Arduino PI Motor Control

PWM-based DC motor PI control implemented on Arduino UNO

Developing an Observer and a Controller

Considering the following system, we will design an PI controller for the system.

Figure 1. Experimental Model

To generate the desired output, we will use a Pulse Width Modulated signal with an amplitude of 10 volts. The duty cycle gives you an average amplitude from 0 to 5 volts.

Figure 2. Duty Cycle Development

The default PWM frequency is about 980 Hz, and the PWM frequency is controlled by three internal timers: timer0, timer1, and timer2. The instruction to change PWM frequency is TCCRnB = (TCCRnB & 0xF8) | 2 where n is chosen depending on which timer is associated with the PWM pin whose frequency we want to change.

Figure 3. Arduino Connections

Figure 4. Default PWM Frequency ~ 970 Hz

The TCCR2B would not affect the system’s clock time (it affects only Timer2 rate), so the millis() function will give correct timings. The duty cycle with higher frequency will give us smooth velocity change and the motor will not provide high pitch sound.

Figure 5. TCCR2B PWM Frequency ~ 3.9 kHz

The PID algorithm is shown in the following equation:

Arduino Code

/************************************
 *          Motor Speed Control     *
 ************************************/

//PID constants
float Kp = 2;
float Ki = 25;

// initialize variables
float error    = 0;
float intError = 0;
float control  = 0;
float Vs       = 0;
int dutyCycle  = 0;

// set step size for integration
float Ts       = 0.01; // 0.010 s = 10 ms

float current_time, previous_time, elapsed_time;

// set desired speed
float tachometer = 0.0286; // sensor scaling factor
float ref_speed  = 20; // reference angular velocity
float Vr = ref_speed * tachometer; // reference voltage

 
void setup(){
  
  // Default output (PWM rate ~1kHz)
  pinMode(5,OUTPUT); 
  
  // Timer/Counter Control Register 2 A
  // set PWM pins 3 and 11 (timer2) for 3906 Hz
  TCCR2B=(TCCR2B&0xF8) | 2;
  
  pinMode(3,OUTPUT); // 3906 HZ PWM
  // the duty cycle with higher frequency will give us 
  // smooth velocity change and the motor will not provide 
  // high sound

  Serial.begin(9600);
} 
 
void loop(){

        /**************************************************/
        // uncomment for debugging
        // it will allow you to change the reference 
        // speed on-the-fly (after each arduino reset)
        /*
        if(ref_speed == 0){
          while(1){
            ref_speed = Serial.parseFloat();
            if(ref_speed != 0) break;
          }
        }
        */
        /**************************************************/

        current_time = millis(); // get current time
        
        Vr = ref_speed * tachometer;
        
        Vs = analogRead(A1);
        Vs = (float)(Vs/256);
        //currentTime = millis();
        //elapsedTime = (double)(currentTime - previousTime); 
        error = Vr - Vs;
        
        // increment integrational error
        intError += error * Ts;
        // bound intError to [-1...1]
        intError = bound(intError, -1, 1);

        // calculate control signal
        control = Kp*error+Ki*intError;
        // bound control signal
        control = bound(control, -10, 10);
        
        dutyCycle=round(256/20*control+256/2);

        analogWrite(5,dutyCycle); // control PWM ~1.0 kHz
        analogWrite(3,dutyCycle); // control PWM ~3.9 kHz

        delay(Ts*1000); // [0.01(s)*1000](ms) = 10(ms)
        elapsed_time = millis() - current_time;

        /**************************************************/
        // uncomment for the debugging
        // Serial.print is time consuming function
        // which will take approx 80 ms
        /*
        Serial.print("Vr = "); Serial.print(Vr);
        Serial.print("\tVs = "); Serial.print(Vs);
        Serial.print("\tcontrol = "); Serial.print(control);
        Serial.print("\telapsed_time = "); Serial.print(elapsed_time);
        Serial.print("\t\tserial port time = "); Serial.print(millis()-current_time);
        Serial.print("\n");
        */
        /**************************************************/
}
           
// external functions
// bound signal in [min...max] range
float bound(float x, float x_min, float x_max){
  if(x < x_min){x = x_min;}
  if(x > x_max){x = x_max;}
  return x;
}

The Serial.print() function is time consuming operation which will increase the integration cycle by approximately 80 ms.

Figure 6. Serial Monitor Output

Figure 7. Transient test

— end —

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