Sensorless Back EMF Based Control of Synchronous PM and Reluctance Motor Drives—A Review

This article reviews the state-of-the-art back electromotive force (EMF) based sensorless schemes for synchronous machines. Field-oriented control (FOC) of a synchronous machine requires real-time rotor position for decoupled torque and flux control. Extraction of rotor position without a sensor or sensorless control has been an enabling technology for the past few decades. Sensorless control using back EMF voltage induced by rotor movement is the most widely used method. However, the connections and differences between different methods have not been thoroughly investigated and documented. This article first reviews basic sensorless methods. The two implementation forms of an observer are examined to facilitate analysis. A detailed analysis puts in evidence the connections behind different methods in both stationary and synchronous reference frames. A summary is drawn that is meant to offer a few key points regarding different sensorless methods. Finally, a conclusion is given to summarize the major contributions of this article.