Sensorless speed control of induction machine (IM) drives has, in the past decade, become a mature technology for a wide speed range [1][2][3].The elimination of the rotor speed sensor, without affecting performance, is a major trend in advanced drives control systems [1]. The advantages of speed sensorless AC drives are reduced hardware complexity, lower costs, elimination of the sensor cable, better noise immunity, increased reliability, access to both sides of the shaft, less maintenance requirements, and higher robustness. An encoder is expensive and a problematic factor. The special motor shaft extension increases the drive's price. The use of encoders affects the reliability, particularly in hostile environments. In general, the operation in explosive, corrosive, or chemically aggressive environments requires a motor without a speed sensor.A variety of different solutions for sensorless AC drives have been proposed, mostly in the past two decades. Their advantages and limits are reviewed in many survey papers .Many methods are generally accepted as better solutions for high sensorless performance, for example, model reference adaptive system (MRAS), Kalman Filters, adaptive non-linear flux observer, sliding mode observers, and other improvements [7-14].
Sensorless Control of Induction MotorTwo basic approaches are used for sensorless control. The first includes methods that model the induction motor by its state equations [1]. A sinusoidal magnetic field in the air gap is assumed.High Performance Control of AC Drives with MATLAB/Simulink Models, First Edition. Haitham Abu-Rub, Atif Iqbal, and Jaroslaw Guzinski.The models are either implemented as open-loop structures, like the stator model [1,11], or as closed-loop models, like adaptive observers [5,17]. The adaptive flux observers are now receiving considerable attention and many achieving new solutions because of their high precision and relative robustness against machine parameter deviation [1,10].Open loop models and even adaptive observers have stability limits at very low stator frequencies. The rotor induced voltage at such operating points is then zero or close to zero, which renders the induction motor an unobservable system.The basic limitation for sensorless operation is the DC offset components in the stator current and voltage acquisition channels at very low speeds [1]. At lower speeds, voltage distortions caused by the PWM inverter become significant.The second approach used for low speed sensorless operation is the signal injection technique [1]. Carrier injection methods for sensorless control are sophisticated and the design must match the properties of the motor [1,4,18,41]. This makes the method unfeasible for practical application, so will not be discussed in this book.Eliminating the speed sensor from the drive system requires estimation of the state variables, for example, motor speed and machine flux using stator variables. In this chapter we will discuss a few simple solutions for sensorless AC motor drives.