Active Disturbance Rejection Control in Electric Drive Systems

Active disturbance rejection control (ADRC) has emerged as a unifying framework for the robust regulation of electric drive systems subject to internal uncertainties and external perturbations. By embedding an extended state observer (ESO) within the control loop, ADRC directly estimates total disturbances—including unmodelled dynamics, parameter variations and load torque changes—and compensates them in real time. This approach departs from traditional proportional‐integral‐derivative (PID) schemes by avoiding reliance on high‐fidelity plant models and instead ensuring adaptive, model-agnostic performance. Both linear and nonlinear flavours of ADRC have been developed to balance the demands of rapid transient response, minimal overshoot and high steady-state precision. Recent innovations include switching strategies that blend linear and nonlinear observers, optimisation-driven parameter tuning, and reduced-order observer designs to diminish phase lag. These advances enable decoupled vector control in multi-input multi-output architectures, offering robust speed and torque regulation across a spectrum of machines—from permanent magnet synchronous motors and induction motors to direct-drive wind generators and electromechanical actuators. The global significance of ADRC spans electric vehicles, renewable-energy converters and precision positioning systems, where enhanced energy efficiency, fault resilience and real-time adaptability are paramount.

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Active Disturbance Rejection Control in Electric Drive Systems publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in active disturbance rejection control in electric drive systems across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Active Disturbance Rejection Control (ADRC): A control paradigm that estimates and compensates total disturbances in real time, ensuring robustness without detailed plant modelling.

Extended State Observer (ESO): An observer that augments system states with a disturbance estimate, enabling direct compensation in the control law.

Linear ADRC (LADRC): A simplification of ADRC using linear observer and feedback structures, offering straightforward tuning and fast convergence.

Nonlinear ADRC (NLADRC): A variant employing nonlinear functions in the observer or control law to improve transient response and mitigate overshoot.

Switching Function: A mechanism to transition between linear and nonlinear control modes, balancing response speed and precision.

References

1. Active disturbance rejection position servo control of PMSLM based on reduced-order extended state observer. Chinese Journal of Electrical Engineering (2020).
2. Active Disturbance Rejection Control of Bearingless Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor Based on Genetic Algorithm and Neural Network Parameters Dynamic Adjustment Method. Electronics (2023).
3. Electromechanical Actuator Servo Control Technology Based on Active Disturbance Rejection Control. Electronics (2023).
4. The decoupled vector-control of PMSM based on nonlinear multi-input multi-output decoupling ADRC. Advances in Mechanical Engineering (2014).
5. Linear-Nonlinear Switching Active Disturbance Rejection Speed Controller for Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors. Sensors (2022).