Experimental comparison of PM assisted synchronous reluctance motors

This paper describes the results of various experimental tests carried out on synchronous reluctance motors with different rotor geometries. The impact of the assistance of Ferrite permanent magnet (PM) inset in the flux-barriers is considered: PM assisted reluctance motors are compared to synchronous reluctance motors, highlighting the main benefits of the former solution. The effect of the rotor skewing and of adopting asymmetric geometries of the flux barriers to reduce the torque ripple is investigated by means of several tests. The impact of the lamination is also considered, as far as the overload capability is concerned. Besides the experimental tests, a finite element model is adopted to predict the performance of the motors. The results are compared with the experimental ones in a wide operating range, showing a good agreement.