Position and current estimation for Permanent Magnet Synchronous Machines using search coils

Permanent Magnet Synchronous Machines (PMSMs) are currently widely used in mission critical applications. This paper lays the groundwork for developing a novel backup universal sensor for PMSM with position and current estimation. It has the ability to replace a failed encoder or current sensors to achieve fault tolerant operation before the sensor replacement is conducted, giving PMSM´s drive system an “N+1” fault-tolerance. The target machine has been modeled using finite-element analysis (FEA). Simulation verification has been carried out using co-simulation of FEA and Simillink.