Design and Control of a Linear Reluctance Motor for a Vacuum Diaphragm Pump

This paper presents the design and control system of a linear short-stroke reluctance motor for a diaphragm vacuum pump. Based on the finite elements method (FEM) the force capability of the Machine was optimized in order to fulfill the requirements of the vacuum pump. An experimental prototype was constructed and a control mechanism worked out and implemented. Additionally to the control of the electrical machine, an algorithm for estimating the inlet pressure of the pump on the basis of a fundamental disturbance observer was simulated and verified. First experimental results show the capability of the machine topology, validate the proposed method for pressure estimation and reveal its limitations.