Sensorless estimation in PMSMs under open-phase fault

This paper deals with the rotor position estimation of three-phase Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors (PMSMs) under open-phase fault. Such an abnormal operating condition leads to the failure of several sensorless estimation algorithms based either on machine models and high frequency signal injection, which are usually adopted to provide rotor position estimation during the drive healthy conditions. In this work, exploiting a novel machine model for three phase faulted PMSMs, it is studied how to achieve the rotor position estimation in a wide operating range during the fault. Application of this study to some sensorless methods is described and experimentally evaluated.