Performance Evaluation of PID-Based Speed Control for a 1 kW BLDC Motor Using Ziegler–Nichols and MATLAB PID Tuner

Abstract

Maintaining stable speed under varying operating conditions remains a major challenge in Brushless Direct Current (BLDC) motor applications, particularly for electric vehicles requiring fast and accurate dynamic responses. This study evaluates the performance of a PID-based speed control system for a 1 kW BLDC motor by comparing two controller tuning approaches: the conventional Ziegler–Nichols method and the MATLAB PID Tuner autotuning method. A mathematical model of the BLDC motor was developed in MATLAB/Simulink using the motor's electrical and mechanical parameters, and both tuning methods were implemented under identical operating conditions. System performance was evaluated based on rise time, settling time, overshoot, and steady-state error. The simulation results show that both methods successfully maintain the motor speed close to the 3000 RPM setpoint with negligible steady-state error. However, the MATLAB PID Tuner achieves a faster rise time and shorter settling time, whereas the Ziegler–Nichols method produces slightly lower overshoot. The comparative analysis demonstrates that MATLAB PID Tuner provides a more responsive and efficient tuning strategy while maintaining system stability. These findings highlight the effectiveness of automatic PID tuning for improving BLDC motor speed control and provide a practical reference for electric vehicle drive system applications.