Observers for High-Speed Sensorless PMSM Drives: Design Methods, Tuning Challenges and Future Trends

Rotor position and speed estimation methods are consolidated to reduce the cost and volume of permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) sensorless control drives while maintaining high performance. Advanced nonlinear algorithms require accurate design for precise estimation tracking throughout the entire PMSM operation range. This paper presents a broad review of the main high-speed estimation methods for sensorless PMSM drives. First, the stability constraints and design methodologies of the main estimation techniques presented in the literature are discussed. In the second part, it is investigated the new observer design trends, which are used under non-ideal conditions, such as robustness to distortions, the effects of parameter variation, sensorless parameter estimation, and low sampling-frequency-to-speed ratio operation. Future trends on the design of observers for high-speed sensorless PMSM drives are also discussed.