Sensorless Control of a Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor

Abstract: A permanent magnet synchronous motor is traditionally controlled from measured values of the angular velocity and position of the rotor. However, there is a wish from SAAB Avitronics to investigate the possibility of estimating this angular velocity and position from the current measurements. The rotating rotor will affect the currents in the motor’s stator depending on the rotor’s angular velocity, and the observer estimates the angular velocity and angular position from this effect. There are several methods proposed in the article database IEEE Xplore to observe this angular velocity and angular position. The methods of observation chosen for study in this thesis are the extended Kalman filter and a phase locked loop algorithm based on the back electro motive force augmented by an injection method at low velocities. The extended Kalman filter was also programmed to be run on a digital signal processor in SAAB Avitronics’ developing hardware. The extended Kalman filter performs well in simulations and shows promise in hardware implementation. The algorithm for hardware implementation suffers from poor resolution in calculations involving the covariance matrices of the Kalman filter due to the use of 16-bit integers, yielding an observer that only functions in certain conditions. As simulations with 32-bit integer algorithm performs well it is likely that a 32- bit implementation of the extended Kalman filter would perform well on a motor, making sensorless control possible in a wide range of operations.