Design, Analysis and Application of Control Techniques for Driving a Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor in an Elevator System

An electrical motors, together with its appropriate drive system, is one of the most important elements of electromobility. In recent years, there has been a particular interest by academic researchers and engineers in permanent-magnet motors (PMSMs) in various applications, such as electric vehicles, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), elevator systems, etc., as the main source of drive transmission. Nowadays, the elevator industry, with the evolution of magnetic materials, has turned to gearless PMSMs over geared induction motors (IMs). One of the most important elements that is given special emphasis in these applications is proper motor design in consideration of the weight and speed of the chamber to be served during operation. This paper presents a design of a high-efficiency PMSM, in which finite elements analysis (FEA) and the study of the lift operating cycle provided useful conclusions on the magnetic field of the machine in different operating states. In addition, a simulated model was compared with experimental results of test operations. Furthermore, the drive system also required the use of appropriate electrical power and controls to drive the PMSM. Especially in elevator applications, the control of the motor speed by the variable voltage variable frequency technique (VVVF) is the most common technology used to avoid endangering the safety of the passengers. Thus, suitable speed and current controllers were used for this purpose. In our research, we focused on studying different control techniques using a suitable inverter to compare the system operation in each case studied.