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Sensorless control of permanent magnet AC motors

Conference Paper · October 1994

DOI: 10.1109/IECON.1994.398051 · Source: IEEE Xplore

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 Sensorless Control of Permanent Magnet AC Motors
Kaushik Rajashekara*, Atsuo Kawamura**
* DeIco Remy, Electric Propulsion Systems, P.O. Box 2439, Anderson, IN 46018 - USA
phone: (3 17)841-4825;fax: (3 17)577-9008; e-mail:kaushik@aol.com
** Department of Electrical Engineering, Yokohama National University, Yokohama, 240 Japan
phone: +81-45-335-1451; fix: +81-45-338-1157; e-mail: kawamura@kawalab.dnj.ynu.ac.jp

-
Absrrad This paper presents a brief review of the different
position sensorless strategies reported in the literature. The
sensorless schemes are classified based on the method of position
detection and control strategy. The schemes for both PM
brushless de motor and for PM synchronous motor are
discussed The advantages and limitations are presented
1. INTRODUCTION
Permanent magnet brushless motors have found wide applications
due to their high power density and ease of control. The brushless
motors are generally controlled using a three phase power
semiconductor bridge. The motor requires a rotor position sensor for
starting and for providing proper commutation sequence to turn on
the power devices in the inverter bridge. The position sensors such
as resolvers, absolute position encoders. and Hall sensors incr-
cost and size of the motor. A special mechanical arrangement needs
to be made for mounting the sensors. These sensors, particularly
Hall sensors, are t e m p t u r e sensitive, limiting the o p t i o n of the
motor to below about 75°C. The absolute position sensors are speed
limited to about 6000 rpm. The resolvers need special extend
circuit to obtain the correct position information. In some
applications, it may not be possible to mount any position sensor on
the motor. Due to these limitations of the motor operation with
position sensors, sensorless operation of PM brushless motors is
receiving wide attention.
Permanent Magnet motors are generally classified as Pemanent
Magnet Brushless DC motors with trapezoidal back em€, and
Permanent Magnet synchronous motors with sinusoidal back emf.
The dc brushless motor employs a dc power supply switched to the
stator phase windings of the motor by power devices, the switchmg
sequence being determined from the rotor position. The PM
synchronous motor employs a sinusoidal variable frequency, with a
voltage regulated or current regulated PWM inverter to achieve
control of the motor speed and torque.
Several schemes for sensorless operation of PM motors are reported
in the literature. In this paper, various position sensorless operation
of PM motors are reviewed and the advantages and limitations are
presented. As the PM motor is not a self starting motor, starting
strategies without using position sensors are also briefly discussed.
2.0 POSITION SENSORLESS OPERATION OF PM
BRUsaLESS DC MOTOR [ 1-81
In a permanent magnet brushless dc motor, only two of the three
motor phases are excited at any instaut of time. For example, the
current flows inphase A during the period 0 to 120 and from 180 to
300 electrical degrees. Phase A is not excited h m 120 to 180 and
fbm 300 to 360 electrical degrees. The back emf of each motor
phase is trapezoidal with two 120 degree conducting intervals of
wnstant voltage as shown in Fig. 1. The back emf voltage in the
unexcited phase can be measured to establish a switching sequence
for commutation of the power devices in the three phase bridge
inverter. Based on the rotor position, the power devices are
commutated sequentially every 60 degrees to continually
synchronize the phase excitation with the magnet mmfwave. The
commutation is typically initiated at the beginning and end of the
flat top portion of the back emfwaveform. The electrical phase of
the back emf should be the same as the stator currents for optimal
control and maxi" torquelampere. The back emf is the direct
indication of the torque production capability of the motor. Several
algorithms are reported in the literature to obtain the position
information for proper motor commutation.
2.1 Terminal Voltage Sensing [4]
In this method, the three terminal voltages VA, VB, VC, and the
neutral voltage v~ of the motor with respect to the negative dc bus
voltage are measured. At the instants of the zero crossing of the
back emfwaveform, the terminal voltages is equal to the neutral
voltage. When the back emf of phase A t h a VA= y~
= V&. In order to use this zero crossing point to derive the
switching sequence,this point has to be phase shifted by 30 degrees.
In order to achieve this,the tenniaal voltages are first converted to
triangle waveforms and then compared with the neutral voltage.
The output of the comparators detennine the switching sequence.
The position detection scheme based on tenninal voltage sensing is
simple and practical for steady state operation. The output signals
of the terminal voltage sensing circuits have large phase dif€erences
compared with actual position signals, resulting from speed
variations of brushless dc motor. Because of the phase shift
variations and the incorrect rotor position signals, the optimal torque
operationscannot be obtained.

0-7803-1328-3/94$03.0001994 IEEE
158 9
2.2 Third harmonic voltage integration [54] 2.3 Back emf integration [ 3 , 1

The rotor position is determined based on the third harmonic voltage
component. To detect the third harmonic voltage, a three phase
resistance is connected cross the motor windings. The voltage
across the two neutrals V m determines the third harmonic voltage.
This voltage is integrated and input to a zero crossing detector. ThC
output of the zero crossing detector &tennines the switchurg
sequence for turning on of the devices.
The main disadvantage is the relatively low value of the third
harmonic voltage at low speed. It is difl[icult to detect the right
relative phase position between the third harmonic and the
corresponding phase. If the sequence is lost, the system has to be
restarted again. The amplitude and phase of the third harmonic is
directly related to the saturation.
'*a
0 :
The hack emf k ~ t e p t i o napproach has the advantage of reduced
swi- noise sensitivity and automatic adjustment of the inverter
switching instants to changes in rotor speed. A signal selector
circuit selects the plmc-to-ncutral motor voltage of the unexcited
phase winding. The selected phase voltage equals the desired back
emf for position sensing as soon as the residual inductive current
flowing in the unexcitedwin* immediately following the removal
of excitation decays to zero. This absolute value of this selected
back emfis in- starting fium the ZQO cros~ing. The next
"mutation of the device is initiated whcn this integrated value
Vint reaches a set threshold value. The choice of the threshold
value and the inregmtor constant dcpends on the motor and the
alignment of phase current wavefonn with the back emf voltage.
The hack emfwaveform integration still suffers at low speeds like
the other techniquesmentioned above.

"I 2 4 Position Sensorless operation based on tbe conducting state

of free-wbeeling diodes [8]

The position i n f d o n is detamined based 011 the conducting

state of b w h e e l i a g diodes in the unexcited phase. The inverter
gate drive signals axe choppea during each 120 degrec operation.
Thc0pcn phase current undcrdtapper operation d t s from the
bsck emfproducedin the motor windings. The current waveform in
an open phase is shown in Fig. 2. Thc position information is
obtained evay 60 degree by detectrng whether the ficc-whccling
diodes axe d u c t i n g or not. Since the detected position signal
leads next commutation by 30". the cammutation signals are phase
shifted using a phase shiftcr. The system has been tested from 45
rpm to 2300 rpm.
-&
- 4

The motor is started by exciting two arbitrary phases for a preset

timc. The rotor turns to the direction * totheexcited
phescs. Next,the cornmuatation signal that advances the switching
pattan by 120" is provided. Oncc the motor starts accelerating, the
open-iaop "muatation is switched to the sc~~sotless strategy.

The starting -still has the same dra*b ofmany schemes

mentioned in the litaaturr. Low speed operation is a problem.

2 5 Position detection using pb8re current sensing [9]

The magnetic flu of the motor is in phase with the stator current.
'Ihcrcforc. near exact rotor position signals cau be obtained just by

1590
 detecting and procesSing the phase current waveforms. Using a
signal processing circuit, the current signals can be converted
= lWab - 4(ia - i b W
into thi required rotor position signals.

Establishingthe Starting Switchtng strategy could be a problem. The

system can be noise sensitive. It also depends on the arbitrary
reference level for comparing the current signals to obtain the
position information signals.
3.0 POSITION SENSORLESS OPERATION OF PM
SYNCHRONOUSMOTOR
The ideal back emf for this type of motor is Sinusoidal, so that when
sinusoidal currents flow, a constant torque is produced with very
low ripple. The stator of the Sinusoidal-fed PM ac motor and that
of the wound rotor synchronous motor arc similar. The motor
requires continuous rotor position fdback to power the motor with
sinusoidal voltages or currents frmn the inverter system. At any
instant of time, three power devices of the three phasc bridge
inverter are conducting. Several techniques are proposed to control
this type of motor without using position sensor. Some of these
techniques can be extcnded to PM brushless dc motor system. In
sinusoidal back emf motors, the rotor position is nqukcd
continuously and in trapezoidal back emfmotor, it is enough to have
the rotor position every 60 degrees to obtain the proper switching
sequence.
3.1 Position information based on the measurement of voltqer
and currents [lo-131
In these methods, the basic principle of controlling the PM
synchronous motor is based on the field orientation, which is
illustrated in Fig. 3. Stator voltage and current signals are used to
construct a flux linkage position signal through which the phase
angle of the stator current can be controlled.
ea = tan-l(-T)A',
Aid
r1 is the stator resistanceper p k , ia, it,, and ic arc the currents in
the phases A, B, C respectively.
-
If the stator power factor has to be unity, the stator current space
vector should lead the stator phase flux lkrkage space vector 2,
-
by No, that is it should lead the line space vector /2, by 60 *. The
three phase current commands have the instautaneous values
i,' = i,' cos 8,
i,' = i,' cos(8, - 120")
.e e .
1, =-(in +i, )
8,= ea f 60"
-
8,is the space angle ofthe line flux linkage A,.
In [14], the position infinmation is detamincd based on the motor
taminal voltages and line m t s with the aim of estimating the
flux Iinkaga. At each time step, using the previously predicted
papition information and the flux linkages. the line ament of the
motorisescimatcdm twu stages tocmecttheprrdicted position and
the estimated flux linkage respectively. The calculations are based
on the ABC refer" frame model of the mache. The position
estimator block d i q " is shown in Fig. 4. The proposed
algorithms have ben applied for both trapaoidal back emf PM
motors and sinusoidal back emfPM motors.

q-uir The & o " x of the algorithms prrsented above depends on the
qualtty and BCCUBC~of the estimated flux linkages and measured
I values of voltage and cuments. The parameter variations due to
tempera- and saturation shall also affect the accuracy of the
positionillfdm

3.2 Position information based on the hypothetical rotor

position [IS 19)-
In the proposed amtrol strategies, the difference between the
detected actual state variables and the estimated state variables is
used to obtain the papition infarmation. Thc controlla detamines
the applied voltage-to the motor acardiq to the hypothetical rotor
3 Space vector diagnm of PM synchronous motar
position, which is not n d y coincident with the actual rotor
position. The ideal applied voltage is calculated using the
ne stator line flux vector Tis determined tiom the emf instantansous voltage equation of the motor and the detected
- current. The difference between the actuai and ideal voltage is
vector e,
Proportional to the angular ditrerence between hypothetical and
- - actual rotor positions. S e l f - s y n c h " is possible by reducing
AI = leldt = 'ld' + %qS thisangular difference to zao. The following procedure is reported
The stationary d- and q-axis line-to-lie fluxlmkages are: in [IS].

1591

1
(a) The detected three phase voltages and currents are transformed
-
to a hypotheticai coordinate system, y 6 axis voltage and current,
to obtain vy and ~ 6 .
(b) The hypothetical voltages v i and v i are determined based on the
detected current and motor model.
-
(c) The angular diflirence A V ~= vv vy' a AO. The an-
difference between the actual and hypothetical axes is estimated by
the voltage dB'ence between the actual and the hypothetical axes.
Self synchronization is achieved by making this angular difhmce
zero, by changing the speed of the motor.
In [ 161, the position estimation based on current model of the motor
is presented. The estimation of position and speed is performed
using a current error between an actual current, and the calculated
current using the motor model. In [17], a comparative study of the
self synchronization based on voltage error and current error is
presented.
In [18-191, the strategy used is almost similar to those used in [IS-
171, the difference being two hypothetical reference frames are used
instead of one. These two coordinated axes[ (XI, y1); (x2. y2)] are
90" apart from one another. The rotor position angle is calculated
using the equation e= tan- '(L),
here vel is the m r
ve2
between the actual voltages based on measurements and the
calculated voltages in (XI, y1) reference fiame, and Ve2 is the error
in (x2, y2) reference fiame. The rotating speed of the motor is
determined using the value of 8.
3.3 Sensorless Operation Based on Kalman Filtering [20-251
A Kalman filter provides an optimum observation from noisy sensed
signals and processes that are disturbed by random noise. This
1592
I
assumes that measurement noise and disturbance noise are
llllcomIBted Knlmnn filter approach is a viable and
computationally efficient candidate for the on-line estimation of the
speed and rotor position. This is possible since a mathematical
model, describing the PM motor dynamics is sufficiently well
knom The rotor position can be dttamincd based on the
voltages and currents. The measured voltages and
currents are tnrnsfomed to stationary 6ame components. va, vp,i,
and ip. Using the state equations and Kalman filter, the missing
states (rotor position and velocity) are estimated. The estimated
rotor position is used for commutation.
Kalman filter is an optimum state estimator. The filter's estimation
is constantly comctcd by an additional tam originated from the
"remat. The estimated state x'(n) is the minimum variance
estimate of x(n). The Kalman filter consists of two step process -
prediction and filtering. The predictor talres states from k+ to
@+I)-, whaea~the mter taka states iimn time @+I)- to @+I>+.
The prediction part of the algorithm calculates the next estimate
values for x and the state covariance matrix P before the new
"merit is made. In doing SO, the predictor uses the state
variable equations, state transition matrix, disturbance covariance Q
andmeasurementcovarianceR
The function of the filter is to w m c t the estimation process in a
recursive manna. The filter umstantly works on the output and
camcts its quality in a recursive manner based on the measured
values. Based on the deviation h m the estimated value, the filter
provides an optimum output value at the next output instant.
The critical step in Kaknan filter design is to select the coefficient
values to yield the best estimation performance possible. The
Katman filter approach is computationally intensive, depends on the
~ccuracy of the parameters of the model and the motor.
An estimation of the rotor position based on a state observer is
proposed in [26], by combining the ideas of a linear observer with
the dq transformation. In a state obmer, the output is defined as a
combination of states, and this output is compared with the
equivalent measured output of the real motor. Any error between
the two signals is used to correct the state trajectory of the observer.
The stability of an observer is an important issue in providing the
accurate position information. Loss of observer stability would
result in erratic and possibly destructive motor operation.
4.0 STARTING STRATEGIES
The position sensorless schemes are not self starting. In order to
sense the back emf or to calculate the position based on measured
voltages and currents, the motor first must be started and brought up
to a certain speed where the terminal quantities can be detected.
In [4,29], to start the motor, the currents in the motor phases are
injected corresponding to a certain increasing frequency profile.
Then at some instant, the rotor aligns itself to the desired position to
provide accelerating torque capability. Once the speed reaches a
threshold value and back emf is developed, it is used for position
information and the required switchingsequence is established.
In [15], the motor is started by applying a specific PWM pattern
(say, devices T1, T2,and T6 are turned on and of€) to the inverter
for about 200 ps. This is repeated s e v d times to align the rotor in
the direction of A-phase winding. The regular sensorless control
strategy is then followed.
Most of the starting strategies presented are based on arbitrarily
energizing the two or three windings and expecting the rotor to align
to a certain definite position. This has a poor dynamicresponse, and
the rotor can be in the hunting mode. The INFORM (Indirect Flux
Detection by On-line Reactance Measurement) proposed in [24]
claims to offer a high dynamic performance even at standstill. The
rotor is brought into a defined position by applying a stationary
armature current. Hence, the d-axis of the rotor is turned into the
direction of the space phasor of the annature current. Now a torque
producing current of about maximum value is applied to the q-axis
to accelerate the rotor.
5.0 CONCLUSIONS
This paper presents a brief review of the position sensorless control
strategies for PM motor. The sensorless control strategy for a PM
brushless dc motor seems to be simpler than for a PM synchronous
motor. The position detection calculations based on tennihal
voltages and currents need faster computation and hence need a
Digital Signal Processor. Position detection error can result due to
quantization, truncation errors, and measurement inaccurscies. The
variation of the motor parameters due to tempemture and saturation
also afTects the estimated position informaton.
1593
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