Drift- and parameter-compensated flux estimator for persistent zero-stator-frequency operation of sensorless-controlled induction motors

The performance of sensorless-controlled induction motors is poor at very low speed. The reasons are the limited accuracy of stator voltage acquisition and the presence of offset and drift components in the acquired signals. To overcome these problems, a pure integrator is employed for stator flux estimation. The time-variable DC offset voltage is estimated from the flux drift in a parallel stator model and used to eliminate the offset by feedforward control. Residual high-frequency disturbances are compensated by feedback flux amplitude control. A linearization of the pulsewidth-modulation inverter transfer function and an improved stator resistance estimation scheme further enhance the system performance. Experiments demonstrate high dynamic performance of sensorless control at extreme low speed and zero stator frequency.