Sensorless permanent-magnet synchronous motor drive using a reduced-order rotor flux observer

A sensorless permanent-magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) drive is developed. A second-order Luenberger observer is used to estimate the position of the rotor flux and hence the rotor speed. The observer is computationally efficient as it has a simple structure and does not involve mechanical parameters. An integral-feedback method is adopted for the estimation of the rotor speed. The inner current loop is realised using a decoupling and diagonal internal model control algorithm. Details of the sensorless control system are given and the feasibility of the proposed method is verified through simulation and experiments. Satisfactory estimation accuracy is obtained even when the drive operates at very low speeds and also during rotor speed reversals.