DC-motor modelling and parameter

identification
This version: Monday 5th March, 2018

REG
LERTEKNIK Name:

P-number:

Date:
AU L
T O MA RO
TI C C O N T
Passed:
LINKÖPING
Chapter 1

Introduction

The purpose of this lab is to give an introduction to a simple dynamical system, mod-
els, signals, and introduce the MinSeg robot and associated software. By performing
experiments on a small DC-motor, some of its physical parameters will be identified
(also called estimated), and a first-order differential equation describing the dynam-
ical behavior of the motor will be developed. As an alternative approach, a model is
also developed using a simple step-response experiment.

DC-motors are a central part of many products and mechatronic designs, and having
a model of a motor is important for dimensioning, simulations, development of con-
trollers, performance analysis etc.

Figure 1.1: Robotic hand using 15 DC-motors to position 5 fingers independently.

Having good models of the motors is crucial when developing a high-
precision control system for the hand.

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1.1 Hardware set-up

The lab is based on three main hardware components.

To begin with, we have a standard desktop computer. This computer is used to auto-
matically develop and deploy code using M ATLAB and S IMULINK models.

To supply power to the DC-motor and perform measurements of motor angles, we use
a board with an Arduino micro-controller which runs the auto-generated code. It also
communicates with the desktop computer and thus allows us to look at the measure-
ments.

The motor we experiment with is a simple DC-motor with two wheels attached. The
motor is normally part of a LEGO Mindstorms kit.

The Arduino together with the motor and wheels is called the MinSeg.

1.2 Trouble shooting

The wheels turn slowly and/or erratically Make sure the tires do not rub against the
motor. You can pull the wheels apart as they slide on the wheel axis.

Complaints about COM port or connection when downloading to board Try again. If
it still fails, disconnect USB-cable and connect it again.

Complaints about OUT OF MEMORY Save your model and restart M ATLAB.

The motor does not run Have you reinstalled the motor jumper after current measure-
ments?

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Chapter 2

Preparation

The questions below, and all questions throughout the document marked as Prepara-
tion must be done before attending the lab. Note that there are additional preparation
exercises in Chapter 3.

Solutions to all questions should be available upon request from the lab assistant,
and the preparation exercises in Chapter 3 are preferably written in this printed docu-
mented.

The scheduled time spent with the laboratory equipment is only a small part of the
complete lab, as a major part is spent on the theoretical material during preparations.
When the lab starts, it is assumed you have done all preparations, and have a clear idea
of the tasks that will be performed during the lab.

Remember that the course material includes an English-Swedish dictionary in case you
need it.

Preparation 1 Read Section 2.1 and 2.6 in the course book by Ljung & Glad.

Preparation 2 Verify (by differentiation, not by solving it from scratch!) that the differ-
ential equation
T ẏ(t ) = −y(t ) + Ku(t ) (2.1)
has the solution
y(t ) = K(1 − e −t /T )c (2.2)
when we have an input switching from u(t ) = 0 to u(t ) = c at t = 0 (i.e., a step-response
of amplitude c), and initial condition y(0) = 0.

Preparation 3 The constant K in the form (2.1) is called the static gain of the system
and describes how much the system amplifies constant inputs in steady-state (i.e., when

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derivatives are 0 and y(t ) has converged to its stationary value). Given the differential
equation with input u(t ) = c and solution as above, show that the output y(t ) converges
to Kc when t → ∞. Do this using two different strategies. One approach where you sim-
ply analyze the given solution, and another approach where you study the differential
equation and exploit the fact that you know the value of ẏ(t ) in steady-state.

Preparation 4 The constant T in the first-order differential equation in the form (2.1)
is called the time-constant and describes how fast the system reacts to changes on the
input. Given y(t ) = K(1 − e −t /T )c, what value will y(t ) have when t = T?

Preparation 5 The time-constant is more generally defined as the time it takes before
the output reaches a certain percentage of its final value, when the input has made a
step change. To be consistent with the definition in the first-order system above, what
percentage is this?

Preparation 6 Sketch the function y(t ) = K(1 − e −t /T )c for K = 3, T = 10 and c = 2. Par-

ticularly specify the value attained when t = 10.

Preparation 7 An oven placed in a room with temperature 0◦ is reasonably well de-

scribed by the differential equation T ẏ(t ) = −y(t ) + Ku(t ) where y(t ) is the oven temper-
ature and u(t ) is the supplied power. In an experiment performed to identify T and K,
the oven was turned on with u(t ) = 1000W at t = 4 (not at t = 0!), and the temperature
was measured. Based on the results seen in Figure 2.1, what is the time-constant T and
static gain K of the oven? Hint: What percentage of the final temperature should have
been reached T minutes after the oven was turned on?

Preparation 8 Write the differential equation a ẏ(t ) + b y(t ) = cu(t ) in the form T ẏ(t ) =
−y(t ) + Ku(t ), i.e., express the time-constant T and gain K in terms of a, b, and c.

Preparation 9 Read the complete lab-pm. There are some theoretical questions in the
pm which you are supposed to complete as preparation.

Preparation 10 Print this document. You must bring a physical copy to the lab.

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Figure 2.1: Step-response experiment of an oven. At t = 4 minutes the input power is
changed from 0W to 1000W, and the oven temperature is recorded.

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Chapter 3

The lab

As explained above, the lab will primarily consist of experimentation and data collec-
tion, using theoretical results and strategies derived during your preparation.

Items labeled Preparation are questions you are supposed to solve and fill out before
attending the lab.

Items labeled Task are performed when attending the lab and you have access to the
hardware.

3.1 DC-motor modeling

Consider a standard DC-motor model as depicted in Figure 3.1.

Figure 3.1: DC-motor. When a voltage u A (t ) is applied on the motor, a current i (t )

develops and accelerates the motor. As the angular velocity ω(t ) = θ̇(t ) in-
creases, the friction f ω(t ) in motor and drive shafts, and back-emf (elec-
tromotiv force) k v ω(t ), reduces the acceleration ω̇(t ) = θ̈(t ).

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The electrical and mechanical differential equations governing the dynamics are

d i (t )
u A (t ) = L + Ri (t ) + k v ω(t ) (3.1)
dt
k a i (t ) = Jω̇(t ) + f ω(t ) (3.2)

where u A (t ) is the voltage applied to the motor, i (t ) is the current in the motor, and
ω(t ) = θ̇(t ) is the angular velocity of the motor shaft. The product k a i (t ) is the torque
generated by the motor, and f ω(t ) is the velocity dependent friction in the motor. The
parameters in the model are

• L: Motor inductance, assumed to be 0.

• R: Motor armature resistance, unknown and will be measured directly.

• k v : Back-emf constant. Unknown and will be identified through steady-state

analysis.

• k a : Torque constant. Unknown and will be identified through steady-state anal-

ysis. Related to k v .

• f : Friction coefficient. Unknown and will be identified through steady-state

analysis.

• J: Motor inertia. Unknown and will be identified through dynamic analysis.

For a perfect motor with no energy losses, it holds that k a = k v . However, in practice
this does not hold, and we know that

k a ≈ 0.65k v . (3.3)

Our task in this lab is to perform experiments to identify R, k v (and thus k a ), f and
J, to obtain a dynamical model which relates the applied voltage u A (t ) to the angular
velocity ω(t ). This model will be used in later labs.

3.1.1 Rotary encoder

The motor is equipped with a simple encoder1 to measure rotation of the motor shaft.
The encoder uses n = 12 holes with a so called quadrature design, meaning it has a
resolution of 48 pulse changes per revolution. The motor shaft is connected via a gear
with transmission ratio 15, meaning the encoder will deliver 48 · 15 = 720 pulse changes
per motor shaft revolution, leading to a maximal theoretical accuracy of 0.5◦ .
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A small light-source shines at the right-most cog in the figure, and by detecting when the light is
blocked or let through the holes, rotation is detected

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 Figure 3.2: Encoder in motor

Preparation 11 One full revolution of a wheel will give us a measurement from the en-
coder of 720. However, we wish to work in standard units of radians, and would thus like
to obtain the value 2π. With which scaling gain should the measurement be multiplied
with to accomplish this?

Open the folder minseg on the Desktop, and start M ATLAB and S IMULINK by double-
clicking the S IMULINK model dcmotor/template1. This S IMULINK scheme graphi-
cally describes the code that will be generated and downloaded to the Arduino micro-
controller.

Some important features are marked in Figure 3.3

1. The value here will be sent by the Arduino micro-controller to the motor driver,
and is our control signal u(t ). Due to voltage losses internally on the board in the
motor driver chip, the voltage u A (t ) which actually is applied to the DC-motor is
lower than u(t ).

2. The Arduino micro-controller counts pulses on the encoder, and this value can
be used for computing the angle of the motor.

3. We convert the number of pulses counted to rotation angle θ(t ) in radians. This
is done in the Gain block.

4. The S IMULINK model is specified to run in External mode. This allows the Ar-
duino to communicate with MATLAB continuously.

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 Figure 3.3: Template S IMULINK model

5. When running the model in external mode, the Arduino micro-controller can
send data to M ATLAB and S IMULINK. Here, we send the scaled encoder measure-
ments to a plot scope to display them in real-time.

6. In external mode, we can also send information from M ATLAB to the Arduino
micro-controller. We will use a slider gain to change the requested motor voltage
u(t ) while the code is running. We will be able to multiply the constant 1 with
values between 0 and 4.5, i.e., requesting up to 4.5V.

7. We compile, download and start the code on the Arduino micro-controller by

pressing the green run button.

8. We stop the code by pressing the stop button. This must be done before editing
the model

3.1.2 Identification of motor resistance R

The resistance R of the motor is obtained by measuring the resistance over the motor
using a multimeter. However, we do not have direct access to the motor cable attach-
ments. Instead, we perform this measurement on the Arduino board. The resistance
of the motor can be obtained by measuring the resistance between the two points la-
beled M1A and M1B, as illustrated in Figure 3.4 and Figure 3.5. These two points are
in connection with the motor attachement, and placed on the board to simplify motor
measurements.

Task 1 (Resistance measurement) Make sure the Arduino board is unpowered (i.e., USB
cable disconnected). Put the multimeter in resistance measurement mode (Ω), and mea-
sure the resistance. Note that it takes the multimeter a couple of seconds to stabilize on

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Figure 3.4: Motor resistance and voltage measurements are done between the points
labeled M1A and M1B next to the motor connection.

a final value. You typically see a value between 3Ω and 6Ω. Connect the USB cable after
performing the measurements.

Figure 3.5: Schematic picture of the measurement points M1A and M1B and the rela-
tionship between the requested voltage u(t ) and the applied voltage u A (t ).
A large voltage loss occurs in the motor driver chip (actual pin configura-
tion might not be correct, picture is only for illustration)

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3.1.3 Steady-state measurements for identification of k a , k v and f

In a batch of experiments, we will study the steady-state currents and angular veloci-
ties, for different constant applied motor voltages. For a constant applied motor volt-
age u A (t ) = u ss , we denote the corresponding obtained steady-state value of the cur-
rent and applied voltage

i ss = lim i (t ) (3.4)
t →∞
ωss = lim ω(t ) (3.5)
t →∞

Preparation 12 Based on (3.1), which equation holds at steady-state, and how can this
relationship be used to estimate k v by measuring steady-state values of voltages, currents
and angular velocities? You can assume R is known by now.

To proceed, we must obtain measurements of the voltage u A (t ) on the motor, the cur-
rent i (t ) in the motor, and the angular velocity ω(t ). In the following paragraphs we
explain how this is done. The actual measurements are done later!

Measuring motor voltage

When the motor is spinning at steady-state, the applied voltage u A (t ) can be measured
over the same positions as we did for the resistance measurement. To do so, we will
put the multimeter in DC-voltage mode (V=), and measure the voltage between M1A
and M1B.

Measuring motor current

To measure current in the motor, we will open the electrical circuit (voltages are mea-
sured in parallel over objects, while currents are measured in series). The board is
prepared for such a measurement. On the board just in front of the motor connection,
there is a jumper (with a colored tape handle) which can be removed to open the elec-
trical circuit. To measure the current, we will put the multimeter in current (mA) mode
and close the circuit with the multimeter.

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Figure 3.6: By removing the jumper next to the motor connection, the circuit is opened
and we can measure current over the two pins. Be careful not to bend the
pins by applying excessive force.

Measuring angular velocity

The encoder only gives us the angle, so we have to estimate the angular velocity. Given
two measurements of the angle θ(t ) and θ(t − Ts ) where Ts is the sampling time (in
our case fixed to 0.03s), the most basic estimate of the angular velocity is the Euler
backwards approximation
θ(t ) − θ(t − Ts )
ω(t ) = (3.6)
Ts
Unfortunately, the estimate obtained from this simple computation will not behave
well when the code runs in external mode. The problem is that the Arduino computer
is slow, and when it has to communicate with M ATLAB, it will not be able to finish
computations in time sometimes, which means that the actual sampling time will be
different from the fixed value 0.03s that is used in the computation. As an effect, the
derivative estimate will look noisy. We will counteract this by continuously taking the
average of the last 20 derivative estimates (a low-pass filter called an FIR filter)

Open the S IMULINK component library (either by writing simulink in the M ATLAB
command prompt, or through the menu in your S IMULINK model View/Library browser.

Task 2 (Code for velocity computation) Update your S IMULINK model to incorporate
the derivative computations as in Figure 3.7. The block Discrete Derivative (implements
the Euler approximation) and Discrete FIR filter are found under Simulink/Discrete. A

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so called plot scope can be found under Sinks, or simply copy the scope already available
in the model. Note that the text under blocks is completely arbitrary, and you can change
this. Double-click the FIR filter block and change the code in the field coefficients to
repmat(0.05,1,20) (everything in boxed bold text!). This code will create a vector of
length 20 with all elements equal to 0.05, which leads to a filter which takes the average
of the 20 last values. Save your model.

Figure 3.7: Updated S IMULINK model with derivative computation.

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3.1.4 Experiments

Let us now perform the experiments. We will run the motor with different requested
voltages u(t ) = 2.5V, u(t ) = 3.5V and u(t ) = 4.5V (set in the middle edit box in the
slider gain while running), and record the resulting steady-state applied motor voltage
u A (t ) = u ss , currents i ss and angular velocities ωss .

Task 3 (Measurements) Attach the USB-cable (preferably in the USB connection on the
monitor) and download your code to the Arduino by pressing the green run button. For
convenience, perform the experiments in two steps.

In a first run, record steady-state motor voltage u ss (multimeter) and angular velocity
ωss (plot scope) with the the three different requested voltages. To set the requested motor
voltage in the Slider gain precisely, use the middle edit box. In the angular velocity plot,
you will have to right-click in the plot and select auto-scale, or press auto-scale in the
plot menu. Record the values of all voltage and angular velocity measurements in the
table below.

In a second run, remove the motor current jumper and repeat the 3 experiments measur-
ing the current i ss and insert in the table. The columns for k v and f will be filled later
during the lab.

You should see applied voltages slightly below the requested voltages, currents in the
range 20mA to 50mA, and rotational velocities up to at most 7 rad/s or so.

Requested u(t ) u ss ωss i ss kv f

2.5V
3.5V
4.5V

Task 4 (Compute k v estimates) Once you have all the measurements, you can compute
estimates of the back-emf constant k v using your result in preparation 12. Compute
estimates of k v based on the three experiments and insert in the table.

Task 5 (Compute final k v estimate) To decide on a final value of k v one can for in-
stance compute the average value of the three estimates. However, a more robust ap-
proach which will guard us against a failed experiment (bad measurement, mistake in
computation,...), is to take the median instead, which in this case will be the middle
value. What is your final estimate of k v ?

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Task 6 (Compute k a ) With k v available, what is the estimated value of the torque con-
stant k a ?

With all measurements available, and the estimated value of k a , we are ready to use
(3.2) to estimate the friction coefficient f . However, the simple linear differential equa-
tion does not tell the whole truth. Besides the linear velocity dependent friction torque
f ω(t ), there is also a static friction in the motor which prevents the motor from starting
to turn and affects the performance at low velocities. You can see this if you decrease
the control signal u(t ) until the motor just barely turns. The current will be signifi-
cantly non-zero already at that point. You would also see this if you would plot the
computed torques k a i ss against the angular velocity ωss , as exemplified in Figure (3.8).
The friction coefficient f is the slope of the curve, but the curve will not pass through
the origin.

Figure 3.8: Typical torque and angular velocity measurements. A significant amount
of current (i.e., torque k a i ss ) is lost on overcoming the static friction, the
torque-angular velocity line does not go through the origin.

If we let i 0 denote the current required at very low speed, our model changes to (valid
when i (t ) ≥ i 0 )

k a (i (t ) − i 0 ) = Jω̇(t ) + f ω(t ) (3.7)

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Preparation 13 How can f be computed from steady-state measurements i ss and ωss if
we know i 0 and k a , using the model (3.7)

Task 7 (Identify i 0 ) Find out the current i 0 which is used when the motor turns very
slowly by decreasing the requested voltage until it is turning very slowly. When you are
done, turn the voltage to 0, stop the code, and re-install the jumper.

Task 8 (Compute f ) Use the model and the value of i 0 to compute estimates of f from
the three experiments, and complete the table. Use the middle value as an estimate of f .

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3.1.5 Dynamic analysis for identification of J

Through static experiments (i.e., analysis of steady-state signals), we have managed to

identify 3 out of the 4 parameters. The parameter J requires us to study the dynamic
behavior. The fact that we need dynamic analysis to estimate J is natural as it only
enters our equations multiplied with ω̇(t ), which is 0 in a steady-state analysis.

The constant J effectively makes it harder to accelerate the motor. The larger (heavier
wheels) J is, the longer time it will take for the motor to reach steady-state velocity.
Hence, our analysis will be based on estimating the time-constant of the system from
u A (t ) to ω(t ).

By combining (3.1) and (3.2) we arrive at the differential equation

RJω̇(t ) = −(R f + k v k a )ω(t ) + k a u A (t ) (3.8)

Preparation 14 Prove (3.8)

Preparation 15 Write the differential-equation (3.8) as a standard first-order system

T ω̇(t ) + ω(t ) = Ku A (t ), i.e., derive the time-constant and static gain of the system (3.8),
in terms of the parameters R, J, f , k v and k a .

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Preparation 16 If you know the time-constant of the system, and all parameters except
J, how can you compute J?

In our final experiment, we are going to study the transient behavior of the velocity
during a step-change in applied voltage. Open the S IMULINK model template2 which
has been prepared such that it will generate a series of steps in requested voltage u(t )
from 0V to 4.5V, which will lead to a series of steps in applied voltage u A (t ) following
your previously developed table. The approximate angular velocity is sent to M ATLAB
and recorded in a variable data in the M ATLAB workspace.

Task 9 (Collect step-response data) Download and run the modified model. You should
see a sequence of steps being performed on the motor. Let it perform a couple of those,
and then stop the code (preferably when no voltage is applied).

Task 10 (Study step-response data) Plot the step-responses (slightly smoothed to make
it easier to read values) in M ATLAB by running

plot(data.time,smooth(data.signals.values))

Study the plot of the steps (zoom in on a single step!). What is the steady-state value
of ω(t ) in the steps? What was the applied steady-state voltage u ss on the motor when
requesting 4.5V according to earlier experiments? (of course, the steady-state angular
velocity should coincide with the value in the table also). Based on this, what is the
experimentally derived static gain from applied voltage u A (t ) = u ss to angular velocity
ω(t )?

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Task 11 Based on the plot of the step-response of the motor, what is the experimentally
derived time-constant?

Task 12 Based on the experimentally derived time-constant and previously derived phys-
ical parameters, what is the value of J?

Task 13 To summarize, what does the model look like (with numerical values) if you
write it as a standard first-order model in the form used in preparation 2 and 7.

Comments on the model

A lot of effort has been placed in this lab on experimentally identifying the physical
parameters J, R, f , k v and k a . However, in the end, these 5 parameters are used in a
first-order system which just as well can be defined directly from the experimentally
obtained time-constant and static gain. In many situations, this modeling approach
is just as useful, as it completely describes the input-output behavior of the system. A
simple step-response experiment, and we have a sufficiently precise model to simulate
the system, design controllers, and analyze performance. Performing step-responses
on system to quickly derive models is extremely common practice, and often leads to
sufficiently good models to be used for control.

The first-order model derived in this lab is used for analysis in forthcoming labs, and
is part of a complete model of the MinSeg, required for the development of a balance
controller.

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3.2 Summary and reflections

Summarize and reflect on concepts in this lab.

Questions Answers
1. The MinSeg DC-motor is ä a model
ä a system
ä a signal
2. The differential equation ä a model
describing the MinSeg ä a system
DC-motor is
ä a signal
ä a parameter
3. The time-constant ä How fast the system reacts to
describes changing inputs
ä Which constant value the output
will converge to
4. The static gain K ä The ratio between the output and
describes input amplitudes in steady-state
ä The amplitude of the output
5. The final value of the ä The time-constant
output depends on ä The input amplitude
ä The static gain
6. A first-order linear ä Uniquely defined by a time-
differential equation is constant and static gain
ä Is not uniquely defined by time-
constant and static gain

Most unclear to me is still: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

...........................................................................................

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