Novel dual-excitation self-commutating low speed reluctance motor

This paper presents a novel topology of Vernier motor for low speed and high torque applications. The motor has a doubly-toothed rotor sandwiched between the inside and outside stators. With six diodes connected to the stator windings, the motor is capable of self-commutating when working with the normal three-phase ac source for constant speed operation. In this paper, the configurations and the principles of operation of a 48.4r/min prototype motor are proposed, and the magnetic field distributions as well as the inductance parameters are analyzed by FEM. Besides, the influence of the configuration parameters on torque output is discussed.