Calculation of induced rotor current in induction motors using a slotted semi-analytical harmonic model

Recently, strong improvements have been made in the applicability of harmonic modeling techniques for electrical machines with slotted structures. Various implementations for permanent magnet motors and actuators have been investigated and applied in design and optimization tools. For the slotted structure of induction motors (IMs), however, the method has not been investigated very extensively yet. The main reasons for this are the complexity involved with modeling the large number of stator and rotor slots and the issues arising with the calculation of the induced rotor bar currents. In this work, a slotted harmonic model is implemented for a benchmark IM topology and a method to calculate the induced rotor bar current is investigated. The calculation results are validated by comparison to Finite Element simulations. It is shown that a good agreement is obtained for unsaturated operating conditions.