Experimental fault-tolerant control of a PMSM drive

The paper describes a study and an experimental verification of remedial strategies against failures occurring in the inverter power devices of a permanent-magnet synchronous motor drive. The basic idea of this design consists of incorporating a fourth inverter pole, with the same topology and capabilities of the other conventional three poles. This minimal redundant hardware, appropriately connected and controlled, allows the drive to face a variety of power device fault conditions while maintaining a smooth torque production. The achieved results also show the industrial feasibility of the proposed fault-tolerant control, that could fit many practical applications.