Search

This article proposes a magnetic flux saturation model that well represents the cross saturation of synchronous reluctance machines (SynRMs) and a parameter estimation method of the proposed saturation model. Existing magnetic flux models do not satisfy the reciprocity condition or express cross saturation well. The proposed flux saturation model consists of terms for self-saturation and cross saturation, and it expresses well the nonlinear relationship between current and flux of SynRMs, as well as satisfies the reciprocity condition. The data of flux saturation are obtained at standstill using the hysteresis voltage injection method. Using the flux saturation data, the parameters of the flux saturation model are estimated. Because the proposed magnetic flux saturation model includes an arctangent function, it is not possible to estimate parameters directly using the linear least-squares method (LSM). However, the proposed parameter estimation method integrates the self-saturation model and transforms it into a polynomial to which linear LSM can be applied. In addition, parameters related to cross saturation are also estimated using linear LSM. Therefore, the proposed parameter estimation method is easy to implement and can be applied to general-purposed inverter products. The effectiveness of the proposed model and its identification method are experimentally evaluated with a 1.5-kW SynRM. Additionally, the identified model is verified with the accuracy of the maximum torque per ampere table and the performance of sensorless control of the tested motor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes a novel method to reduce rotor movement when estimating magnetic flux models for interior permanent magnet synchronous motors (IPMSMs) and synchronous reluctance motors (SynRMs). A rotation reduction technique that considers the flux saturation effect is proposed. A hysteresis controller is used to inject voltages only into the q-axis and simultaneously into the dq-axes. The rotation of the IPMSM is reduced by calculating the current at the point where the integral of the q-axis current over time becomes zero. In the case of SynRM, the rotation is reduced by calculating the injection voltage magnitudes such that the oscillation frequency of the q-axis current is higher than that of the d-axis current. The effectiveness of the proposed method was experimentally demonstrated using an 11-kW IPMSM and 1.5-kW SynRM. The proposed technique can be used for the self-commissioning of IPMSMs and SynRMs at a standstill, without rotor locking, or position sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes a rotor attitude estimation (RAE) method for spherical motors using the multiobject Kalman kernel correlation filter (MKKCF) algorithm in monocular vision. A permanent magnet spherical motor (PMSpM) is adopted as the research object, and a monocular area scan camera is equipped in the RAE system with a visual feature component mounted on top of the rotor output shaft. In the proposed MKKCF algorithm, the Kalman filter is used to enhance the robustness and accuracy of KCF tracker for each object. To simplify the proposed algorithm verification, a one-object tracking comparison is conducted among the KCF algorithm, the fast discriminative scale space tracking (FDSST) algorithm, and the Kalman KCF algorithm, and the results show that Kalman KCF tracker is more applicable for RAE. In addition, an RAE test bench is developed, and the MKKCF-based RAE method and the micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) (MPU9250) method are compared when estimating the rotor attitude. To set a benchmark, the contact rotor position measurement with encoders is used. The comparison results indicate that the MKKCF-based RAE method works with higher accuracy than the MEMS method. Finally, a closed-loop PMSpM control experiment is conducted by using the proposed MKKCF-based RAE method, and the practicability of the proposed method is proved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we deal with design considerations of a new ac hybrid-excitation permanent-magnet machine with axial stator. Due to the presence of an axial stator, the machine features a typical three-dimensional geometric structure and field distribution. A simplified reluctance-based network is developed to capture the main design features of the machine. The analytical equations are deduced relating the main geometric dimensions to the machine design criteria: speed, power, and flux regulation capability. The influence of key machine geometric parameters, i.e., radial/axial air-gap length, stack length, and bore diameter, on output power, flux density, and flux regulation capability is investigated. It is found that there is a design tradeoff between the machine power density and flux regulation capability. The d/q-axis inductance and its ratio, which has an influence on flux weakening capability and operation performance, is examined. Finally, a 6-pole/36-slot prototype is built. Intensive experimental tests are carried out to verify the machine characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thanks to the absence of rotor windings and permanent magnets, switched reluctance motors have a small weight construction. The integration of a modular power converter in a switched reluctance motor leads to a highly compact and fault-tolerant motor drive with small weight and high power density. In this article, a polygon-retrofitted integration topology is proposed for switched reluctance motors. Both the switched reluctance motor and the power converter are cooled with one shared cooling circuit. The power converter is designed and implemented using silicon carbide technology for its low losses and small thermal resistance. The proposed integration topology is extensively studied using multiphysics modeling and experimental measurements on a fully integrated rotating setup. A highly compact and power dense drive of 3.1 kW/L is obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A typical flywheel energy storage system (FESS) includes an electrical machine, a flywheel, and magnetic bearings, which are independent of each other. Therefore, the structure of FESS is complicated, which leads to the problems of high cost and low integration. This article presents a novel stator PM excitation solid rotor machine (SPE-SRM) for FESS, which integrates an electrical machine, flywheels, and a magnetic bearing. The design method of the SPE-SRM is presented specifically. First, the structure and operation principle of the SPE-SRM are illustrated. Second, the design and optimization of the flywheel-rotor are presented with considering of power, energy storage, and mechanical strength. Third, the magnetic equivalent circuit of the SPE-SRM is established to simplify the design. Besides, the armature reaction and leakage flux factor are investigated. Fourth, the performance indexes, including torque, suspension force, no-load back electromotive force (back-EMF), losses, and temperature rise are fully analyzed by the finite element analysis. Finally, a 22 kW prototype is manufactured and tested. The rationality of the concept and design is validated by experiments. The SPE-SRM has the merits of high integration, robust structure, and low cost, so it has the potential for wide application in FESS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes a new “switched lumped reluctance network”-based equivalent circuit for a switched reluctance motor (SRM) under saturation. The proposed circuit incorporates the effects of the position-dependent switching of the phase windings and changing position of the rotor with respect to the stator. This feature enables the analysis of non-uniform and dynamic variation of flux in motor iron sections along with that in the air gap and their effects on the phase current. The proposed model, thus, emulates the operation of an SRM, more truly, through an equivalent circuit approach. The accuracy of the proposed model is verified by comparing the analytical results of five different stator–rotor sets (having different air gaps and tooth angular widths) with the finite-element method (FEM) simulated results and found to be in excellent mutual agreement. The static and dynamic performance obtained using the proposed model has been validated by experiments on a four-phase, 1-kW, 300-V, 1000-rpm SRM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work contributes for the development of a low-cost reliable switched reluctance motor (SRM) drive for domestic water supply requirements. The work presents an adaptive gain super twisting sliding mode observer (AGST-SMO) for SRM drive with an enhanced transient behaviour. An online updation of sliding gains is proposed while satisfying the stability conditions of the observer. Performance of this observer is compared with the existing sliding mode observers. The developed SRM drive has a dedicated-port configuration to integrate the sources with SRM-pump and a domestic equipment, with reliable operation at low cost. For grid-side power quality issues, an improved linear sinusoidal tracer (ILST) is employed for the control of voltage source converter (VSC). ILST has inherent merits like active harmonics filtering, power factor correction, and fast dynamic response. The control of the drive system is validated by developing laboratory scale prototype and the system performance is examined at different conditions. The drive is suitable to fulfil water requirements for various applications at the consumer-end. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present article proposes an effective model of synchronous reluctance machines. This model, called the Residual Magnetism (ReMa) model, takes into account not only residual magnetism within the rotor but also that within the stator. Electromotive forces generated by the ReMa model were composed of two frequencies and exhibited similar shapes as those measured in experiments. Resultant equations in a three-phase $(a,b,c)$ frame and in a Park reference frame $(d,q)$ were revealed. The comparison was made with the classical model of synchronous reluctance machine commonly used. Experimental tests were carried out to prove the effectiveness of the ReMa model which was also compared to a classical counterpart in the case where a synchronous reluctance generator was connected to a three-phase diode rectifier. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dc-field excited modular variable flux reluctance machines (VFRM) are passive salient-pole rotor and independent stator winding, which makes it suitable for aerospace applications. Fault-tolerant operation is commonly required to improve its reliability. Hence, the performance under winding open-circuit faults is analyzed and the fault-tolerant control strategy is presented to increase the output capacity in this article. First, the dc-rectified output voltages and power of the VFRM under both normal and open-circuit faults are derived. Then, phase angle control strategy of the fault-tolerant operation for a 12-slot-14-rotor-pole (12s14r) modular VFRM is proposed, where the control sequence is optimized to achieve the maximum output power of the generation system. Compared with the classical fault-tolerant method, a higher applicability of the proposed method in terms of the types of fault-tolerant operations can be achieved. The electromagnetic properties, including the armature current and the capacity of electrical power output, are analyzed with finite-element analysis. The effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed fault-topology and control strategy are verified by the 12s14r VFRM prototype in normal, fault, and fault-tolerant operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rotor angle is essential in permanent-magnet (PM) brushless machines. Recently, an embedded magnetic encoder (EME) scheme, consisted of linear Hall sensors installing inside of the PM machines, has been proposed to sense the flux density and consequently provides rotor position. Compared with traditional optical encoder and resolver, the linear Hall sensor prevails over in both space and cost. The aforementioned scheme is employed successfully in rotor-PM machines, where a PM-excited field rotates at the synchronous speed. In this article, the feasibility of EME in stator-PM flux-switching machine is validated, where PMs are located in stator, resulting in a stationary PM field. The stator slots are selected as installation position of linear Hall sensors to avoid changing the existing structure of machines. The variation of linear Hall signal is due to the changing reluctance of rotor rather than rotating PMs. Then, a decoding algorithm is designed based on an add-up operation, a complex coefficient filter, and a synchronous reference frame phase-locked loop. Finally, experiments on a prototype machine are conducted to validate the effectiveness of EME scheme under both speed-varying and load-varying conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compared with the traditional control method, the direct torque control and direct force control method significantly reduces the torque ripple and the root-mean-square current of the phase winding in the single-winding bearingless switched reluctance motor. However, due to the unreasonable selection of voltage vectors and full cycle control, this method has some problems, such as too many control objects, excessive switching times, and low torque–ampere ratio. This article proposes an improved method for the abovementioned problems. First, the turn-on angle and conduction region of each phase winding are chosen as the control targets, and the operation principle is introduced accordingly. Second, according to the difference of the torque generated by the neighboring phases, the output torque can be distributed more properly to obtain the higher torque–ampere ratio in the commutation region. Finally, the sectors divided in the electrical space are reorganized and the corresponding voltage vectors are optimized. Experimental results show that the proposed method can secure lower torque ripples, fewer switching times, and copper loss. In addition, the torque–ampere ratio is improved as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a maximum torque per ampere strategy for a five-phase synchronous reluctance drive. The approach is developed considering general machine parameters and is formalized as a constrained optimization problem. The optimal solution is found analytically by using Lagrange’s multipliers method and is based on the computation of the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of the inductance derivatives matrix. The proposed approach is evaluated both numerically and experimentally. It is also compared with other current references control strategies, effectively showing a reduction of the machine rms currents for the same developed torque. The same approach can also be extended to machines with a different number of phases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes a novel dual-three-phase high-power high-speed permanent magnet assisted synchronous reluctance starter generator (PMaSynR SG) for aviation application, which has the characteristics of high efficiency, high power density, high reliability, and excellent antishort-circuit ability. The proposed PMaSynR SG can obtain higher efficiency and power density by embedding permanent magnet in the rotor topology compared with the synchronous reluctance generator, and has better antishort-circuit ability compared with the permanent magnet synchronous starter-generator. Moreover, design of dual-three-phase winding is adopted, which not only reduces the phase current, but also improves the reliability. In this article, the topological structure, characteristics and principle of PMaSynR SG are systematically studied at first. Second, a simplified dq-axis equivalent magnetic circuit model is established, and the expressions of dq-axis inductance and permanent magnet flux linkage are derived on the basis of the basic parameter selection. Then, combined with parameter sensitivity analysis, the influence law of rotor structural parameters on antishort-circuit ability and electromagnetic performance is revealed. Finally, a 40 kW 24 000 r/min PMaSynR SG is designed and manufactured. The simulation and experimental results show that the proposed PMaSynR SG has excellent electromagnetic performance with the power density of 3.1 kW/kg and the efficiency of 94%, while the short-circuit current is only 59% of its rated value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focusses on power quality issues related with the operation of a wind energy conversion system employing a doubly fed induction generator (DFIG), integrated with a solar photovoltaic array, under unbalanced, and distorted grid conditions. The multiple-order DFIG electromagnetic torque ripples and grid active power ripples, resulting from the unbalanced and distorted grid, can be mitigated, however, at the cost of highly unbalanced and distorted currents. This article provides a possible solution towards a tradeoff by developing a flexible ripple minimization technique based on a cross-feedback extended second order generalized integrator for harmonics sequence separation (CextSOGI-HSS). The CextSOGI-HSS based current compensation enables a controlled minimization of ripple as per the customizable flexibility quotient. Furthermore, the current compensation technique employs an improved recursive least squares (IRLS) adaptive filtering algorithm for processing DFIG stator currents and local load currents. The IRLS algorithm improves grid currents harmonics spectra by filtering-out higher order harmonics from DFIG stator currents and nonlinear load currents, meanwhile, the effects of any load or stator currents unbalance on grid currents are also mitigated. Test results from a developed laboratory prototype confirm the efficacy of the presented flexible ripple minimization control technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reveals the flux leakage design and modeling principle of a flux leakage controllable permanent magnet (FLC-PM) machine by considering driving cycles. The key is to obtain the relationship between flux leakage characteristics and multiple operating conditions. Based on the flux leakage controllable concept, an FLC-PM machine with an artfully designed flux leakage region is proposed. The design principle of the machine is investigated by analyzing the magnetic circuit of the machine in multiple operating conditions. The flux leakage factor is introduced to characterize the variable magnetic field in multiple operating conditions. On this basis, the mathematical model of the FLC-PM machine is deduced, and the driving characteristics of the machine are studied in detail. In order to evaluate the presented principle of the FLC-PM machine, a prototype is manufactured for experiments. Through the theoretical analysis and experimental testing, it is verified that the proposed principle is feasible and effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, an integrated drive converter of segmented double-stator switched reluctance machine (SDS-SRM) with isolation and nonisolation charging capabilities for electric vehicle (EV) is presented. The proposed converter can not only reduce the number of the power switches, but also implement multiple operation modes. In nonisolation charging mode, the motor windings and existing power switches constitute a buck/boost converter to charge the battery. The appropriate rotor positions are obtained to achieve torque-free control, and the interleaved phase currents control method is introduced to reduce the charging current ripples. In isolation charging mode, the inner-stator is powered by the utility grid to drive the middle-rotor, and converts electrical energy into mechanical energy, while the outer-stator is operated in generation mode to convert mechanical energy into electrical energy. The SDS-SRM is served as a rotating transformer to transfer the electric power to charge the battery with the galvanic isolation function. A low power proof-of-concept prototype platform is built and experiments are carried out to verify the effectiveness of the proposed integrated drive converter and the corresponding control schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents an accurate analytical model (AM) for synchronous reluctance machine (SynRM) that incorporates the effect of stator slots on the air gap flux density and torque waveforms. From the formulation of magnetic potential in the air gap for both the stator and rotor, the flux density is obtained, considering the first harmonic of the flux density and the electric loading, the average torque is calculated using the Lorentz’s force. The ripple torque is obtained from the energy stored in magnetic circuit. The method is developed for a rotor with one flux barrier per pole and then extended to a larger number of barriers. To validate the results obtained by the AM proposed finite element analysis have been carried out. Several comparisons have been derived considering different rotor positions as well as different harmonic orders, and the pros and cons of the method are highlighted. The model performs fast and can predict results with high accuracy, and can be adopted to speed up the preliminary design and optimizations of this type of motors, with respect to finite element. In addition, from the analytical expressions it is possible to obtain all the correlations between electrical, magnetic, and geometrical characteristics of the machine, with the advantage of enabling a faster machine design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In current engineering, the skewing slots approach is commonly used for permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) to reduce torque ripple and electromagnetic vibration. However, this approach may limit the axial length of the motor and increase the manufacturing cost. This article studies a segmented rotor with different pole widths approach to mitigate torque ripple and electromagnetic vibration for PMSM, which has a lower implementation cost and facilitates mechanized production. The mapping relationship between geometric dimensions and torque performance is obtained, and the optimal dimensions are determined. An 8-pole/48-slot V-shaped PMSM is taken as the original motor, and the influence of engineering error on the torque performance of the presented approach is discussed. The electromagnetic performances and vibration responses of the motor with the presented approach are compared with that of the skewing slot motor to verify the effectiveness of the presented approach. Finally, prototypes are built, and intensive experimental tests are carried out to verify the analysis and comparison. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes a hybrid analytical modeling procedure for the performance parameter estimation of synchronous reluctance machine, including its operation in the region of magnetic saturation. The proposed model better estimated the torque profile through improved translation and stepped transition of rotor flux barriers. The non-linear operation is simulated by considering the global saturation and estimating the machine’s operating point on the magnetization curve of the core material. The procedure formulation focuses on improving the accuracy and rapidness of the iterative design process. The obtained results are validated against an already established design analysis technique, finite-element analysis, and the frequency spectrum analysis of practical machine results. With the improved accuracy and the least requirement of simulation runtime and computational resources, the modeling procedure can be utilized as an initial design iteration tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes an improved method for the position signal evaluation of a switched reluctance motor (SRM) drives. It can perform accurate position signal reconstruction based on the inductance, and greatly increase the fault tolerance of SRM in complex environments. It includes the position signal fault diagnosis (PSFD), position signal estimation, and fault-tolerant control (FTC). First, the installation and principle of the position sensor is introduced to show the function of the position signal in SRM drive system. Then, to overcome the limitation of application range of the conventional diagnosis method, a new PSFD method based on grey prediction model is proposed. Besides, a position estimation method based on the inflection point of the inductance is proposed. According to the estimated position, FTCs are carried out when position sensors are faulty. Finally, experiments are carried out to validate the effectiveness of the proposed position signal fault-tolerant control method based on a 12/10 six phase SRM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To meet the new international efficiency (IE) standards, line-start (LS) synchronous reluctance motors (SyRMs) are now being considered. Conventional star and delta windings are usually employed in LS SyRMs. However, combined star-delta winding has higher winding factor and lower magneto-motive force (mmf) harmonics compared to conventional star and delta windings. Hence, in this paper, LS SyRM and LS ferrite assisted SyRM with star and star-delta winding are analyzed and their performance indices are compared. A winding function analysis is used for the design of star and star-delta windings. Further, the effect of zero sequence current on the performance of the motors under comparison is presented in detail. Star and star-delta winding prototype LS SyRMs with and without ferrite magnets in the rotor are fabricated. Experimental studies are carried-out on these prototypes and the results are presented which are in close agreement with the simulation results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work presents an adaptive feed-forward current fed battery-supported solar water pumping system using a synchronous reluctance motor (SYRM). It incorporates the impact of cross saturation in real time with the position sensorless vector control technique of SYRM. Moreover, a continuous estimation of direct axis inductance (Ld) is incorporated to ensure saturation in SYRM. The burden of the DC link voltage PI controller is relieved by the feed-forward term of an adaptive battery current, which is calculated from the photovoltaic (PV) array power, estimated output power and the estimated motor efficiency. A DC-DC boost converter is used for maximum power point tracking (MPPT) of the solar photovoltaic array. A voltage source inverter is employed to control the SYRM-pump drive, and to charge/discharge the battery, a bidirectional DC-DC converter is used. The system provides a cost-effective solution for an uninterruptable and rated discharge of the water supply. The solar PV array behaves as a primary energy source, whereas battery is used as a backup source and is charged by PV array when pump operation is suspended or operating at a lower rating. The satisfactory performance of developed system is verified through experimental results taken on the developed laboratory prototype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synchronous reluctance motors (SynRMs) with four layers of flux barriers are currently in practical use as high-efficiency motors for industrial applications. While SynRMs have higher efficiency than induction motors, they have a high torque ripple. In this study, an asymmetric rotor structure was designed to reduce the torque ripple of the four-layer SynRM, considering the mechanical strength. Two rotor structures with different flux barrier angles were combined in the stacking direction, and the ratio of the combination was optimized by finite element analysis. In addition, prototypes of the initial structure and proposed asymmetric structure were manufactured, and their torque and efficiency characteristics were measured. The experimental results show that the proposed asymmetric structure can reduce the torque ripple while maintaining the basic characteristics such as average torque and efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews the state-of-the-art back electromotive force (EMF) based sensorless schemes for synchronous machines. Field-oriented control (FOC) of a synchronous machine requires real-time rotor position for decoupled torque and flux control. Extraction of rotor position without a sensor or sensorless control has been an enabling technology for the past few decades. Sensorless control using back EMF voltage induced by rotor movement is the most widely used method. However, the connections and differences between different methods have not been thoroughly investigated and documented. This article first reviews basic sensorless methods. The two implementation forms of an observer are examined to facilitate analysis. A detailed analysis puts in evidence the connections behind different methods in both stationary and synchronous reference frames. A summary is drawn that is meant to offer a few key points regarding different sensorless methods. Finally, a conclusion is given to summarize the major contributions of this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, a circulating-current-excited switched reluctance generator system using a standard diode rectifier is proposed and examined. It features a dc power source connected in series with the ring-connected windings, which provides the dc-bias current as the excitation current in the windings. Using a series-connected dc power source, a dc-bias current is easily realized in the ac winding. Compared with the existing machine having dc-bias in the ac winding, the proposed generator can provide dc power with a standard diode rectifier. Less active legs and no rotor position sensor are needed for the control of the circulating current of the proposed generator, which increases the reliability of the generation system. The system configuration and the operation principle are introduced in detail. Then, the electromagnetic performance of the proposed generation system is analyzed at both open-circuit and load conditions. The asymmetric current distributions are deduced and verified by the simulations. At last, the prototype is tested under varied operation conditions and the experiments agree well with the analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiphase machines with a prime number of phases (five and seven) have shown better torque density than machines with other phase numbers. Unfortunately, these machines require a special stator design. Hence, this article proposes general rewinding techniques to obtain a five-phase winding from the existing standard three-phase stator frames. The proposed rewinding techniques are applied to construct a five-phase star-connected synchronous reluctance machine (SynRM 1) and a novel combined star-pentagon winding (SynRM 2). Simple mathematical formulations are introduced to compute the equivalent winding factor. The performance of five-phase SynRMs is analyzed using two-dimensional Ansys Maxwell transient simulations under the same copper volume for both healthy and faulty cases. SynRM 1 and 2 provide 6.56% and 13.35% higher torque compared to the three-phase SynRM at rated current and at optimal current angle. The torque ripple is decreased by 17% and 30%, respectively. Moreover, SynRM 1 and 2 offer a better performance at the faulty case; e.g., at one phase opened, the average torque of SynRM 1 and 2 is 82% and 108% higher compared to the three-phase SynRM. In addition, the torque ripple is reduced by about 63% and 81%. Finally, experimental results are done to validate the proposed winding techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A generalized fault-tolerant control (FTC) strategy for the field-oriented control (FOC) and direct torque control (DTC) of five-phase fault-tolerant permanent magnet (FPFTPM) motors under various open-circuit faults is presented in this article. Most previous studies regarding FTC target a specific primary control algorithm and involve different reduced-order transformation matrices and additional current controllers, which increase the complexity of the entire drive system. In this study, a solution to the aforementioned problems is devised by developing optimal fault-tolerant voltages, which are derived from fault-tolerant mechanism analysis and steady-healthy design. Because the coordinate transformation need not be changed and additional voltage compensation is not required, a minimal control drive system reconfiguration under various open-circuit faults can be achieved to avoid accommodating the change of the primary control algorithm. The proposed control strategy not only improves the torque performance and dynamic response under healthy and fault conditions, but also adapts to both FOC and DTC. Experimental results for a 2 kW FPFTPM motor prototype are provided to evaluate the proposed strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vernier reluctance machine (VRM) with dc field coils in stator is a competitive rare-earth-free design for variable-speed industrial applications due to its robust structure and controllable excitation, while its torque density is relatively disadvantageous. To address this issue, this article proposes a new armature winding design method for VRM with dc field coils across two stator teeth. The key is to break the traditional winding design principle based on the flux modulation effect of fundamental dc field harmonic, and instead, reconstruct a novel harmonic winding to enhance the utilization factor of the modulated high-order dc field harmonics arising from the unique magnetomotive force distribution of dc field coils across two stator teeth. By this means, the torque density can be improved by 75.6% against the existing poor counterpart. In this article, the machine structure and operation principle are introduced, with emphasis on the high-order dc field harmonics distribution rule and its influence on the armature winding design. By finite element design and optimization, a comparative study is performed to evaluate the electromagnetic performance of VRMs using two different winding configurations with variable slot pole combinations. A prototype is fabricated and tested, and the results agree well with finite element analysis, which verifies the feasibility and advantages of the proposed winding design method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a new type of double stator swing rotating permanent magnet spherical motor (DSSRPMSM), which can realize swing, rotation, and helical motion and is used in industrial robots, gyroscopes, satellite communications, and other fields. The proposed spherical motor consists of two stators and a hollow rotor with permanent magnet (PM) poles on its inner and outer surfaces. Compared with most spherical motor with hollow coil and traditional PM synchronous motor, the structure of the motor is different and novel, and it is difficult to find a more perfect design theory and method. Thus, this article introduces the new idea of motor design in detail. First, the structure and working principle of the motor are introduced, and the original design of the motor is carried out. The 2-D rough estimation and 3-D FEM accurate simulation calculation are carried out, and the electromagnetic characteristics of the motor are obtained, including magnetic flux density distribution, torque, and loss. The simulation results meet the design specifications of the motor. A prototype was built and tested. The experimental results are in good agreement with the 3-D FEM analysis. The design method provides a theoretical basis for the design of this kind of spherical motor. The research results lay a foundation for the subsequent optimization of the motor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new partitioned stator field modulation machine (PSFMM) with H-shape permanent magnet (HPM) excitation (HPM-PSFMM) is proposed, which is evolved from the conventional flux-switching machine (FSM) and flux-reversal machine (FRM). The proposed HPM-PSFMM combines the merits of high reliability and good heat dissipation characteristic. In addition, it exhibits high torque production with low torque ripple. Based on the theory of electrical machine operation, the FSM and FRM can be transformed into PSFMM with interior permanent magnet (IPM) and surface-mounted PM (SPM) excitation by changing the position of PM excitation, respectively. It benefits to improve space utilization and increase slot area for a large number of armature windings. For reducing the flux leakage and enhancing the flux density in air gaps, the IPM and SPM excitation are combined into HPM excitation. The iron-pole rotor between the inner and outer stators acts the role of modulator to modulate the magnetic field excited by HPM excitation to couple with the armature reaction for converting electromechanical energy. The evolution process, operating principle, and key design parameters of the proposed HPM-PSFMM are presented. Finally, using the finite element analysis (FEA), it can be proven that the proposed HPM-PSFMM has the merits of high torque production, low flux leakage, low total harmonic distortion (THD), and low torque ripple when compared to other stator-PM machines, which is a desirable choice for high stability applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The magnetic field distribution in the air gap is of great importance in the design of rotary machines. In this article, an efficient analytical method is presented, which is capable of plotting the air-gap flux density waveform of induction machines (IMs) less time-consuming than the finite element method (FEM) does. The proposed method, based on the product of the current linkage waveform and the permeance waveform, utilizes the calculations of the steady-state equivalent circuit to ensure the accuracy and an equivalent air-gap reluctance model to take into account both the slot opening effect and the rotor movement. The method is tested on a general IM with different load cases and different design parameters, and the results are compared to the FEM calculations. It can be concluded that the proposed analytical method is an efficient option in the motor design to investigate the influence of the parameters on the flux density distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article illustrates a method for sensorless control of a switched reluctance motor. The detection of the time instants for switching between the working phases is determined based on the evaluation of the switching frequency of the hysteresis current controllers for appropriately selected sensing phases. This enables a simple and cost efficient implementation. The method is compared with a pulse injection method in terms of efficiency and resolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes a model for obtaining the failure path current and torque waveforms in synchronous machines with saliency under interturn short circuits (ISC). The variations of the magnetomotive force (MMF) due to an ISC can lead to changes in the inductances, which lead to errors when modeling motors with ISC. A compact approach based on complex numbers is proposed to solve the dynamic ISC equation. The proposed method uses rotor reference frame variables and parameters as inputs. These rotor reference frame quantities are transformed to a stationary frame aligned with the faulted coil, thus extracting the real part of these quantities, allowing to solve the ISC dynamic equation quickly. Look-up tables are implemented to account for the MMF variations due to an ISC and saturation. The proposed model is validated with finite element analysis and experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With high surrounding temperatures, winding resistance increases and thus lowers the operational efficiency of a motor. To meet the large application requirements and conform with the ever-increasing energy-efficiency regulations for pump equipment in the metals industry, consistent efforts have focused on producing single-phase motors that can deliver superior performance at a low cost. Because the steady-state rotational speed is synchronized and no driver circuit is required, a direct-on-line synchronous reluctance motor is a potentially viable alternative to the commonly adopted induction motors. Its inherently simple structure and comparably low operational speed necessitate a challenging structural design for accomplishing the high-efficiency objectives of pump applications. These challenges and their potential solutions are reported in detail. By employing a systematic design scheme and including thermal concerns of the performance, a competitive high-efficiency single-phase direct-on-line synchronous reluctance motor for pump applications in various metal industry equipment was offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the double-layer airgap configuration, the even-order harmonic components exist in the phase back electromotive force (EMF) of flux-modulation electrically excitation double-stator synchronous machine (FMEE-DSM), thus resulting in relatively high torque ripples. To promptly and effectively suppress these torque ripples, this article proposes and implements a second-order iterative learning control (ILC) strategy to minimize the main harmonic torque components based on the periodically repetitive characteristic of torque ripples in the FMEE-DSM. Via harmonic analysis on the torque ripples caused by the cogging torque and the nonsinusoidal induced EMFs, the dominative harmonic component, namely, the seventh-order component, can be precisely identified and then involved in the proposed ILC for torque ripple suppression. To verify the feasibility of proposed control strategy, a test bench of the FMEE-DSM control system was built based on dSPACE 1103. Accordingly, both the static and dynamic performances of the FMEE-DSM were investigated under the conditions of no-load and rated load. The theoretical analysis, computer simulation, and hardware experimentation are given to verify the proposed second-order ILC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiphysics analysis and experimental validation of acoustic noise reduction in a high pole count, high power, switched reluctance machine (SRM), through skewing are explored in detail in this work. An iterative optimization strategy covering electromagnetic, structural, and thermal domains is proposed to investigate the effect of different skewing methods and angles on a 24-stator slot/16-rotor pole (24/16) SRM rated at 100 kW. The contributions of this work are twofold. First, electromagnetic impact, considering average torque, torque ripple, radial and tangential air gap forces, of symmetric and asymmetric skewing on stator and rotor is studied in this work. Second, the impact of skewing methods on acoustic noise and vibration performance is studied and presented in detail. The study reveals that skewing both the stator and rotor by the same amount has superior electromagnetic performance over other types of skewing. Multiphysics simulations conducted, predict a 10.5 dBA reduction in the acoustic noise, compared to a baseline design with no skew, for an optimized rotor-stator skewing angle of 13.75°. Finally, 100 kW prototypes of the baseline and the optimized skewed SRM were constructed and subjected to wide speed range testing. Simulation and test results closely follow each other and validate the effectiveness of the proposed skew design in mitigating acoustic noise and vibration in high pole count SRMs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At high gear ratios, surface permanent magnet (SPM) cycloidal magnetic gears (CyMGs) can achieve higher torque densities than SPM coaxial magnetic gears (CoMGs). This article introduces the radial flux reluctance CyMG (Rel CyMG) topology and its operating principles. The Rel CyMG replaces the permanent magnets (PMs) on an SPM CyMG’s inner rotor with salient teeth. Additionally, the Rel CyMG only requires half of the SPM CyMG’s outer rotor PM count to achieve the same gear ratio, which simplifies assembly and allows the use of wider magnets. This may improve high gear ratio designs’ manufacturability. A genetic algorithm (GA) was used with 2-D finite element analysis (FEA) to optimize Rel CyMGs, SPM CyMGs, and SPM CoMGs and demonstrate that SPM CyMGs significantly outperform the other topologies at higher gear ratios in terms of specific torque (ST) and PM ST. However, Rel CyMGs outperform SPM CoMGs at higher gear ratios, with respect to ST and PM ST. Rel CyMGs also eliminate the need for a PM retention sleeve and potentially enable the use of smaller air gaps, which can allow them to achieve slightly higher PM STs than SPM CyMGs at ultrahigh gear ratios. Employing Halbach arrays significantly improves both CyMG topologies’ ST. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an analytical approach to determine the air-gap magnetic field and the winding inductance in the brushless doubly-fed reluctance machine (BDFRM) with flux barriers. By dividing one flux guide layer into several segments, a calculus method based on magnetic circuit analysis is developed and specific analytical expression of the air-gap flux density is rigorously derived. Then, the included angle between fundamental components with the same pole pairs is also discussed. Based on the air-gap flux density distribution, the inductance expressions between different windings are also presented. Three kinds of finite element analysis models are established and studied. As a result, the accuracy of the analytical model can be verified by simulations and experimental data from an existing BDFRM prototype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Asymmetric interior permanent magnet (AIPM) rotor topologies can achieve torque enhancement in IPM synchronous machines without the increase of PM usage due to utilizing magnetic-field-shifting (MFS) effect by reducing the current angle difference between maximum PM and reluctance torque components. This paper investigates the influence of armature reaction on MFS effect in AIPM machines. A general model of IPM machines considering MFS effect is analytically developed and the AIPM and IPM machines using the same stator, rotor diameter and total PM amount are comparatively studied. It shows that the armature reaction affects the MFS effect in both AIPM and IPM machines and the influence is more significant in AIPM machine. The relationships between MFS effects in PM flux-linkage and inductance characteristics and current angles for maximum PM and reluctance torque components are revealed. It confirms that the change of current angles of torque components is due to the MFS effect in PM flux-linkage and inductance characteristics in both AIPM and IPM machines. Besides, the developed machine model considering MFS effect is verified by finite element analysis. Finally, a small-scale AIPM machine prototype is fabricated and measured to validate the finite element analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a finite-control-set model predictive direct torque control (FCS-MPDTC) method is proposed to reduce the torque ripple of a segmented switched reluctance motor (SSRM) at the low-speed stage. Firstly, the prediction dynamic model is established, and the phase torque can be predicted by detecting phase current and rotor position signals. Then, the principle of power converter and selection of voltage vectors are introduced and presented. Considering torque ripple reduction, flux tracking performance and copper losses reduction, the cost function with phase torque, the amplitude of flux linkage and phase current, is established to select optimal voltage vector to control the power converter. In addition, the torque sharing function (TSF) is employed to distribute total torque to phase torque for further torque ripple reduction. Finally, the direct torque control (DTC) is selected as the comparison method, performance of MPDTC is verified by simulation and experiment results. It can be found that the proposed MPDTC can achieve lower torque ripple and copper losses, and high robustness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Special attention has been paid to two-phase switched reluctance motors (SRMs) as they have fewer power electronics components compared to three- or multi-phase ones. However, their main drawbacks are the lack of starting torque and a predetermined direction of rotation. This paper proposes a new self-starting technique for two-phase SRMs, which has superiorities over the previous approaches. In the proposed topology, the flux paths are shorter, and thus the required magnetomotive force is smaller, which reduces losses. The design procedure is explained. Two- and three-dimensional finite element method (FEM) is employed in the analysis. Also, the motor is prototyped, and two test setups for torque-angle measurement and control study are used. The dynamic behavior of the motor is studied applying single-pulse control and current hysteresis control strategies. The experimental results confirm the results obtained by FEM. Both simulation and experiment results confirm that the proposed topology offers higher efficiency, higher mean torque, and better dynamic behavior compared to two conventional SRMs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A modified configuration for Permanent Magnet Assisted Synchronous Reluctance Motors (PMaSyRM) is studied in this paper. Conventionally, the PM materials are inserted in the flux barriers region of the rotor. Consequently, the PMs sizing parameters will be restricted to the available space that may limit the efficient use of PMs benefits. In this study, a portion of the rotor structure is replaced with an Interior PM (IPM) rotor so that an axially segmented integration of IPM and SyRM is obtained. Thus, the PMs design is performed specifically in the IPM segment independent of the SyRM scheme, while the SyRM segment remains PM-less. The main motivation of this concept is to improve the contribution of the PM material in the total torque as well as utilizing the special property of the proposed rotor configuration for pulsating torque reduction. A computationally cost-effective algorithm is proposed for the optimal design of IPM-SyRM motor by which a low-power design is carried out for a lightweight electric vehicle. The results for torque profile characteristics, PM volume, power-factor, and efficiency are compared with a conventional PMaSyRM that has been optimally designed as the reference case. Finally, a prototype is constructed to verify the theoretical analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a novel six-phase outer rotor induction motor equipped with pseudo-concentrated windings is introduced as a robust, reliable, and low-cost solution. Multiple aspects of the proposed motor structure have been investigated such as a design algorithm and an analytical modeling based on the modified winding function considering the skew effect. The effect of using variable number of turns for the coils has been examined on the pseudo-concentrated windings. An appropriate optimization problem has been also defined to maximize the power factor and efficiency and to minimize the output torque ripple. The designed motor has been fabricated to verify the accuracy of the design procedure with an analytical model and a finite element analysis. Experimental results show superior performances for the designed motor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a new position sensorless method for switched reluctance motor (SRM) drive control based on a sliding mode observer using nonlinear Fourier flux linkage model. First, to obtain an accurate mathematical model of SRM for establishment of sliding mode position observer (SMPO), an analytical method based on Fourier polynomial function is introduced to regress the nonlinear relationship between flux linkage, position and current. Then, a new SMPO is designed in detail to estimate the rotor position, including the establishment of SRM model of sliding mode observer, and analysis of estimation error and convergence conditions of SMPO. Finally, position sensorless control of SRM drive based on SMPO is carried out in terms of accuracy and robustness in simulation. Experiments are also given on a dynamic testing platform to verify the effectiveness of the proposed position sensorless scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The torque ripple of a switched reluctance motor (SRM) should be taken into account, as it can have negative effects on a connected gearbox and/or load. In this paper a concept and two realization methods for the reduction of the torque ripple are presented. An optimized alignment of the active elements of the stator leads to a reduction of this torque ripple. The first method proposed here is a four-fold segmented motor, which can reduce the torque ripple by 37.3 %. This can be achieved by segmentation in combination with a clever arrangement of active elements. However, this increases the number of necessary inverters, which increases redundancy and therefore leads to more security. A second method of achieving an equal reduction can be obtained by using a “double stator” motor. In this configuration both stators can be powered together. With this concept, the number of converters is halved compared to the first mentioned solution. This saves electronic components and thus reduces the effort. All results referred to in this article are obtained by simulation, or measured on a prototype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a novel analytical model which combines subdomain method and magnetic equivalent circuit (MEC) method to predict the no-load performance of V-shape interior permanent magnet (IPM) motors with any slot-pole combination considering the nonlinearity of magnetic bridges (MBs). The V-shape magnets are equivalent to the form of distribution along radial and tangential directions, and the motor is divided into two corresponding structures to facilitate the establishment of subdomains. To consider the saturation of MBs, the MEC method are employed to obtain the permeability of MBs to establish the boundary conditions. The no-load magnetic field of slotless motor can be obtained by solving the equations established by boundary conditions, and the conformal mapping is used to consider the effect of slotting. The proposed model can be used to calculate the no-load magnetic field, back electromotive force, and cogging torque of IPM motor. The results are verified by finite element analysis (FEA) and experiments, which confirms the validity of the model for facilitating the motor design and optimization. Compared with FEA, the proposed method has the advantages of faster modeling, shorter time consuming and meanwhile achieves the approximate accuracy. In addition, U-shape motors with MBs can also be analyzed by this model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to enhance motor torque performance of existing two-phase 8/10 E-Core SRM, an improved modular permanent magnet (PM)-assisted Switched Reluctance Motor (SRM) structure is presented. Firstly, basic structure and operation principle of the proposed structure are introduced. To further evaluate performance improvement, effects of various parameters on the design such as inductance, flux-linkage, average torque and cogging torque are compressively investigated by finite element method (FEM) software subsequently. In the meantime, comparisons with other two-phase SRM structures are also performed including average torque, torque/PM volume, torque/ motor volume, torque/current, etc. Finally, a prototype is fabricated, and simulation and experimental results verify that the proposed design has high torque performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a new sensorless control strategy with the fault-tolerant ability for switched reluctance motors (SRMs). Nowadays, many rotor position detection methods are utilized, but most of them increase the system cost due to the additional hardware or complex calculations. To address this problem, various methods of using phase inductance to estimate the rotor position and speed have been proposed. However, the traditional inductance detection method will cause signal distortion due to the presence of interference signals and the unbalanced phase inductance. In particular, the turn-ON angle is advanced. To further improve the stability of the control system, the interference signals are eliminated via establishing the reference time of the inductance characteristic point and the error band in this work. When the position signal disappears, the inductance characteristic points of adjacent phases will be adopted for signal compensation to realize fault-tolerant control. Finally, an SRM drive system is used to verify the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes a pseudo-random high-frequency triangular-wave current signal injection (PR-HFTCI) based sensorless control scheme for synchronous reluctance motor (SynRM) drives at zero-low speed domain to suppress the high-frequency (HF) loss and the HF audible noise which are introduced by the significant nonlinearities of SynRMs and the traditional constant amplitude HF square-wave voltage injection method. The pseudo-random HF triangular-wave current signal with random frequency and random phase is injected to eliminate the discrete spectrum of the current power spectra density (PSD) and the corresponding current PSD analysis is performed to evaluate it. In addition, the HF component amplitude of the d-axis voltage reference can be adjusted adaptively with the variation of load to maintain the HF current amplitude constant, it is easy to implement and does not require any extra regulator and signal processing. Hence, the HF loss and the HF torque ripple can be effectively reduced under the heavy load. Finally, the effectiveness and the correctness of the proposed PR-HFTCI based sensorless control scheme are validated with experiments on a 1.5-kW SynRM drive platform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]