE FOR FUTURE WORK

The extension of the project work carried out here will be to
test the circuits on a prototype vehicle. Also, the capacitor bank
can be replaced by ultracapacitors when the system works on a
higher voltage level. Ultracapacitors are costly but they can
store 20 times the energy stored in conventional batteries and
the energy loss is less. Ultra capacitors, when used in an actual
electric vehicle which may be working around a 300 Volt DC
battery supply, prove to be cost effective as well as capable of
providing a superior performance.

REFERENCES

[1] S. K. Pillai, A First Course on Electrical Drives; New

Age International Publishers; 2nd edition

[2] G. K. Dubey, Fundamentals of Electrical Drives; Narosa; 2nd

edition

[3] R. Krishnan, Electric Motor Drives: Modeling, Analysis, and

Control; PHI

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