Design of Permanent Magnet-Assisted Synchronous Reluctance Motors Made Easy

Electric motor design is a multi-variable problem which involves geometric dimensions of the stator and rotor. Presenting a unique solution for a family of optimization criteria has always been a challenge for motor designers. Several numerical tools such as finite element methods (FEM) have been developed to perform a precise analysis and predict the outcome of the design. However, limits in parametric analysis as well as mathematical and computational burden on numerical tools usually prohibit the designer in obtaining a unique solution for the design problem. These limits and demands in optimized solutions motivate the designer to use analytical models in order to perform a comprehensive parametric design. An accurate analytical model is crucial for this purpose. In this paper, an analytical model for permanent magnet assisted synchronous reluctance motor (PMa- SynRM) with four flux barriers and one cutout per pole is developed. Flux densities are found in the air gap, in the cutouts, and in the flux barriers; thus, the back-EMF developed by the permanent magnets is derived. Equations for the d-axis and the q-axis inductances are also obtained. Electromagnetic torque is finally derived using the co-energy method. The developed analytical model highlights the contribution of the reluctance variation and permanent magnets on the developed torque. Simulation results are obtained using both Matlab and Ansoft/Maxwell packages. These outcomes are supported by the experimental results obtained from a laboratory test bed.