Modeling and identification of an electrostatic motor

The present study describes modeling and parameter identification for a high-power electrostatic motor. The motor is a synchronous motor with six phases that is modeled by a six-terminal capacitance network. A method to measure the capacitance coefficient matrix of a network using an LCR tester is proposed and demonstrated. The thrust force of the motor is shown analytically using the proposed model, which shows good agreement with empirical measurements of the motor behavior. Based on the proposed model, the effect of electrode skew is analyzed for force ripple reduction. Using the analysis, a skew motor is fabricated and tested, with the results demonstrating that a skewing electrode with a skew factor π can considerably reduce thrust force ripple.