Sensorless Current Control at the Handwheel in Steer-by-Wire : using High-Frequency Injection with Search-Based Observer

This paper presents the Sensorless Current Control of a Permanent Magnet Synchronous Machine as used at the Handwheel Side of the Steer-by-Wire system in an automotive vehicle. A continuous pulsating injection is used to determine the magnetic signature of the machine from which the position and speed estimates are calculated with a Search-Based Observer. The performance of the sensorless drive is given for different handwheel torque gains and steering conditions. The results obtained are compared to the performance of vehicles with traditional steering arrangements.