Detection of stator turns short-circuit during sensorless operation by means of the Direct Flux Control technique

In the field of sensorless control techniques for Permanent Magnet Synchronous machines, many solutions have been proposed that are based on the exploitation of the machine anisotropies. Among them, the Direct Flux Control (DFC) technique allows sensorless operation by measuring the star-point voltage of the machine. Given the high signal to noise ratio of the DFC measurements, such technique can be potentially used not only for sensorless operation but also for condition monitoring and fault detection. In this work, after a brief introduction on the technique, an analysis of the effects of stator inter-turns short-circuit fault on the DFC measurements is presented in order to provide a better insight on the capability of DFC as fault detector. Simulation results are finally shown and discussed.