Search Results (32)

Electric mountain bikes (eMTBs) demand compact, high-torque motors capable of handling steep terrain and variable load conditions. Surface-mounted permanent magnet synchronous motors (SPMSMs) are widely used in this application due to their simple construction, ease of manufacturing, and cost-effectiveness. However, SPMSMs inherently lack reluctance torque, limiting their torque density and performance at high speeds. While interior PMSMs (IPMSMs) can overcome this limitation via reluctance torque, they require complex rotor machining and may compromise mechanical robustness. This paper proposes a surface-inset PMSM topology as a compromise between both approaches—introducing reluctance torque while maintaining a structurally simple rotor. The proposed motor features inset magnets shaped with a tapered outer profile, allowing them to remain flush with the rotor surface. This geometric configuration eliminates the need for a retaining sleeve during high-speed operation while also enabling saliency-based torque contribution. A baseline SPMSM design is first analyzed through finite element analysis (FEA) to establish reference performance. Comparative simulations show that the proposed design achieves a 20% increase in peak torque and a 33% reduction in current density. Experimental validation confirms these findings, with the fabricated prototype achieving a torque density of 30.1 kNm/m³. The results demonstrate that reluctance-assisted torque enhancement can be achieved without compromising mechanical simplicity or manufacturability. This study provides a practical pathway for improving motor performance in eMTB systems while retaining the production advantages of surface-mounted designs. The surface-inset approach offers a scalable and cost-effective solution that bridges the gap between conventional SPMSMs and more complex IPMSMs in high-demand e-mobility applications. Full article

In this study, an axial flux double airgap permanent magnet-assisted synchronous reluctance motor (AF-Pma-SynRM) was designed for electric vehicles (EVs). The AF-Pma-SynRM model employs a forced liquid cooling method (cooling jacket) for a high current density. The model was tested using multi-objective optimization and multi-physics analysis. The AF-Pma-SynRM design has achieved 95.6 Nm of torque, 30 kW of power, and 93.8% efficiency at a 3000 rpm rated speed. The motor exhibits a maximum speed of 10,000 rpm, 253.1 Nm of torque, and 65 kW of output power. This study employs a novel barrier structure for axial motors characterized by fixed outer and inner dimensions, and is suitable for mass production. In the final stage, the motor was cooled using the cooling jacket method, and the average temperature of the winding was measured as 73.83 °C, and the average magnet temperature was 66.44 °C at a nominal power of 30 kW. Also to show variable speed performance, an efficiency map of the AF-Pma-SynRM is presented. Full article

This paper proposes a novel nine-phase ferrite-assisted synchronous reluctance machine (FA-SynRM) featuring skewed stator slots to address challenges related to harmonic distortion, torque ripple, and material sustainability which are prevalent in conventional permanent magnet-assisted synchronous reluctance motors (PMa-SynRMs). Existing PMa-SynRMs often suffer from increased torque ripples and harmonic distortion, while reliance on rare-earth materials raises cost and sustainability concerns. To address these issues, the proposed design incorporates low-cost ferrite magnets embedded within the rotor flux barriers to achieve a flux-concentrated effect and enhanced torque production. The nine-phase winding configuration is utilized to improve fault tolerance, reduce harmonic distortion, and enable smoother torque output compared with conventional three-phase counterparts. In addition, the skewed stator slot design further minimizes harmonic components, reducing overall distortion. The proposed machine is validated through finite element analysis (FEA), and experimental verification is obtained by measuring the inductance characteristics and back-EMF of the nine-phase winding, confirming the feasibility of the electromagnetic design. The results demonstrate significant reductions in harmonic distortion and torque ripples, verifying the potential of this design. Full article

To suppress current and torque ripples, this paper proposes a novel deadbeat predictive current control strategy based on an adaptive sliding mode observer for permanent magnet-assisted synchronous reluctance motor (PMa-SynRM) drives. The parameter sensitivity of predictive current control is analyzed, and a sliding mode observer is employed to calculate the parameter disturbances for voltage compensation. The predicted current is utilized instead of the sampled current to address the one-step delay issue, effectively suppressing the adverse effects of parameter mismatch in predictive control. The adaptive control parameter module suppresses the chattering phenomenon in sliding mode control and enhances the observer’s adaptability under varying load conditions. The effectiveness of the proposed strategy is validated on a 2.2 kW PMa-SynRM platform. This strategy can suppress current and torque fluctuations under complex operating conditions, which has significant implications for electric vehicle drive control. Full article

The rotor of a permanent magnet-assisted synchronous reluctance (PMA-Synrm) motor mostly adopts the structure of a multi-layer magnetic barrier and multi-layer ferrite, which leads to the design parameters of this kind of motor increase with the increase in the number of magnetic barrier layers. A large number of design parameters are coupled with each other, which makes the optimization design of a permanent magnet-assisted synchronous reluctance motor particularly difficult. In this paper, a 7.5 kW, 1500 rpm permanent magnet-assisted synchronous reluctance motor is taken as the research object, and the optimization design of parameter dimension reduction is studied. The rotor structure of the motor is a combination of five layers of magnetic barrier and five layers of ferrite. By using the parameter dimension reduction method proposed in this paper, the number of parameters involved in the optimization is reduced from 26 to 7, which greatly improves the optimization efficiency of this kind of motor and realizes the comprehensive global optimization design of a permanent magnet-assisted synchronous reluctance motor. This paper provides a reference for the optimization of a permanent magnet-assisted synchronous reluctance motor. Full article

Permanent Magnet assisted Synchronous Reluctance Motor (PMaSynRM) is widely used in electric vehicles, aerospace and other fields with its high speed range, high cost performance and so on. To improve the rotor position estimation accuracy of active flux observer which only uses voltage model or current model in the existing sensorless control methods of PMaSynRM, this paper proposes a sensorless control method of PMaSynRM based on the hybrid of voltage model and current model. In this paper, the definition of active flux is determined according to the mathematical model of PMaSynRM, and then the active flux observer is constructed. The observer includes voltage model and current model, and the proportional integral controller is added to the observer, and the current model is used as feedback compensation to realize the stable operation of the motor without position sensor. The simulation results show that the active flux observer can realize high position observation accuracy and achieve the stable operation of the PMaSynRM in a wide speed range. The proposed method can effectively improve the system load capacity and anti-interference ability. Full article

Permanent magnet-assisted synchronous reluctance motors (PMA-SynRMs) are widely used in various fields due to their significant advantages, including strong torque output, high efficiency, excellent speed regulation, and low cost. The PMA-SynRM with asymmetric-rotor structure has a weaker anti-demagnetization performance than the conventional PMA-SynRM due to its multi-layer and thin permanent magnets construction. According to the finite element (FEM) simulation analysis, the anti-demagnetization performance of the asymmetric-rotor PMA-SynRM can be improved by adding bypass magnetic bridges on the ribs of the flux barriers and by changing the positions of the permanent magnets. The rotor structure of the proposed model is globally optimized by combining the two methods. Anti-demagnetization performance is improved as much as possible under the premise of ensuring the torque performance of the basic model. After multi-objective optimization, there is almost no difference between the optimized model and the basic model in terms of no-load air-gap flux density, no-load Back-electromotive force (EMF), and average torque. The maximum demagnetization rate of the optimized model is reduced by 81.44% compared with the basic model, and the anti-demagnetization performance is significantly improved. At the same time, the torque ripple is also reduced by 44.14%, which is obviously reduced. Compared with the basic model, the optimized model has better stability and reliability. Full article

With the growing demand and projected shortage of rare earth elements in the near future, the urgent task of developing energy-efficient electrical equipment with less dependence on rare earth magnets has become paramount. The use of permanent magnet-assisted synchronous reluctance motors (PMaSynRMs), which reduce the consumption of rare earth magnets, can help solve this problem. This article presents a theoretical analysis of the characteristics of PMaSynRM in a subway train drive. Options with rare earth and ferrite magnets are considered. Optimization of the motor designs considering the train movement cycle is carried out using the Nelder-Mead method. Characteristics of the motors, such as losses, torque ripple, and inverter power rating, as well as the mass and cost of active materials, are compared. Full article

Permanent-magnet-assisted synchronous reluctance motors (PMA-SynRMs) are widely used in modern industry as a kind of electromagnetic energy conversion device with high output torque, high power density, high efficiency, and excellent speed regulation. In this paper, an asymmetric-rotor PMA-SynRM combined with a Halbach array is proposed based on the conventional PMA-SynRM without modifying the amount of permanent magnet. With the finite element no-load analysis, it is proven that the permanent magnet arrangement of this method can achieve better flux focusing effect and magnetic-axis-shift (MAS) effect. A significant increase and shift of the air-gap magnetic density has also been observed. Meanwhile, the load simulation demonstrated that the proposed model possesses higher utilization of permanent magnet torque and reluctance torque compared to the conventional model. In addition, a multi-objective optimization has been performed for the rotor structure of the proposed model, and the optimized model improved the average torque by 25.32% and reduced the torque ripple by 76.92% compared to the conventional model. Finally, the constant power speed range (CPSR) performance and anti-demagnetization performance have been analyzed for the three models. The results showed that the proposed and optimized models performed better on constant power speed range, and all three models of permanent magnets had good anti-demagnetization performance. The maximum demagnetization rate of the optimized model is reduced by 13.84% compared to the proposed model at an operating condition of 200 °C and nine times the rated current. Full article

Permanent magnet-assisted synchronous reluctance motors (PMA-SynRMs) are widely used in various industries as a relatively inexpensive and high-performance energy conversion device. The model proposed in this article relies on a magnetic pole-biased permanent magnet synchronous reluctance motor with a magnetic focusing effect. Two types of models with Halbach array and magnetic focusing effect have been proposed, which increase excitation and make the internal magnetic circuit of the rotor more saturated, thereby achieving higher electromagnetic torque. Through finite element simulation analysis and verification, the motor characteristics of the basic and proposed permanent magnet-assisted synchronous reluctance motor were calculated, including the air gap flux density and back electromotive force (EMF) in no-load analysis, as well as the average torque, torque ripple, and efficiency in load analysis. In addition, multi-objective optimization was also conducted on the rotor topology structure of proposed model two, using the uniform Latin hypercube sampling method to uniformly sample the data samples and the Pearson correlation coefficients to perform a sensitivity analysis on the data. The pilOPT multi-objective autonomous optimization algorithm was used to perform multi-objective autonomous optimization on parameters with high correlation, and the best-found solution based on the Pareto front was selected. Compared with proposed model two, the average torque of the optimized model increased by 18.14%, the efficiency increased by 1.05% and the torque ripple decreased by 5.22%. Finally, the anti-demagnetization performance of the optimized model’s permanent magnet was analyzed. Full article

In this paper, the impact of parameter matching on the steady-state performance of permanent magnet-assisted synchronous reluctance motors (PMaSynRM) under vector control is analyzed and discussed. First, based on the mathematical model of motors under the maximum torque per ampere (MTPA) control strategy, an analysis is conducted concerning two main parameters, i.e., the matching relationship between the back electromotive force (back-EMF) and the saliency ratio. The impact of these two parameters on the operational status of the motor is investigated. Then, the motor’s voltage operating conditions are examined, and the operating curve under minimum voltage is derived. Furthermore, in the overvoltage region under the MTPA control strategy, the operation of the motor under the maximum torque per voltage (MTPV) control strategy is explored. This analysis illuminated the patterns of influence exerted by the back-EMF and the saliency ratio on the motor’s voltage operating condition. Between these two control strategies, there remains scope for the motor to operate at its limits. An enhanced understanding of the effects of the back-EMF and saliency ratio within this range on motor performance was achieved, resulting in the optimal matching curve for the back-EMF and saliency ratio. Finally, a 45 kW PMaSynRM was designed, prototyped, and tested to validate the correctness of the design techniques, with the motor achieving IE5 efficiency. Full article

Permanent Magnet-Assisted Synchronous Reluctance Machines (PMASynRM) provide a low-cost alternative to Surface PM Machines due to the use of relatively lower grades of rare-earth (RE) or RE-free magnets, as the performance degradation due to weaker magnets is compensated by the presence of reluctance torque. However, the weaker magnets suffer from a high risk of demagnetization, leading to unreliable motor operation. Using a blend of RE and RE-free magnets has the potential to overcome this issue. This paper proposes to blend different grades of various rare-earth (RE) and rare-earth-free (RE-free) magnets in six different combinations and utilizes them in two-layer and three-layer U-shaped PMASynRM topologies with both eight-pole and six-pole variations. The rotor of the various designs is then optimized using a differential evolution (DE) based optimization algorithm to obtain low-cost designs with reduced RE magnet volume and minimum demagnetization risk. The optimization of each design is also integrated with the evaluation of mechanical stresses in the rotor laminations so as to maintain the stresses below the material yield strength. Furthermore, the various performance metrics, such as toque–speed/power–speed characteristics, demagnetization, and efficiency maps, are evaluated for each of the optimized and mechanically feasible designs. A quantitative comparison of the various optimized designs is also obtained to highlight the various trade-offs. The results indicate the feasibility of meeting the baseline torque requirement across the entire speed range, even with a 100% reduction in RE magnet volume and less than 5% demagnetization risk, while achieving a cost reduction exceeding 50%. Moreover, the two-layer, eight-pole designs exhibit relatively higher performance, whereas the three-layer, eight-pole designs are found to be the most economical option. Full article

Based on the complex structural characteristics of permanent magnet-assisted synchronous reluctance motors (PMA-SynRMs), this paper proposes a multi-objective optimization design method for the motor using a composite algorithm. Firstly, the power density, electromagnetic torque, cogging torque, and torque fluctuation coefficient were used as optimization targets based on parametric analysis data of 14 motor structure variables, where parametric sensitivity analysis helped select eight optimization variables. Secondly, the motor prediction model was fitted using the genetic algorithm–back propagation (GA-BP) neural network. Finally, non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm-III (NSGA-III), based on the reference points, was used to find the optimization of the prediction model and complete the multi-objective optimization design of the external rotor PMA-SynRM with eight inputs and four outputs. A comparative analysis of the electromagnetic performance of the motor before and after optimization verifies the feasibility of optimizing the motor using the composite algorithm. This paper provides an analytical tool for the multi-parameter and multi-objective PMA-SynRM optimization design. Full article

At present, the induction motor (IM), synchronous reluctance motor (SynRM), ferrite-assisted synchronous reluctance motor (ferrite-assisted SynRM) and interior permanent magnet motor (IPM) are research hotspots, but comprehensive comparative research on the four motors is still rare. This paper mainly compares the four motors from the aspects of electromagnetic performance, material cost and temperature distribution. Firstly, the volume of the four motors is ensured to be the same. The influence of the rotor design parameters of the SynRM, ferrite-assisted SynRM and IPM on the electromagnetic properties of the machine is analyzed. Secondly, based on the effects of each parameter, the overall design parameters of the four motors are determined. The electromagnetic performance, material cost and temperature of the four motors are compared and discussed. Finally, the comparison results are summarized, and the advantages of the four motors are analyzed. In different applications, the electromagnetic performance, heat dissipation and cost requirements of the four motors are different. Therefore, this paper makes a comprehensive comparison of the four motors to provide a reference for the selection of motors for different applications. Full article

An intelligent servo drive system for a permanent magnet-assisted synchronous reluctance motor (PMASynRM) that can adapt to the control requirements considering the motor’s nonlinear and time-varying natures is developed in this study. A recurrent wavelet fuzzy neural network (RWFNN) with intelligent backstepping control is proposed to achieve this. In this study, first, a maximum torque per ampere (MTPA) controlled PMASynRM servo drive is introduced. A lookup table (LUT) is created, which is based on finite element analysis (FEA) results by using ANSYS Maxwell-2D dynamic model to determine the current angle command of the MTPA. Next, a backstepping control (BSC) system is created to accurately follow the desired position in the PMASynRM servo drive system while maintaining robust control characteristics. However, designing an efficient BSC for practical applications becomes challenging due to the lack of prior uncertainty information. To overcome this challenge, this study introduces an RWFNN as an approximation for the BSC, aiming to alleviate the limitations of the traditional BSC approach. An enhanced adaptive compensator is also incorporated into the RWFNN to handle potential approximation errors effectively. In addition, to ensure the stability of the RWFNN, the Lyapunov stability method is employed to develop online learning algorithms for the RWFNN and to guarantee its asymptotic stability. The proposed intelligent backstepping control with recurrent wavelet fuzzy neural network (IBSCRWFNN) demonstrates remarkable effectiveness and robustness in controlling the PMASynRM servo drive, as evidenced by the experimental results. Full article