PLL-Based Sensorless Control for Single-Stage Current Source Inverter in Motor Drive Application

The Current Source Inverters (CSIs) are an alternative to Voltage Source Inverters (VSIs) for electric motor applications. Despite the advantageous characteristics of intrinsic voltage boost capability, absence of electrolytic capacitors and reduced machine voltage stress, the increased component count and the need of a pre-stage for the inductor current control have limited the adoption. For some applications which have to operate always above a base speed (e.g. pumps, actuators, fans), single-stage CSI converter with improved efficiencies have been proposed. Owing to the advantage of the direct measurement of the terminal voltage, a simple and robust sensorless control is proposed for a single-stage CSI converter. Simulations on a SiC-based CSI7 converter driving a Permanent Magnet Synchronous Machine (PMSM) confirm the validity of the proposed control, potentially paving the way to a larger adoption of the CSI7 topology for motor drive application.