A Robust Observer-Based Sensor Fault-Tolerant Control for PMSM in Electric Vehicles

This paper investigates the problem of automatic speed tracking control of an electric vehicle (EV) that is powered by a permanent-magnet synchronous motor (PMSM). A reconfiguration scheme, based on higher order sliding mode (HOSM) observer, is proposed in the event of sensor faults/failures to maintain a good control performance. The corresponding controlled motor output torque drives EVs to track the desired vehicle reference speed for providing uninterrupted vehicle safe operation. The effectiveness of the overall sensor fault-tolerant speed tracking control is highlighted when an EV is subjected to disturbances like aerodynamic load force and road roughness using high-fidelity software package CarSim. Experiments with a 26-W, three-phase PMSM are presented to demonstrate the validity of the proposed fault-detection scheme.