Advanced topics on motor drives for emerging mechatronic applications

Electrical drives, nowadays, are quickly spreading in various emerging mechatronic applications, such as robotics, precision motion control, servo-drives for medical applications, hybrid vehicles, industrial automation and many more. This implies stringent requirements in terms of reliability and system overall performance. Special care in design electrical machines and suitable attention in system modelling and implementing control strategy, can improve dynamic response, increase drives lifetime and achieving also costs reduction. In the first part, this doctoral dissertation deals with modelling permanent magnet synchronous motors, starting from key-concepts arriving to the description of a fundamental measures set in order to characterize the model. To this aim, a test bench has been developed as useful tool for experimental validation after the design or simulation processes, as well as for a specific support for motor characterization during control design. In this way, it is possible to prepare a detailed mathematical model, fundamental tool in studying of advanced control strategies. The test bench is totally automated in executing measure, in order to guarantee measure repeatability. In the second part, this thesis describes some electrical drive applications with permanent magnet synchronous motors (some applications are suitable also for other type of motors) which have been studied, developed and experimented during the three-year doctoral research. Some main field interested are: control of interior permanent magnet motors, automotive, power line communication applied to electrical drives, as well as civil applications of drives controlled with microprocessors.