Evaluation of 3rd harmonic component effects in 5-phase synchronous reluctance motor drive using time stepping finite element method

It has been reported that interaction of the 3^rd harmonic magnetic field with the 3^rd harmonic current in a five-phase synchronous reluctance motor (SynRM) can produce additional torque. However, it is still not clear about the SynRM power factor and its impact to the associated power converter because of the 3^rd harmonic components. Using time stepping finite element method (FEM), a mathematical model of the SynRM, which allows any desired harmonic component in computation, is presented. Performance of the five-phase SynRM with two rotor structures has been computed. The study finds that the contribution of the 3^rd harmonic current to the output torque depends on the rotor structures. It is also shown that the required terminal voltage to regulate the desired current waveform is substantially increased, a result not reported before