Sensorless vector control of a permanent magnet synchronous generator for micro hydro power

In vector controlled operation of a permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG), the rotor position must be known at all times. As position sensors are expensive and vulnerable in harsh environment, sensorless strategies are becoming more and more popular. The paper gives a short overview over common sensorless position estimation strategies and shows a MATLAB/Simulink simulation for the sensorless methods Flux Estimation and Sliding Mode Observer. Furthermore, a vector control on a PMSG including a sliding mode observer model for sensorless rotor position estimation is implemented on a TI Concerto processor (Cortex M3 and C28x DSP dualcore) for a frequency inverter for micro hydro power generation. A new approach is the utilization of a dualcore processor in this application: the Cortex M3 runs communication and general system tasks in a micro hydro power generation site, whereas the C28x DSP focuses on the generator control task. TI's real-time operating system SYS/BIOS runs on both cores, guaranteeing easy extension of functionality.