Discrete-time observer design for sensorless synchronous motor drives

This paper deals with the speed and position estimation of interior permanent-magnet synchronous motor (IPMSM) and synchronous reluctance motor (SyRM) drives. A speed-adaptive full-order observer is designed and analyzed in the discrete-time domain. The observer design is based on the exact discrete-time motor model, which inherently takes the delays in the control system into account. The proposed observer is experimentally evaluated using a 6.7-kW SyRM drive. The analysis and experimental results indicate that drastic performance improvements can be obtained with the direct discrete-time design, especially if the sampling frequency is relatively low compared to the fundamental frequency.