Experimental analysis and simulation of saturation effects in interior permanent-magnet synchronous motor

This paper investigates the influence of magnetic saturation on inductances and control performances in interior permanent-magnet synchronous motor (IPMSM). The variations of d- and q-axis inductances induced by saturation effect over the entire operation region are evaluated by experiment and finite-element method (FEM) respectively. A decoupling control strategy with consideration of magnetic saturation is used in current controller and performed in IPMSM drive system. The experimental results with respect to the prototype IPMSM show that the dynamic performances with decoupling compensation are very sensitive to the variation of q-axis inductance. The inaccurate inductance parameter used in the decoupling control strategy may lead to significant vibration of currents and speed and even worse control performances than those obtained using the current controller without decoupling compensation.