Combined Active Flux and High Frequency Injection Methods for Sensorless Direct Flux Vector Control of Synchronous Reluctance Machines

This paper proposes a sensorless control scheme for synchronous reluctance (SyR) motor drives based on the direct-flux vector control (DFVC) method. The control operates in stator-flux-oriented coordinates, using constant switching frequency. A hybrid position and speed observer is proposed, based on the combination of the active flux concept and high-frequency signal injection and demodulation. The two methods are fused together to form a unique position and speed estimate signals, with seamless transition between the two models based on reference speed. The proposed observer covers a wide speed range, from standstill operation at full load to flux weakening (FW). Furthermore, it is inherently immune from position estimation error caused by cross saturation, as proven mathematically and experimentally. The motor is operated according to the maximum torque per ampere (MTPA) law. Specific issues related to MTPA around zero torque are addressed in this paper. The proposed control technique extends the range of application of the DFVC to encoderless drives, and can be usefully adopted in those applications where both zero-speed and FW speed range operations are necessary, such as home appliances, or automotive and aerospace actuators and generators. A 2.2-kW SyR motor prototype was tested to verify the feasibility of the proposed method. Key tuning aspects are addressed in this paper.