Restart Strategy for Scalar (V/f) Controlled Synchronous Reluctance Machine Driving a High-Inertia Load

Momentary power disruptions commonly occur in many industrial settings, and can trip large electric machines, which must then be brought to zero speed before the machine can be restarted. The resulting frequent interruptions in industrial processes can have negative effects on productivity. A restart algorithm brings the machine back to the original speed as soon as power is restored, without waiting for the machine to reach zero speed. This paper proposes an approach for implementing a restart algorithm for synchronous reluctance machines (SynRMs) that use a simple identification algorithm to determine the speed and position of the machine so that the appropriate voltage vector can be applied, thus minimizing the inrush current during the restart. The proposed method only requires nameplate machine parameters and needs no machine-specific tuning, making the approach suitable for implementation with both high-inertia vector and scalar-controlled SynRM.