Simple derivative-free nonlinear state observer for sensorless AC drives

In this paper, a new Kalman filtering technique, unscented Kalman filter (UKF), is utilized both experimentally and theoretically as a state estimation tool in field-oriented control (FOC) of sensorless ac drives. Using the advantages of this recent derivative-free nonlinear estimation tool, rotor speed and dq-axis fluxes of an induction motor are estimated only with the sensed stator currents and voltages information. In order to compare the estimation performances of the extended Kalman filter (EKF) and UKF explicitly, both observers are designed for the same motor model and run with the same covariance matrices under the same conditions. In the simulation results, it is shown that UKF, whose several intrinsic properties suggest its use over EKF in highly nonlinear systems, has more satisfactory rotor speed and flux estimates, which are the most critical states for FOC. These simulation results are supported with experimental results.