New Sensorless Rotor Position Detection Technique

of PMSM Based on Direct Flux Control

P. Thiemann
1
, C. Mantala
1
, J. Hrdler
1
, A.Trautmann
1
, D. Groppe
1
, R. Strothmann
2
, E. Zhou
3

1
South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences, Campus Soest, Germany
2
HighTec EDV-Systeme GmbH, Saarbruecken, Germany
3
University of Bolton, Bolton, UK
thiemann@fh-swf.de, mantala@ieee.org


Abstract-Sensorless rotor position detection techniques have
been gradually developed and proposed, which means that
recently available methods can improperly work in some specific
conditions. A proper and reliable method is needed.
Consequently, a new sensorless rotor position detection
technique of permanent magnetic synchronous machines
(PMSMs) is proposed in this paper. The proposed method is
achieved based on flux linkage signals with access to the neutral
point of the machine, which is called direct flux control (DFC)
method and it is unnecessary to measure the machine currents.
Two simulation environments, MATLB/Simulink and a
cooperative simulation with Simplorer and Maxwell, are
investigated. The nonlinear magnetization curve (BH curve) is
also taken into account, which is impossible to do in the
synchronous frame, but possible to process by finite element
methods (FEM) implemented in Maxwell. The PMSM model
with the nonlinear BH curve can similarly operate as a real
PMSM. Moreover, the calculated electric position, done by the
proposed method, strongly confirms the possibility to acquire
the rotor position for a wide range of speed, including standstill.

I. INTRODUCTION
Sensorless control has become one of the challenge tasks in
the field of electric machines for more than two decades. The
main purpose is to acquire a rotor position of the motor
without sensors, e.g. resolvers and encoders. Moreover,
permanent magnet synchronous machines (PMSMs) have
been utilized much more in industry than before. Thus, the
great benefit will occur, if the PMSMs can be fully controlled
without sensors.
Firstly, the sensorless methods were based on the back
electromotive force (EMF), which can be done based on
several types of observers, i.e. deterministic observer [1],
probabilistic observer [2], and nonlinear observer [3]. Even
though all observers have been designed with correct machine
models and parameters, they cannot work at low speed and
standstill condition. This is because the level of back EMF is
not high enough to distinguish the machine state.
Consequently, a method, which can work at low speed and
standstill, has been established, which is called INFORM [4].
INFORM is the method that tries to extract the behavior of
the machine by measuring currents and voltages to calculate
inductances of the machine. However, the limitation is that
INFORM cannot be provided at high speed. This is because
of the difficulty to measure the currents, as same as at low
speed. The optimized INFORM measurement and the
improving INFORM calculation have also been issued in [5]
and [6], respectively. Nevertheless, the observer methods
have to be combined with the INFORM method to be
possible to work in the whole speed range.
Besides, INFORM has brought the idea that the machine
itself can tell all information, such as the inductances in this
case, which is the significant approach to progress on the new
sensorless strategy. Subsequently, the phase inductance is
concluded and called as a periodic function of the rotor
position, such as the rotor position represented by a Fourier
series, whereas the nonlinear relation between phase current
and inductance as in [7].
The characteristics of the phase inductance are deeply
analyzed in order to estimate the rotor position. A magnetic
anisotropy signal has been found as the outcome of the
further analysis. The rotor anisotropy signals have been
discussed and clearly elaborated in [8] and [9]. The signals
can be calculated by selecting the switching patterns of pulse
width modulation signals with the access of the neutral point.
The drawback is that the rotor anisotropy signals have to be
filtered and the spatial filter for component separation can be
achieved by a self-commissioning process, which means that
each machine has its specific characteristics. Furthermore, the
magnetic anisotropy signal can also be measured by injecting
high frequency signals, but it works only at the standstill
condition [10].
Accordingly, the rotor position cannot be found for the
whole speed range by one method. Nonetheless, there is a
method, which is possible to achieve that and stated in [11],
[12] and [13]. The concept of [13] is that the rational position
of the rotor is determined based on the sign of the difference
between subsiding time periods and the induced voltages.
Therefore, the methodology of [13] will be proposed with
briefly explanation in this publication. The characteristics of
the induced voltages will be taken into account, which
include the motor model based on the BH curve. This is
because several properties, e.g. the inductance, permeability,
flux, can be obtained by the BH curve, which depends on the
material type. Thus, the experimental setups in Simulink and
the perfect combination between Simplorer and Maxwell to
assure the PMSM characteristic founded on the proposed
method will be described. Moreover, the experimental results,
which are calculated by the finite element method (FEM) to
Proceedings of the 2011 International Conference on Power Engineering, Energy and Electrical Drives Torremolinos (Mlaga), Spain. May 2011
978-1-4244-9843-7/11/$26.00 2011 IEEE
acquire the induced voltages or the flux linkage, will be
shown and discussed. Finally, all aspects will be concluded,
correspondingly.
II. METHODOLOGY
A. Theoretical Background
The three phase machine voltage equation can be
concluded as in (1).


p
p p p
d
V I R
dt

= + (1)

Where subscript p is the phase, is the resultant flux
linkage of phase p. The flux linkage is the most crucial term
for this application. The relation of is shown in (2).


*
p p p
L I = +

(2)

Where L

is the phase inductance.

*
is the coupled flux
linkage of other phases including the permanent flux of the
rotor. Thus, the first derivative of the flux linkage is in (3).


*
p p p
p p
d dI dL
d
L I
dt dt dt dt

= + +

(3)

The short form of the phase flux linkage can be stated as in
(4), where L
*p
is in (5).



*
p p
ip
p
d dI
L V
dt dt

= +

(4)

*
p
p p
p
p
dL
L L I
dI
= +

(5)

Where
ip
V stands for the first derivative of the other fluxes
inside the machine of phase p. The three phase machine
voltage equation can be finalized as in (6).


*
p
p p p ip
p
dI
V I R L V
dt
= + +

(6)

B. Flux Linkage Extraction
According to the three phase machine equation, the pulses
are applied to each phase (U, V, and W) as shown in figure 1.
Figure 1 shows that it is divided into four states, i.e. state 0 to
3. The PMSM is assumed to be driven by these pulses. Thus,
the machine equivalent circuit of each state can be
represented as in figure 2.
In this proposed method, the voltage at the neutral point
(V
N
) of the machine is taken into account. The motor is driven
by V
DC
as the voltage level. The flux linkage extraction
calculation of each state is based on three conditions as
following:
1) Summation of all currents at the neutral point is equal to
zero, and all currents are fed to the neutral point.
2) Summation of the differential of currents at the neutral
point is equal to zero.
3) Each step has been done in very short time,
consequently energy storages are not changed.
Consequently, the final equation of each state can be
represented as in (7) to (10), which are from the state 0 to 3,
respectively.


0 N
V K = (7)

*
* * *
1
1
1 1 1
( )
U
N DC
U V W
L
V V K
L L L

= +
+ +
(8)

* *
* * *
2
1 1
( )
1 1 1
( )
U V
N DC
U V W
L L
V V K
L L L


+
= +
+ +
(9)

* * *
* * *
3
1 1 1
( )
1 1 1
( )
U V W
N DC
U V W
L L L
V V K
L L L


+ +
= +
+ +
(10)

Where K is represented in (11).


Fig. 1. Applied pulses patterns.

Fig. 2. Machine equivalent circuits of each state based on pulse patterns.


* * *
* * *
* * *
* * *
( )
1 1 1
( )
( )
1 1 1
( )
U U V V W W
U V W
U V W
iU iV iW
U V W
U V W
I Z I Z I Z
L L L
K
L L L
V V V
L L L
L L L




+ +
=
+ +
+ +
+
+ +
(11)

The flux linkage of each phase can be found by subtracting
the voltage at the neutral points between the states. The flux
linkage of phase U, V, and W can be achieved by (8) (7),
(9) (8) and (10) (9), where they are represented by u, v,
and w, in (12) (14) respectively.


*
* * *
1
1 1 1
( )
U
DC
U V W
L
u V
L L L

=
+ +
(12)

*
* * *
1
1 1 1
( )
V
DC
U V W
L
v V
L L L

=
+ +
(13)

*
* * *
1
1 1 1
( )
W
DC
U V W
L
w V
L L L

=
+ +
(14)

C. Rotor Position Calculation
The rotor position can be calculated by utilizing the flux
linkage signals. In this case, u, v ,and w are assumed to have a
waveform as the second harmonic of a cosine function as
estimated in [4] , which are shown in figure 3. Each signal is
shifted by 120 degrees based on a fundamental frequency,
because these signals are derived from the three phase
system. The rotor position (
cal
) can be found as in (15). It is
worth to mention that it is the electrical position, which is
calculated by one of the trigonometric approximations.


( ) , ( ) ( ): 1
10
5
( ) , ( ) ( ): 2
10 3
( ) , ( ) ( ): 3
10 3
cal
v w
u v u w case
u
w u
v u v w case
v
u v
w u w v case
w

+ < <

= + < <

+ < <

(15)

After calculating and normalizing
cal
, the results are
depicted in figure 4, which is also a periodic waveform.
cal
is used to generate the pulse patterns. For instance, the
voltage vector can be created by space vector modulation
(SVM) and can be achieved by using
cal
to calculate the
pulse width of each phase.
In addition, the calculation method to obtain the pulse
width can be done with several methods. It is important for
the pulse patterns that the pulses have to begin as shown in
figure 1, but it does not mean that the phases have to be fixed
as illustrated.

III. EXPERIMENTAL SETUP
In order to assure the proposed method, which is called
direct flux control (DFC) method, some experiments have
been setup. The flux linkage equation in (2) shows that it is
based on the inductance and the current. It means that the flux
linkage is related to the BH curve.
Consequently, the motor model must consist of the BH
curve in order to obtain the flux linkage. The experiments
have been designed based on software simulation, which is
divided into two parts, i.e. Simulink and the combination
between Simplorer and Maxwell.
A. Experiment in Simulink
Normally, the machine models are designed in synchronous
frame (d,q), which are usually used in field oriented control
(FOC) strategies. The phase inductances are assumed to be
constant values, although the flux linkage signals are
inconstant. Furthermore, machine models, which have access
to the neutral point, rarely exist.

Fig. 4. Normalized calculated electrical position.
Fig. 3. Assumed flux linkage signals.
As the result, a new machine model (PMSM model) has to
be designed, whose neutral point is accessible and also
includes the nonlinear behavior of the BH curve.
In [14] and [15], the machine models, which take into
account the saturation of the laminated core, are introduced.
The saturation effects of the machine models are not
represented by the BH curve, which is nonlinear. They are
represented by coefficients, which can be found by a locked
rotor test. It means that all properties have to be measured
from the machines or with backward experiments that lead to
waste a lot of time and budget to progress in this way.
Accordingly, the synchronous frame machine model is
selected to be modified by adding the neutral point and also
setting the nonlinear magnetization behavior.
B. Combination between Simplorer and Maxwell
The DFC method is necessary to obtain some values, e.g.
the inductance, the flux linkage, which cannot be found in the
regular models. Moreover, the electromagnetic models of the
PMSMs are the most important keys in order to clarify the
invisible behaviours inside the motor, especially the flux
density. The flux density is one of the main factors that must
be under control in order to drive the motor at the maximum
torque, the desired speed, etc. Thus, the correct
electromagnetic model is required to prove and assure correct
operation and control.
In order to extract the behaviours, two simulation
environments, i.e. Maxwell and Simplorer, are utilized. They
are compatible with each other. Maxwell can be used to
calculate the flux density by a finite element model (FEM)
evaluation. Simplorer is used to simulate the circuit
behaviours, especially the drive circuits and the driving
algorithms. Hence, all values and parameters, which are
related to both programs, can be measured and displayed.
Consequently, the great benefit is to combine these two
simulation tools to work in cooperation. Each simulation
environment used for the experiment is explained
respectively.
1. Experimental Setup in Maxwell
Maxwell can perform many kinds of calculation. There are
three steps to process in Maxwell, i.e. FEM design, transient
co-simulation and analysis and transient analysis with motion.
FEM, which is used to evaluate the electromagnetic values,
has been done in several publications, e.g. [16] [18], but
none of these publications has used the BH-curve as a non
linear function. On the other hand, FEM with the nonlinear
function of the BH-curve can be employed by Maxwell,
which makes all calculation results close to the real machine
characteristics.
According to FEM design, all PMSM data are required, i.e.
the rotor and the stator lamination stack geometry, allocation
of magnetic and material properties including the BH-Curve
of the lamination stack, the magnetic properties of permanent
magnets, defining coil terminals, group coil terminals to
phase windings, and assign the excitation direction.
The FEM design of the PMSM is achieved as shown in
figure 5. Actually, 2 dimensional (2D) and 3D models can be
implemented in Maxwell. Due to the computational
complexity, the 2D model is selected. The PMSM consists of
54 stator poles and 40 magnets, which leads to 20 pairs of
poles. The magnetization curve of the lamination stack
material, which is taken into account, is shown in figure 6.
The magnetizing information is provided directly from the
manufacturer Voestalpine.
Some basical analyses on the electromagnetic model can be
done in Maxwell. However, the proposed DFC method
requires some further applications, e.g. the drive system and
the measuring strategy. Thus, all further applications are
setup in Simplorer.
2. Experimental Setup in Simplorer
As mentioned, Maxwell cannot implement some additional
functions and Simplorer is possible to do the co-simulation
with Maxwell. Thus, some applications have been added to
Simplorer, which are the drive system, the measuring systems
and the modulation algorithm.

Fig. 5. 2D PMSM Maxwell model.

Fig. 6. Magnetizing curve of PMSM lamination stack material Voestalpine
Elektroband M400-65A.
The most important part is the modulation algorithm part. It
is achieved by the built in C editor, which means all kinds of
algorithms can be simply implemented.
The complete model of the simulation environment of the
combination between Maxwell and Simplorer is depicted in
figure 7, which is from the environment in Simplorer.
IV. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
As described in the previous section, the experiments are
divided into two types of software simulation environments.
The results of each simulation environment are shown and
discussed, respectively.
A. Simulink Model
The fundamental model is based on the synchronous frame.
The neutral point is estimated to be added into the model by
transforming the model in synchronous frame to the three
phase system. The transformation has been done by assuming
the phase inductance is constant.
Afterwards, the constant phase inductances are replaced by
the relations of the BH curve. The voltages at the neutral
point have been measured by comparing with the voltages at
the artificial neutral point, which can be called as the
difference voltage between the neutral point and the artificial
neutral point (V
nan
). The benefit to use V
nan
is that the
summation of the current at the neutral point is always zero,
which is mentioned in the methodology.
Due to the nonlinear behavior of the BH curve and added
the neutral point, the mutual inductances cannot be neglected.
It leads to the difficulty to transform the mathematical
machine model. This is because the resultant flux can be
calculated, but it cannot be separated into each phase. It
means that the relation between the phases of the
transformation cannot be found. Furthermore, the mutual
inductance in the synchronous frame is a constant value,
which is from the linear BH curve. In this case, the nonlinear
BH curve is applied to the machine model, which leads to the
nonlinear behavior of the mutual inductance as illustrated in
the methodology. Hence, the modification of the machine





Fig. 7.Combination of simulation environments.


a) Machine line to line induced voltage.


b) FEM Model line to line induced voltage.

Fig. 8. Comparison of line to line induced voltage.

Fig. 9. Measured flux linkage signals (u, v, and w).


Fig. 10. Calculated electrical position (
cal
).
model is not a good solution in order to extract the proposed
method.
B. Combination between Simplorer and Maxwell
After setup the PMSM FEM model, the model has to be
validated in order to assure the model behaviors to be the
same as with the real PMSM. Consequently, the PMSM
model is tested by a no load running test, where the real
machine is also examined. The electrical signals of both are
collected with the intention of characteristics comparison. All
results show that both have the same characteristics. For
instance, the line to line induced voltage of the machine and
the model are shown in figure 8 (a) and (b), respectively. The
induced voltage from the simulation consists of little
distortion. This is because the possible shortest sampling time
of the simulation is selected to implement, due to the very
high computational complexity of the FEM.
Subsequently, the PMSM model is driven by applying the
voltage to the model. The maximum of the pulse width is set
at 20 percent duty cycle and the experiment has been
performed for 60 ms. The measured flux linkage signals (u, v,
and w) based on the implementation of the proposed method
and the calculated electrical rotor position are depicted in
figure 9 and 10, respectively.
The results show that a period of the calculated electrical
position requires two periods of each flux linkage signal. It
means that one period of the flux linkage signal is generated
by one magnetic pole. Additionally, the starting position can
also be found, so the electrical position is available at the
standstill condition.
Therefore, 40 periods of the flux linkage signals or 20
periods of the calculated electric position means one round of
the rotor mechanical movement. The uncertainty of the
magnetic pole can be eliminated by considering on the phase
current.
V. CONCLUSION
Regarding to the experimental results, the simulation in
Simulink cannot be achieved. This is because the machine
model with the nonlinear BH curve in the synchronous frame
and also the added neutral point cannot be covered in the
PMSM model. However, the neutral point of the model
should be possible to be added to the model by applying a
much more complex mathematic model. In fact, several
methods have been investigated, but they cannot perform the
correct behaviors of the machine.
On the other hand, the experimental results from the
combination of Simplorer and Maxwell show that the
nonlinear BH curve and the neutral point can be added into
the calculation. The PMSM model has the correct behavior as
the real machine.
As results, the proposed sensorless method can be used to
find the electrical position of the machine. The measured flux
linkage signals are the most important factor in order to
implement the described direct flux control. The acquired
flux linkage signals can also be used to investigate other
behaviors of the machine, which cannot be explored by
mechanical sensors, that can provide only the mechanical
rotor position. Furthermore, the proposed method can employ
for a wide range of speed, which is also at standstill. It is
worth to mention that the neutral point of the machine must
be accessible.
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