Fast Vector Selection Method of Flow Regulation on Aviation Electric Fuel Pump

Abstract

Electromechanical pumps can be used in robotics, automation, and transportation. Nowadays, it is urgent to develop methods for controlling the electric drive of pumps to ensure high efficiency and operation in a wide flow range. For example, the regulation of an aviation fuel pump is very important to increase the efficiency of more electric engines. Therefore, a double closed-loop predictive control method with fast vector selection of aviation electric pumps was proposed and analyzed. To increase the electric motor control performance, a novel vector selection method based on geometric principle was developed. Considering the discrete characteristics of the inverter, finite set predictive control theory was used for the motor control. To obtain the appropriate first and second voltage vectors and corresponding function time, the best basic voltage vectors were determined by the reference voltage vector regions based on the geometry principle of triangle similarity and balanced equivalent theory, and thus the control of motor rotor speed and average flow rate of the pump can be realized quickly and accurately. Simulation results showed that compared with cascade PI control, the average flow rate of the aviation pump based on the proposed method has better performance without overshoot. Besides, the d-axis current fluctuation amplitude is remarkably reduced, and the control accuracy was significantly improved. Therefore, the developed method is promised for the flow regulation of aviation pumps and the vector control of motors.