Simulation and Design of a Sensorless FOC Driver for a PMSM used in Compressor

Nowadays, Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors (PMSMs) are utilized in almost all home appliances. They usually are preferred as a first choice in many applications due to their efficiency, compactness, robustness, and dynamic performance. Field Oriented Control (FOC) is also the go-to method for high-performance control of PMSMs as it exhibits high dynamic performance and smooth control in driving PMSMs for variable speed applications. Despite being a state-of-the-art motor, a significant amount of research has been done to reduce acoustic noise, increase the power factor of the driver and enhance the dynamic performance of PMSMs and is still a major topic open to improvement. In this study, simulation, circuit design, and experimental validation of a PMSM drive employing FOC are carried out for driving a refrigerator compressor. Driver circuit that uses FOC is simulated in PSIM. The printed circuit board (PCB) is designed in Altium Designer. Finally, the drive circuit has been assembled, coded, and the experimental results are obtained. Measurement of currents, voltages, and control signals was taken and interpreted to verify the application requirements. As a result, the compressor has very different dynamic behaviour experimentally compared to the simulation in terms of the current and torque due to the mechanical nature of the compressor load.