Electric Motor Modeling and Control
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Electric Motor Modeling and Control
This course is part of Electrified Systems Design Engineer Professional Certificate
Instructors: Ali Nejad
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What you'll learn
Model and simulate electric motors to understand how electrical inputs produce motion.
Implement open-loop and closed-loop control strategies for reliable operation.
Analyze key parameters such as torque, speed, and efficiency to evaluate motor performance.
Apply practical techniques used by engineers to control and optimize motor-driven systems.
Details to know
March 2026
7 assignments
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There are 4 modules in this course
Electric motors power many modern technologies, from electric vehicles and industrial equipment to robotics and household appliances. In this course, you’ll learn how to model and control electric motors to achieve reliable and efficient performance in real-world systems.
You will build and simulate models of permanent magnet synchronous motors and explore how electrical inputs produce mechanical motion. Using manufacturer data and pre-parameterized motor models, you’ll analyze motor behavior by measuring quantities such as voltage, current, and power. Through hands-on exercises, you’ll implement motor control strategies used in modern engineering applications. You’ll design open-loop and closed-loop control systems, configure pulse-width modulation to regulate motor speed, and implement field-oriented control for precise speed and torque control. You’ll receive a free Simulink and Simscape license to simulate motor performance, test control algorithms, and evaluate system behavior before hardware is built. By the end of the course, you’ll gain practical electric motor modeling and control skills used by engineers to design, analyze, and optimize motor-driven systems across industries such as electrification, robotics, industrial automation, and electric vehicles.
Introduction to Electric Motor modeling
What's included
7 videos8 readings1 assignment
7 videos•Total 39 minutes
- Overview of Electrified Systems Design Engineer Professional Certificate•3 minutes
- Course Introduction•3 minutes
- Introduction to Electric Motors•6 minutes
- Guided Lesson 1: The Simscape PMSM block•5 minutes
- Electric Motors and Back EMF•5 minutes
- Guided Lesson 2: Modeling Back EMF•11 minutes
- Guided Lesson 3: Simulating an Ideal Voltage Source for your PMSM•7 minutes
8 readings•Total 59 minutes
- Prerequisite Knowledge•2 minutes
- Access to Simulink and Simscape•10 minutes
- Course Files•5 minutes
- Meet Your Instructors•2 minutes
- Important Electrical Terminologies•10 minutes
- Introduction to Guided Lessons•10 minutes
- How to choose the right motor block?•10 minutes
- Generating the Desired Three-Phase Voltage•10 minutes
1 assignment•Total 30 minutes
- Module 1 Quiz•30 minutes
Power Inverters
What's included
4 videos1 reading1 assignment
4 videos•Total 24 minutes
- Basics of inverters•6 minutes
- Guided Lesson 4: Using an Average Value Inverter •5 minutes
- Consideration for Modeling Electrical circuits•6 minutes
- Guided Lesson 5: Making Electrical Measurements of Your Motor Circuit•7 minutes
1 reading•Total 10 minutes
- Inverter fidelity in Simscape•10 minutes
1 assignment•Total 30 minutes
- Module 2 Quiz•30 minutes
Voltage by Frequency Control
What's included
4 videos1 reading1 assignment
4 videos•Total 23 minutes
- Basics of Pulse Width Modulation•6 minutes
- Guided Lesson 6: Adding Pulse Width Modulation•7 minutes
- Voltage by Frequency open loop control•5 minutes
- Guided Lesson 7: Implementing Voltage by Frequency - Open Loop Control•5 minutes
1 reading•Total 10 minutes
- PWM and Modulation Wave•10 minutes
1 assignment•Total 30 minutes
- Module 3 Quiz•30 minutes
Field-Oriented Control and Final Project
What's included
5 videos4 readings4 assignments1 plugin
5 videos•Total 33 minutes
- Field oriented control•7 minutes
- Guided Lesson 8: Calculating FOC Controller Gains•7 minutes
- Guided Lesson 9: Implementing Closed-Loop Field-Oriented Control•13 minutes
- Final Project•3 minutes
- Summary of Electric Motor Modeling and Control•3 minutes
4 readings•Total 85 minutes
- PI Controller notes•10 minutes
- Final Project Introduction•10 minutes
- Project Task 2•60 minutes
- Continue Learning•5 minutes
4 assignments•Total 85 minutes
- Module 4 Quiz•30 minutes
- Project Task 1 Quiz•10 minutes
- Project Task 2 Quiz•15 minutes
- Project Task 3 Quiz•30 minutes
1 plugin•Total 10 minutes
- Course Survey•10 minutes
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MathWorks
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University of Colorado Boulder
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