Torque ripple modeling of a permanent magnet synchronous motor

Permanent magnet synchronous motors feature high power density, high torque to inertia ratio and high conversion efficiency. These characteristics made them advantageous to use in specific applications such as robotics and traction. However, one of the major drawbacks of these motors is the torque ripple, being especially harmful when a high performance position and speed control is required. Usually, this effect can be reduced in the design stage, although several approaches to online reduction have been proposed. In this paper a mathematical model is proposed which calculates the torque based on an energy approach, allowing to incorporate the harmonic components of the torque. Simulation results show the performance of the proposed approach.