Developments in Sensorless AC Drive Technology

Controlled AC motor drives without mechanical speed sensors at the motor shaft have the attractions of low cost and high reliability. To replace the sensor, the information on the rotor speed is extracted from measured stator currents and from the voltages at the motor terminals. Vector controlled drives require estimating the magnitude and spatial orientation of the fundamental magnetic flux waves in the stator or in the rotor. Open loop estimators or closed loop observers are used for this purpose. They differ with respect to accuracy, robustness, and sensitivity against model parameter variations. Dynamic performance and steady-state speed accuracy around zero speed range is achieved by signal injection, exploiting the anisotropic properties of the machine. The overview in this paper uses signal flow graphs of complex space vector quantities to provide an insightful description of the systems used in sensorless control of AC motors