Surface Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors’ Passive Sensorless Control: A Review

Sensorless control of permanent magnet synchronous motors is nowadays used in many industrial, home and traction applications, as it allows the presence of a position sensor to be avoided with benefits for the cost and reliability of the drive. An estimation of the rotor position is required to perform the field-oriented control (FOC), which is the most common control scheme used for this type of motor. Many algorithms have been developed for this purpose, which use different techniques to derive the rotor angle from the stator voltages and currents. Among them, the so-called passive methods have gained increasing interest as they do not introduce additional losses and current distortion associated instead with algorithms based on the injection of high-frequency signals. The aim of this paper is to present a review of the main passive sensorless methods proposed in the technical literature over the last few years, analyzing their main features and principles of operation. An experimental comparison among the most promising passive sensorless algorithms is then reported, focusing on their performance in the low-speed operating region

Dynamics and Stability Analysis of IPMSM Position Sensorless Control for xEV Drive System

芝浦工業大学2019年

A new simplified fundamental model‐based sensorless control method for surface‐mounted permanent magnet synchronous machines

For sensorless control of surface‐mounted permanent magnet synchronous machines (SPMSMs), the major issue is in zero‐ and low‐speed ranges. Since back‐electromotive force (EMF) is proportional to speed, back‐EMF based methods fail at zero and low speed. A solution considering the starting process and low speed sensorless control is presented. A simplified fundamental model‐based method is proposed. Based on the simplified model, the measured stator currents in the stationary reference frame can be directly utilised for position estimation so that the sensorless control performance at low speed and starting is improved. Moreover, with the knowledge of rotor initial position sector information, a stable and reliable starting performance is achieved with the proposed method. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified through experimental results

Sensorless Passive Control Algorithms for Medium to High Power Synchronous Motor Drives

This study is focused on the definition of sensorless algorithms for Surface-Mounted Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors (SM-PMSM) and Electrically Excited Synchronous Motors (EESM). Even if these types of motors are rather different from a constructive point of view, they have some common issues regarding sensorless drives. Indeed, SM-PMSMs, which are usually used for low-medium power applications, have a low rotor anisotropy, therefore it is complicated to use sensorless active methods (which are based on high-frequency voltage injection), due to the low signal to noise ratio. On the other hand, active methods on high-power EESM have the drawback of high torque ripple. For these reasons, both for SM-PMSM and EESM, it is interesting to define and use sensorless passive algorithms (i.e., based on observers and estimators). The drawback of such algorithms is that their performance deteriorates significantly in the low-speed region. The aim of this thesis is to define a robust sensorless passive algorithm that could work in a wide speed region and that could start the motor from standstill even with a high load torque. The initial objective of the work is to find, among the various algorithms proposed in the technical literature, the most promising one. For this purpose, four different algorithms are selected. They are chosen considering the most recent articles presented in the technical literature on high reputable journals. Since many improvements are proposed in the literature for the different algorithms, the most recent ones are candidates for being the ones with higher performance. Even if the experimental tests of the four different algorithms are shown in the literature, it is difficult to evaluate a priori which offers the best performance. As a matter of facts, for each algorithm different tests are carried out (e.g., different speed and torque profiles). In addition to that, motor sizing and features are different. Moreover, the test bench characteristics can significantly affect sensorless performance. As an example, inverter features and non-linearities (e.g., switching frequency, dead times, parasitic capacitance) and current measures (e.g., noise, linearity, bias) play a key role in the estimation of rotor position. The added value of this thesis is to perform a fair comparison of the four algorithms, performing the same tests with the same test bench. Additional tests are performed on the most performing algorithm. Even if this sensorless technique is already proposed in the technical literature, a methodology for observer gain tuning is not shown, which is proposed, instead, in this thesis. Moreover, the algorithm is enhanced by adding a novel management of direct axis current, which ensures the stability during fast transient from medium-high speed to low speed. The algorithm is tested with different test benches in order to verify the control effectiveness in various operating conditions. As a matter of facts, it is tested at first in the University of Genoa PETRA Lab on two different test benches. The first test bench is composed of two coupled motors, in which the braking motor could realize different torque profiles (linear torque, quadratic torque and constant torque), whereas in the second test bench the motor is coupled with an air compressor, which is a demanding load since high and irregular torque is applied at standstill. After the test at the University of Genoa, the algorithm is implemented in Phase Motion Control and Physis drive and tested on a six-meter diameter fan. Regarding the EESMs, for these type of motor is necessary to estimate the stator flux amplitude and angle. Indeed, the stator angle is usually used to perform the Park transformations in the FOC scheme and the stator flux amplitude is used to control the excitation current. In this study, the RFO is adapted for estimating the stator flux of an EESM. Regarding the control for EESM, it is tested on a simulative model for high-power motors provided by NIDEC ASI and tested on a small-scale test bench at the University of Genoa

Review of flux-weakening algorithms to extend the speed range in electric vehicle applications with permanent magnet synchronous machines

This article reviews Flux-Weakening (FW) algorithms for Permanent Magnet Synchronous Machines (PMSMs), focusing on the automotive sector, especially in electric and hybrid electric vehicles. In the past few years, the spread of Electric Vehicles (EVs) has improved the technology of electric machines and their control to achieve more compact and competitive solutions. PMSMs are the most widespread electric machines used in EVs thanks to their high-power density and potential operation at constant power range during high speed. Such high speed implies a high electromotive force. An FW technique is mandatory to reduce the electromagnetic flux generated by the electric machine due to the voltage limits of the traction inverter and the energy source. This article classifies and analyses the state-of-the-art FW control strategies by comparing their main advantages and drawbacks. The Vector Current Control (VCC) method that regulates the modulus of the applied voltage is the most common one in the literature thanks to i) its robustness to parameter modification and model unsureness, ii) low computational complexity, and iii) high dynamic response and control stability.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

A comparison of stator flux linkage estimators for a direct torque controlled PMSM drive

In an increasing number of applications highly dynamic electrical drives, characterized by high quality torque control, are demanded. Direct torque control (DTC) for AC machines, permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSM) or induction machines, can provide this accurate and fast torque control. When applying DTC the change of the stator flux linkage vector is controlled, based on torque and flux errors. As such the estimation of the stator flux linkage is essential for a DTC drive. Furthermore the quality of the estimation directly determines the capability of the drive. In the literature several possible solutions for the estimation of the stator flux linkage are proposed. However, a comprehensive comparison between these solutions is not present. This paper gives an overview of several techniques for the estimation of the stator flux linkage for DTC in PMSMs. The theoretical advantages and disadvantages of the methods are outlined. After a short discussion on the effects of erroneous estimations the results from simulations for the different methods are reviewed. It is shown that, despite their simplicity stabilized voltage model methods can offer good performance. Still they can not reach the performance of an extended Kalman filter implementation of a current model. Aspects of the practical implementation on FPGA are discussed

Influence of nonideal voltage measurement on parameter estimation in permanent-magnet synchronous machines

This paper investigates the influence of nonideal voltage measurements on the parameter estimation of permanentmagnet synchronous machines (PMSMs). The influence of nonideal voltage measurements, such as the dc bus voltage drop, zero shift in the amplifier, and voltage source inverter nonlinearities, on the estimation of different machine parameters is investigated by theoretical and experimental analysis. For analysis, a model-reference-adaptive-system-based estimator is first described for the parameter estimation of the q-axis inductance, stator winding resistance, and rotor flux linkage. The estimator is then applied to a prototype surface-mounted PMSM to investigate the influence of nonideal voltage measurement on the estimation of various machine parameter values. It shows that, at low speed, the inverter nonlinearity compensation has significant influence on both the rotor flux linkage and winding resistance estimations while, at high speed, it has significant influence only on the winding resistance estimation and has negligible influence on the rotor flux linkage estimation. In addition, the inverter nonlinearity compensation will not influence the q-axis inductance estimation when it is under id = 0 control. However, the dc bus voltage drop due to the load variation and zero shift in the amplifier will significantly influence the q-axis inductance estimation. © 2011 IEEE

Rotor-position detection in permanent-magnet wheel motor to ensure smooth startup from standstill

In this paper, an innovative rotor-position-detection method for a permanent-magnet wheel motor (PMWM) that operates from standstill to low speed is presented. The neutral voltage, which is sensed through phaseshifted pulse width modulation, overcomes the limitations of the conventional back electromotive force (EMF)-based position-detection method, which is more suitable for high-speed operation. In addition, a technique that ensures a transition between the two position-detection methods is presented to cover the full speed range. Computer simulations are employed to design and assess the neutral-voltage-based and EMF-based position-detection methods. The results of the position detection and angle error are presented starting from standstill to low speed. A step current (iq) corresponding to motor torque demand is applied for the starting process in the two position-detection methods. The experimental studies of the new position-detection method are conducted. The method is successfully applied to drive a 60-kW PMWM that operates from standstill to high speed. This demonstrates the effectiveness and performance of the presented method