An Unsaturated Inductance Reconstruction Based Universal Sensorless Starting Control Scheme for SRM Drives

Abstract

In this article, an universal sensorless starting scheme considering magnetic saturation effects is proposed to control the switched reluctance motor (SRM) drives. In this approach, the full-cycle unsaturated inductance can be reconstructed by converting the saturated incremental inductance into the unsaturated inductance with a simple mathematical model in the conduction region. Based on the reconstructed three-phase full-cycle unsaturated inductance, the inductance vector coordinate transformation method and the linear region inductance model based method can be applied for estimating the rotor position even under high load starting case. To verify the validity of the proposed methods, experiments have been implemented in a 1-kW three-phase 12/8 structure SRM prototype. The experimental results verify that the unsaturated inductance reconstruction scheme can transfer the nonlinear magnetic saturation problem into an unsaturation problem, and thus the rotor position estimation at the sensorless starting state can be simplified. The method can realize the initial position estimation and reliable sensorless starting control even under load conditions with only very simple initial inductance data acquisition, position partition logics design, and mathematic modeling. In addition, as the back-electromotive force is eliminated indirectly in the inductance calculation process, the adaptable speed range can also be extended.