A Position Sensorless Drive Technique for Switched Reluctance Motor with Consideration of Magnetic Saturation at Low and Medium Speeds

This paper describes a position sensorless drive technique for switched reluctance motors (SRMs) with consideration of magnetic saturation. At low speeds the drive method uses the change of the slope of the phase inductance when the rotor and stator poles are aligned. As the speed increases, the commutation angle is advanced based on the difference between the phase inductance at the aligned position and the one computed every sampling. Even in the magnetic saturation region, these methods can be applied using the phase inductance at the current that causes the magnetic saturation. Experimental results show that the SRM can be well controlled without the position sensor using the proposed method in the low and medium speed regions