Advanced Control Strategies for Magnet-Free Synchronous Motors

A special issue of Machines (ISSN 2075-1702). This special issue belongs to the section "Electrical Machines and Drives".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2025) | Viewed by 1546

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Stellantis–Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), Motor Control Department, Hamilton, ON, Canada
Interests: synchronous motors; motor control; power electronics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Professional Engineers Ontario & SimuTech Group, Niagara Falls, ON, Canada
Interests: electric machines design; thermal and CFD analyses of electric motors; electric drive EV/HEV traction systems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Synchronous motors play a crucial role in various applications, including constant and variable speed drives. Notably, they find extensive use in electric and hybrid electric vehicles.

Synchronous motors include not only permanent magnet (PM) SMs that can be either interior or surface-mounted, but there are other magnet-free candidates such as wound-rotor SMs, synchronous reluctance, and doubly salient synchronous reluctance motors (which are essentially switched reluctance motors supplied by sinusoidal currents and a voltage source inverter).

Due to the existence of a rare-earth material in PMSMs, researchers have turned their attention to other magnet-free options due to environmental concerns and supply limitations. However, the performance of these alternatives still lags behind that of PMSMs.

Unlike PMSMs, where both permanent magnet torque and reluctance torque contribute to overall torque production, magnet-free SMs rely solely on reluctance torque. This results in lower torque and power density, higher torque ripples, and possible higher radial forces. Additionally, the absence of the magnet which is an excitation or reactive power source in PMSMs results in a lower power factor in magnet-free motors.

We are pleased to invite you to submit state-of-the-art manuscripts to this Special Issue aimed at narrowing the performance gap between magnet-based and magnet-free SMs. Topics of interest include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Parameter estimations and observers applied to SMs.
  • Control strategies that aim to improve efficiency, torque ripple and radial forces reduction, extended speed operation, and power factor improvement.
  • Machine learning used in SM control applications.
  • Modelling techniques of radial and tangential forces.
  • Fault-tolerant control strategies for SMs.

We can advance the field together!

Dr. Peter Azer
Dr. Ahmed Abdelrahman
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • synchronous motors
  • motor control
  • power electronics
  • electric machines

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

21 pages, 4230 KB  
Article
Magnetic Measurements of a Stator Core Under Manufacturing Influences and the Impacts on the Design Process of a Reluctance Synchronous Machine
by Martin Regnet, Michael Schmidt, Alejandro Valencia Pérez, Bernd Löhlein, Michael Reinlein, Armin Dietz, Johannes Germishuizen and Nejila Parspour
Machines 2025, 13(9), 761; https://doi.org/10.3390/machines13090761 - 25 Aug 2025
Viewed by 908
Abstract
The magnetic properties of electrical steel sheets, crucial for efficient electrical machine performance, deteriorate through manufacturing processes. This study investigates the impact of different manufacturing steps on magnetization behavior and specific core losses in M270-50A electrical steel, and their influence on the performance [...] Read more.
The magnetic properties of electrical steel sheets, crucial for efficient electrical machine performance, deteriorate through manufacturing processes. This study investigates the impact of different manufacturing steps on magnetization behavior and specific core losses in M270-50A electrical steel, and their influence on the performance of a reluctance synchronous machine (RSM). Magnetic measurements were conducted on three material states: laser-cut strips, assembled stator cores, and press-fitted stator cores. These were integrated into finite element analysis (FEA) models, including an extended two-region stator model that separates yoke and tooth regions to reflect different manufacturing effects. Simulations examined torque characteristics and flux linkage under various loading conditions and were validated using a prototype machine. The findings of magnetic measurements indicate that manufacturing-induced stresses significantly increase magnetization demand and core losses—up to 650% and 53%, respectively. These effects lead to a 4.2% reduction in maximum air gap torque and notable changes in torque characteristic curves and d-axis flux linkage maps. Including realistic magnetic data yielded torque predictions closely aligned with experimental results and reduced discrepancy in core loss simulation by more than 50%. The study’s findings indicate that accounting for manufacturing influences in material characterization enhances modeling accuracy and enables optimized electrical machine designs and control strategies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Control Strategies for Magnet-Free Synchronous Motors)
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