Active mechanical vibration control of rotary compressors for air-conditioning systems

Abstract

Recent power electronics and variable-frequency motor drive technologies have been applied to air conditioners to improve efficiency and power density. However, the mechanical vibrations and acoustic noise resulting from the compressor still remain as a serious problem. This paper presents the development and implementation of an online disturbance state-filter for the suppression of multiple unknown and time-varying vibrations of air conditioning systems. The proposed design has a form of the state-filter based on a Luenburger-style closed-loop speed observer. An active vibration decoupling strategy with an estimated disturbance is provided, which manipulates a motor torque command. Since the proposed estimation does not require any additional transducers or hardware for obtaining real-time information upon disturbances, it is suitable for retrofitting industrial air conditioners.