Systems and methods for control of multi-phase machines

A method, comprising:

• operating, by a controller, a six-phase machine configured as a combination of a first three-phase machine and a second three-phase machine, the six-phase machine being a permanent magnet machine;
• generating, by the controller, a plurality of control vectors, each control vector being generated by combining two adjacent phase vectors with a first of the two adjacent phase vectors being selected from phase vectors of the first three-phase machine and a second of the two adjacent phase vectors being selected from phase vectors of the second three-phase machine;
• and
• implementing, by the controller, a control method based on the plurality of control vectors to control operation of the six-phase machine;
• detecting, by the controller, a change in speed of the permanent magnet machine based on measurements from one of a plurality of sensors;
• comparing, by the controller, the change in speed with a predetermined threshold change in speed;
• in response to the change in speed being greater than the predetermined threshold change in speed, generating a command to switch to either a dual three-phase control mode or a six-phase control mode for the permanent magnet machine based on additional sensor input from the plurality of sensors;
• and
• switching, by the controller to the dual three-phase control mode or the six-phase control mode.