Reduction of torque ripple in synchronous reluctance motor by combining different flux barrier structures

Abstract

A synchronous reluctance motor (SynRM) is an inexpensive variable-speed motor that is receiving increased attention as a rare-earth-free motor. However, a concern regarding such motors is them having a high torque ripple, which generates undesirable noise and vibration. The focus of this study is to minimize the torque ripple of a SynRM by combining different flux barrier structures in the rotor. The effects of various flux barrier configurations on the motor’s torque performance were examined, and two different flux barrier structures were combined by lamination in an asymmetric rotor structure. Further, the rotor was constructed by stacking two different rotor laminations with different flux barrier structures. The torque performance of the proposed SynRMs was evaluated using the two-dimensional finite element method.