Position-Sensorless Control of Switched Reluctance Motor Drives: A Review

Switched reluctance motors (SRMs) are promising traction machine candidates for electric vehicle powertrains and industrial driving systems due to their rugged construction and high efficiency. Precise speed and torque control of SRMs require real-time rotor position information from mechanical position sensors. With the advantages of lower costs and position sensor fault-tolerant capability, various position-sensorless control strategies have been developed for SRM drives in the past decades. This article presents a review of the state-of-the-art sensorless control schemes over a wide speed range. Low-speed methods based on high-frequency pulse voltage injection and high-speed methods based on fundamental excitation are summarized to give readers a systematic categorization. An in-depth comparison of major sensorless control algorithms in estimation accuracy, robustness, universality, and parameter sensitivity is presented. Finally, the existing challenges and future trends are discussed.