Sensorless control of planar switched reluctance motors based on voltage injection combined with core-loss calculation

Abstract

In this article, a position estimation method is proposed to realize sensorless control of planar switched reluctance motor (PSRM) with core loss. First, a square-wave voltage generated through bipolar pulsewidth modulation (PWM) is injected into the idle phase of a PSRM, thereby generating core loss. The corresponding core-loss average power (CLAP), which contains position information, is calculated in real time. Then, depending on the six-phase CLAP, the initial position can be estimated for the PSRM startup. To stabilize the position estimation in different regions of pole pitches, position data measured in a long stroke are utilized to determine a function mapping from the CLAP with respect to position. Furthermore, a sensorless control system and commutation strategy are designed. Finally, the capability of different methods for position estimation and sensorless control of a PSRM system are experimentally investigated. The feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method are verified through the experimental results.