DESIGN CRITERIA OF HIGH PERFORMANCE SYNCHRONOUS RELUCTANCE MOTORS A . V a g a t i , (member), G.Franceschini, I. Marongiu, G. P. T r o g l i a , Tech.

U n i v e r s i t y o f T o r i n o U n i v e r s i t y of Parma University of C a g l i a r i I s o f l u x Servomotors, A s t i (Italy) (Italy) (Italy) (Italy)

Abstract- A general design approach i s presented, f o r synchronous reluctance servomotors. The choice of the rotor's s t r u c t u r e i s extensively discussed and t h e most suitable solution i s analyzed in detail. Optimization algorithms are given, regarding minimization of t h e q-axis f l u x and maximization of torque, at given outside diameter and power dissipation capability. Expected r e s u l t s are discussed and compared with t h e state-of-the-art. 1.INTRODUCTION Although t h e synchronous reluctance concept i s very old 111, a renewed interest i s grown in recent years on t h i s machine [3-141, with reference t o electronically controlled drives. I t has been shown [6,11,141 t h a t a larger torque-per-volume t h a n f r o m induction motor i s obtainable, provided t h a t t h e synchronous reluctance machine i s properly designed. In t h e field of high performance a.c. drives (machine-tool, robotics etc. P.M. synchronous (surface mounted) and induction motors are commonly adopted. The synchronous reluctance motor should provide a low cost alternative t o P.M. solution, while maintaining t h e i.m. f l u x weakening f e a t u r e . A t t h i s aim t h e synchronous reluctance motor's torque-per-volume has t o be maximized. In t h i s paper t h e main problems related t o t h e design of such a machine are considered, with particular attention t o servomotor applications. 2. STATOR STRUCTURE Being t h e s t a t o r ' s purpose t o produce a sinusoidally distributed m.m.f. wave, i t s s t r u c t u r e i s practically t h e same as f o r a n induction motor. A little difference can be found in an increased c a r e t o avoid belt harmonics, because in t h e synch. rel. motor t h e r o t o r dumping action on these harmonics i s absent. Neglecting s l o t effect, t h e "ideal" phase conductor's distribution would be t h e one reported in Fig.1: only f i r s t and "triplen" harmonics are present and t h e m.m.f. increase with respect t o a purely sinusoidal distribution i s 2 / h . W e will r e f e r t o t h i s distribution in t h e followings.

usual f o r high performances machines. If possible, r o t o r skewing is preferred, not t o compromise automatic winding facilities.

3 CHOICE OF ROTOR STRUCTURE .

Generally speaking, t h e main design goal i s t o obtain both high "Ld" and low "Lq" values: at t h i s aim t h e direct-axis flux must flow into t h e whole r o t o r ' s surface while t h e quadrature-axis f l u x wouldn't flow at all. The l a t t e r goal is clearly impossible t o obtain, while t h e former one leads t o drop-out a simple "salient pole" s t r u c t u r e like in Fig. 2,a). A s regards t h e q-axis f l u x rejection, i t i s mandatory t h a t different magnetic potentials are allowed f o r t h e r o t o r iron: a s a consequence, t h e r o t o r must be magnetically divided among many "segments". W e will only consider r o t o r ' s s t r u c t u r e s whose number of segments per pole pair i s odd, because of s h a f t embedding facilities. In Fig. 2,b) and c), one and two insulating layers per pole s t r u c t u r e s a r e shown, respectively. If t h e number of such layers i s greatly increased, a distributed anisotropy s t r u c t u r e i s obtained, a s in Fig. 2.d).

C)

d)

Fig. 2. Shematic of r o t o r s t r u c t u r e s (two poles).

/
I

Let us observe t h a t t h e so called "axially laminated" s t r u c t u r e [2-31 may be d i f f e r e n t f r o m t h e distributed anisotropy one [5,10,131, because of the different distribution of t h e non-magnetic material. 3.1. Slotless s t a t o r segmented r o t o r analysis.

\' s, I

',

- -n
2

- -n
6

n 6

z . 2

Fig.1. Ideal conductor distribution of one phase.

A s regards reduced by

s l o t s harmonics, they a r e normally strongly skewing or other equivalent solutions, a s i s

Let us r e f e r t o a slotless s t a t o r and generalized segmented rotor machine. Because of our hypotheses, the t o t a l m.m.f. applied t o t h e r o t o r is, in t h i s case, exactly sinusoidal. Magnetic s a t u r a t i o n i s disregarded. Let us r e f e r t o q-axis m.m.f. only be appla.rl. t h e situation i s reported in Fig.3, f o r a two pole machine. Let us r e f e r t o t h e k-th segment: t h e mean p.u. value of the applied m.m.f. i s indicated by fk, while the r o t o r p.u. reaction potential i s r k . The "rotor slots" opening has been disregarded f o r simplicity. Two f l u x components can be identified: t h e "flowing through" component which e n t e r s

@7803&34-1/92$03.00

QIEEE

66

ak

ak+l

Fig. 3. k-th segment and related p.u. distributions. a) the segment and the circulating component across t h e air g a p (shaded a r e a l . On t h e other hand, when a d-axis m.m.f. i s applied t o t h e rotor, no r o t o r reaction i s present and a sinusoidal induction distribution i s produced. By reference t o inductances, Eqs.(l)-(4) a r e valid, f o r a general 2p-pole machine: a i s a n electrical angle.
TI

b)

Fig. 4. Low r o t o r iron losses structures. work is reported here, as Eq.(7). These additional losses are enhanced in the r o t o r by t h e s t a t o r toothing: Eq.(7) gives t h e r o t o r t o s t a t o r iron losses ratio. This r a t i o depends on t h e r a t i o of r o t o r t o s t a t o r iron volumes, t h e slot-per-pole-phase number q and the permeance oscillation t e r m 11/10 due t o teeth (F(q)e .5). Let us observe t h a t skewing doesnt reduce these losses, in practice 161. The so calculated losses and t h e measured ones were in a reasonably good agreement.

Ldm=

c o n s t . .J

c o s 2 a doc = const:n

(1)

-n n
Lqc= const. .J
-TI TI

sina [sina-f(a)lda

(2)

Lqf= const.

.J s i n a [ f ( a ) - r ( a ) l d a
-TI

(3)

-= - : [
Pr

Vi-

F ( q ) q2(

Ps

vs

z 12]

(7)

Lqrn= Lqc+

Lqf

(4)

3.3. The chosen structure.

Being f ( a ) and r ( a ) staircase functions, i t i s easy t o obtain [SI Eqs. (5) and (6): the sums a r e performed on half a pole.

(5)

(6) Eq. ( 5 ) i s valid provided t h a t t h e a i r gap can be considered a s a constant on the whole periphery: if not, another relationship should be derived. Let u s observe t h e r a t i o ( 5 ) depend only on number and width of t h e r o t o r segments: if this number i s greatly increased this r a t i o tends t o zero. In other words, t h e r a t i o (5) is null in the case of a distributed anisotropy r o t o r (Fig. 2,d). Anyway, i t is shown in [SI t h a t a two-layer-per-pole structure like the one in Fig.5 exhibits a r a t i o equal t o ,027 only. A s concerns t h e r a t i o (6). a direct calculation i s not possible, because the r k p.u. potentials have t o be f i r s t l y determined [SI. Anyway, t h i s r a t i o is poorly affected by the segment number and mainly depends on t h e total amount of insulating material embedded into the rotor. From the above considerations i t should be concluded t h a t t h e best solution i s t h e distributed anisotropy rotor, once i t s mechanical problems a r e solved.
3.2. Slotted s t a t o r , distributed anisotropy rotor.

iron losses consists in using a segmented rotor structure, whose segments a r e properly related t o t h e s t a t o r toothing as illustrated in Fig. 4. Both t h e shown s t r u c t u r e s have been experimented in practice [61. In t h e followings,we will r e f e r t o t h e b) s t r u c t u r e only, f o r simplicity. In other words, we will consider segmented r o t o r structures f o r which the rotors slot pitch is equal t o (or multiple o f ) the s t a t o r s one. A simple example i s shown in Fig. 5, where t h e equivalent circuit i s also reported, whose solution gives the ri and r2 rotors magnetic potentials t o be used in (6). Aas i s t h e (electrical) angle related t o one s t a t o r tooth pitch, g i s the airgap length, kc the Carter coefficient. Sk, Ik a r e the equivalent width and depth of t h e k-th layer.

A practical solution which greatly reduces t h e r o t o r

3.4. Simplified analvsis.

u v

Fig. 5. Example of per-unit equivalent circuit.

The above conclusion is different i f a practical slotted s t r u c t u r e is considered, together with a d.a. rotor. Large iron losses have been found in this case by experiment l6,91. Furthermore, a simplified mathematical model of these losses has been presented recently [131, valid for a two-pole machine. The final equation of t h a t

Coming back t o Eq.(6), this can be modified in order t o give an approximated solution which doesnt need t o solve f o r a n equivalent circuit. In practice,the p.u. r o t o r magnetic potential r k doesnt differ very much f r o m t h e applied p.u. m.m.f. fk. This is t r u e no matter the pole number is. number i s o r the stators slot-per-pole-phase

67

This consideration will be used t o simplify (6) By introducing t h e "flux" (pk as in Eq.(8) (see also Fig.51, Eq.(6) can be w r i t t e n as in (9).
(pk

= (fk- r k ) - A d Acts

(8)

Eq.19) can be modified by introducing t h e increment Afkzfk-fk-1 and t h e internal fluxes (pw-i between adjacent segments, which are proportional t o Afk, if t h e airgap drop i s disregarded. After some passages, Eq. (10) is found, where s k / l k i s t h e p.u. permeance of t h e k-th layer and r i s t h e r o t o r ' s radius.

Fig.6. Realistic shape of a n optimized f o u r pole (p=2) two

slots-per-pole-phasemachine(q=2).
(10) o t h e r hand, (14) clearly states t h e importance of t h e parameter la, which in t u r n depends on r and lyr. A s a consequence, t h e r o t o r cannot be optimized by itself, but s t a t o r and r o t o r laminations have t o be optimized as a whole. This will be done in t h e followings. A t l a s t , l e t u s observe t h a t Eq. (14) would give infinity, in t h e limit case of a solid (isotropic) rotor. This i s clearly due t o t h e previously made approximation of disregarding t h e m.m.f. drop on the airgap. The e r r o r i s very poor, f o r a practical case, but a reasonable correction i s t o modify (14) as in (151, which gives 1 f o r t h e solid rotor.

A s r e g a r d s t h e layer's shape, i t i s also possible t o find

a n approximated optimization procedure. Once t h e r o t o r radius "1"' and t h e s h a f t radius "a" are given, t h e t o t a l allowed non magnetic length along t h e q-axis (r-a) h a s t o be split into magnetic (lyr) and non magnetic (la) lengths. lyr depends on t h e d-axis flux: if t h i s i s given, la also i s given and t h e constraint (11) holds. in order t o I t i s then possible t o calculate Ik(sk), minimize Eq.(lO). By substituting t h e constraint (11) into (10) and equating t o zero i t s p a r t i a l derivatives with respect t o lk(k=1,2, ...,n-1). t h e system (12) i s obtained, whose solution i s straightforward.

(11)

a(-)

Sk

-a--

Ldm

Sn

A f t + -

AfE=O

(12)

Ik

Being k a n d j two generic segments, t h e condition f o r minimum reduces t o (13). By substitution of (13) into (101, Eq. (14) i s found a f t e r some passages. Afk (13)

Ik

Coming back t o t h e circulating flux,let us remember t h a t Eq.5 h a s been derived f o r a slotless s t a t o r structure. If s t a t o r ' s s l o t s are considered, as in t h i s case, t h e m.m.f. applied by the s t a t o r becomes a near-to-staircase function too. In addition, i t s shape i s continuously changing, with respect t o d,q axes, as t h e motor rotates. Being s t a t o r and r o t o r pitches equal, t h e two extreme situations a r e easily found, as depicted in Fig.7. In t h e situation a) s t a t o r and r o t o r teeth are in phase: t h e circulating f l u x nearly vanishes and flowing-through f l u x only i s present, whose amount i s calculated through (15) On t h e contrary, when situation b) occurs, t h e t e e t h are in q u a d r a t u r e and a circulating f l u x larger than in t h e slotless case a r i s e s (shaded area). By comparison of Figs.3 and 7, b) i t can be seen by inspection t h a t t h e maximum circulating f l u x i s nearly twice t h a n t h a t in t h e slotless case. On t h e other hand, when considering a real (skewed) machine, these i t seems t o be a oscillations are averaged. Thus, reasonable approximation t o extend t h e Eq.(5) validity t o

Eq. (13) states t h a t t h e depth of a layer i s proportional t o t h e square root of i t s (equivalent) width and t o t h e applied m.m.f .. Being both quantities decreasing, going f r o m d t o q axis, t h e insulating material amount also must rapidly decrease. Of course, t h e practical application of (13) s t i l l requires some "trial and error" procedure, being s k a n "equivalent" width, because of t h e not constant layer's depth. A s example, f o r a four-pole, two slot-per-pole-phase machine, such a procedure leads t o t h e shape qualitatively shown in Fig. 6. The corresponding (X-1' value in (14) i s about 0.6: I t leads t h a t a Lqf/Ldm value of 0.04 i s obtainable, with an a i r g a p value which is normal f o r induction motors. On t h e

a)

b)

Fig. 7. q-axis f l u x oscillation in t h e slotted case.

t h e slotted case, in order t o calculate t h e "average" e f f e c t of t h e circulating f l u x component in increasing t h e q-axis inductance. Being the layer number related t o the s t a t o r slots-per-pole-phase q , Eq. (51, now, depends on q. 4. OVERALL DESIGN Let u s consider as main goal the maximization of the available torque, once t h e power dissipation capability i s given. Moreover, l e t u s r e f e r t o stall torque, as i t i s usual f o r servomotors: as a consequence, iron loss will be neglected, in t h i s optimization procedure. Our aim i s t o approximately define s t a t o r and r o t o r lamination shapes. Once t h e s t a t o r radius R i s given, t h e r o t o r ' s radius r and t h e "design" induction value at t h e airgap a r e t h e main degrees of freedom. 4.1. Torque calculation and related hvpotheses. The torque can be written as in (16). The kdq parameter (17) comes f r o m t h e previous analysis (5),(15). Stator s t r a y inductance i s not considered here, because i t doesn't a f f e c t t h e torque: of course, a practical design must deal with t h i s subject too.

linear function of id. In presence of saturation cross interaction between d and q axes occurs and a demagnetizing e f f e c t a r i s e s at high current values. A t t h e present aim, this interaction will be disregarded. This can be acceptable in r a t e d conditions, because every c a r e h a s been taken in reducing t h e q-axis inductance, but during overload the e f f e c t would not be negligible. Anyway, owing t o t h i s hypothesis, the simple relationship (22) can be written. We've indicated as ks a n additional coefficient, which i s used t o account f o r iron drops, as discussed later.

(22)

b = Bd/Bfe

x = r/R

(23)

(16)

As -'2 2
nRz

' 2
kj

(Bre/po) z kc k s g

bz

(24)

nz R KCU 1

(17)

The d-axis f l u x linkage Ad i s easily written as (181, in t e r m s of t h e d-axis peak value Bd of the f i r s t harmonic a i r g a p induction wave. Harmonics enhanced by saturation have no e f f e c t on Ad, because of the Fig.1 winding distribution. The pole span i s assumed n wide, N i s t h e turns-per-phase number. Evidence has been given t o p.u. airgap induction Bd/Bfe and p.u. rotor radius r/R; Bfe i s t h e base induction value, (Bo/Bfe).(r/R) is a p.u. flux.

(18)

From (18), (191, ( 2 0 ) and (22) Eq. (16) i s easily transformed into (24). The t w o "degrees of freedom" a r e t h e p.u. induction b and the p.u. radius x (23).Let us observe t h e subtractive t e r m in (24) has a meaning of "magnetizing area": t h i s gives t h e "loss of slot area" due t o magnetizing. Before performing t h e optimization i t i s s t i l l necessary t o define AS and kdq as functions of b and x. A s concerns AS, w e can proceed as follows. The induction wave in t h e "yokes" can be considered t o be nearly sinusoidal because harmonics a r e dumped out by t h e integrating effect. The maximum value of t h a t wave is chosen as reference induction value Bfe. On t h e other hand, being t h e teeth normally overloaded in t h e design, a "reduction coefficient" of t h e teeth width kt i s introduced. Eq. (25) i s so found, where I t i s the tooth length: constant width teeth have been supposed.

The torque current iq depends on the total allowed current io and t h e required magnetizing current id. Joule losses only being considered, t h e io current i s easily written as in (20). "AS" represents t h e whole slot a r e a , kcu t h e the winding overlength copper filling coefficient, I'/l coefficient and p t h e copper resistivity. The parameter kj represents the allowed power dissipation W r e f e r r e d t o the external active surface (21). The square root of the slot area "As" divided by nRz can be considered a s a p.u. current.

As -=-

nR2

"[

It
2--R

2 b x (kt + l/p)

(25)

A s r e g a r d s the kdq coefficient (5)a r e used t o obtain Eq. (26).

in (241, Eqs. (17),(15) and

(20)

kj=

2nR1

(21)

Lqc/Ldm (depending on q only) i s clearly an input, as g.kc/R is. The squared sum in (26) doesn't depend on b o r x , but depends on p, a t a given la/R. I t can be shown t h a t t h e p.X2 t e r m slightly increases as p i s increased. The squared sum i s practically independent of q. Both It/R in ( 2 5 ) and la/R in (26) a r e functions of b and x , because of the geometrical constraints on s t a t o r (27) and r o t o r (28).
It

The relationship between id and Bd i s the more critical. Disregarding magnetic saturation, Bd would be simply a

+ lys = R

- r

(27)

69

la

+ lyr = r - a

(28)

I t i s possible to impose lys=lyr. This is clearly t r u e in linear conditions. If some saturation occurs, the r o t o r should be perhaps more affected, because the flux flows into many segments in parallel. However, at the present aim, equal widths seem t o be a reasonable approximation. Being t h e induction in the yoke considered as sinusoidal, Eq. (29) is valid, and (301, (31) are easily written.

ly R

b x =P

(29)

are: K, R, a / R and kc.g/R, where K i s given by (32). This t e r m regards the heat production and dissipation way. For a fixed external diameter, if the active length 1 i s increased kj decreases, because the r a t i o of total motor length on active length normally decreases. However, the r a t i o l'/l decreases too, in this case: as a consequence kj*I/l' doesn't vary so much. On the other hand, a t e m p e r a t u r e rise increases both kJ and p in a different way. A s example, the r a t i o ki/p increases of 20% as the overtemperature goes f r o m 100K t o 130'K. Once the maximum working t e m p e r a t u r e has been chosen, the p a r a m e t e r K (32) c a n represent a good measure of the thermic properties of a s e r i e s of motors. With reference t o a n industrial servomotor series (brushless), i t s value can be estimated about 1.7-105, f o r kcu=0.34.

(30)

(31)

4.2. Choice of input uarameters. Eqs. (241, (251, (26) and (31) clearly define a torque which i s a function of the t w o variables b and x, in addition t o a set of "input parameters". Let u s consider, at f i r s t , the choice of the reference induction Bfe. If ks=kt=l are posed, m.m.f. drops in the iron are disregarded. Consequently, the previous equations should define a machine f o r which the whole iron works at at maximum value of B f d . 9 5 T (if the "iron filling coefficient" i s .95, as example). The calculated torque in t h i s case can be "reasonable" or not, depending on the chosen Bfe value, and the related (disregarded) iron drops. This "linear procedure" cannot give a final design, but can be used all t h e same t o analyze in an easier way the torque sensitivity t o other design parameters, mainly t o x and b. On t h e other hand, if m.m.f. drops in the iron are t o be considered, the procedure can be as follows. For a given geometry (b,x) and given Bfe and kt, t h e magnetic problem i s defined and additional m.m.f. drops can be calculated, f o r example as proposed by Alger 1151. Yoke and r o t o r drops depend practically on Bfe, while teeth drop depends on kt too. This way, a k. 0 1 ) value i s found, in order t o still have the same airgap induction Bd as in t h e linear case. Of course, if torque optimization i s wonted, a "trial and error" procedure i s necessary and the problem must be solved by numerical methods. As regards T(x,b) optimization, once the pole pair and the r o t o r ' s shape are fixed, the parameters influencing optimum
~ ~ ~~

(32) 1' The torque (24) dependence on the radius R [ml shows the well known effect of motor's dimensions on magnetizing requirements. W e will chose 2R=0.115 [ml, which represents a medium size servomotor series ( 5+15 Nm, with reference t o brushless motors). The p.u. s h a f t diameter a/R i s normally chosen in order t o a reasonable range is avoid resonance frequencies: 0.2iO.25, depending on the maximum speed. The p.u. airgap kc*g/R depends on mechanical tolerances and slot opening: a practical range could be 0.007+0.01. A s regards t h e pole pair, i t s effect on the magnetizing c u r r e n t i s clearly shown in (24). Its effect on kdq i s more 2 involved, as seen,because p also is present in the ' t e r m (26). Taking into account the non-constant layer depth (Figi6) by suitable increase of the physical sk values, a p.X t e r m going f r o m 1.2 t o 1.5 can be roughly estimated, if p i s increased f r o m 2 t o 3. A s seen, t h e p a r a m e t e r Lqc/Ldm depends on the number of insulating layers per pole, which in t u r n depends on the slot-per-pole-phase number q. When the airgap i s not constant in the q-axis direction, as in Fig.6, Eq.5 should be slightly modified because of some reduction in the flux circulating across the q-axis. However, t h i s effect is very poor and can be neglected. (q=2) of Fig.6 gives By (51, t h e t h r e e layer structure lqc/Ldm= 0.023, while a corresponding four layers s t r u c t u r e (q=3) would give lqc/Ldrn=O.Ol. Of course, the effect on reactance is torque i s poor, but the overall q-axis decreased.

K = /kcu

kJ -!
P

4.3. Maximum toraue design. Let us show some numerical examples of the previously discussed procedure. We've chosen as reference case a medium size servomotor, whose parameters a r e listed in t h e

K
1.66.105 2,35.105

R ,0575

gkc/R .008

a/R .2

q
2

p 2

x
.503

T(Nm)
7.483 11.794 13.927 6.220 7.278 7.591 6.922

ly/R

lt/R

la/R

,503

.1265

.3705

. 1765

,500 . 5 8 6

. 1465 .3535 .1535

.1338

.0725
.012

.501 .524 .25

3 3

,534 .402 .482 .504 .426

.3652 .3707

. 1672
.2187

.lo53

.525 ,502 ,532

. 1265 . 3 4 8 5
,1265 ,0755 .3715 .3925

. 1485
.1755 .2565 __

TBL.l. Optimum t o r q u e d e s i g n a n d p a r a m e t e r s e n s i t i v i t y (1=.12 m ) .

70

f i r s t r o w of TBL.1. The reference induction Bre has been chosen equal t o 1.4 T. Although not strictly necessary, reference has been made t o a n axial active length 1=0.12 m. This t o give more physical insight into t h e results. In t h e second row a double power dissipation capability has been introduced. Although forced cooling is not used in servomotors, i t s effect on T and b values can be pointed out. The third row r e f e r s t o a larger outer diameter: t h e b value i s increased, because of the "stronger" m.m.f. Fourth row shows t h e inverse sensitivity t o a 50% increase in t h e equivalent airgap. The torque and b reduction due t o s h a f t increase a r e shown in f i f t h row. A q increase t o 3 produces a 1.5% torque increase, mainly due t o lower Lqc. In the case of a s i x poles machine, larger x and lower b a r e shown, f o r maximum torque: but t h e torque is lower than in t h e f o u r pole case. A general consideration about t h e shown results regards the quite low "optimal" p.u. rotor diameter, always near t o 0.5. The situation i s similar t o the case of a brushless motor, and quite different from the case of an induction motor: optimal p.u.rotor diameters of 0.6 o r more a r e common in t h i s case. In t h e synchronous reluctance motor, in f a c t , t h e x value comes f r o m a trade-off between low Lqc values (high x ) and large slot a r e a (low x): t h e l a t t e r requirements a c t s here in a stronger way. In other words, the "optimal" motor should have not so high Ldrn/Lqrn r a t i o but a lot of copper in the s t a t o r . Unfortunately, this leads t o high q-axis reactance. For the reference case in TBL.l, t h e Lqrn/Ldrn value i s 0.09. The s t a t o r slot reactance can be estimated, in t h i s case t o give a n additional contribute of 0.03. By adding t h e end connection contribute, a not so low value is reached: this can be double than in t h e case of a correspondent induction motor.

lower than optimum, t o reduce t h e consequently iron losses at high speed. b(x=.503)
.423

iron

volume

and

T/TO

.96 .99 1 .99 .97

,463
.503

,543
.583

TBL.3. Torque sensitivity t o detuning of b (given

XI.

3i0

x
,503

b
,503

T/To
1

.52 .54 .56 .58 .60 .62

.493 ,417 ,463 ,447 ,431 ,415

,998

,990 .919 Fig.8. Rated and overload vector diagrams. ,963 ,943 ,919
A t last, l e t us consider t h e overload condition. For a servomotor a current overload of t h r e e times i s considered t o be usual. In this case, a strong q-axis reaction arises and a more detailed analysis should be done. Anyway, a trade-off does exist between the r a t e d torque and the loss in t h e torque coefficient at high c u r r e n t values. This i s out of the aim of the present paper. Let u s observe here t h a t a machine designed t o give maximum r a t e d torque h a s a power factor which is lower than t h e maximum one (at a given current vector). During overload operation, if t h e q-component only of the current vector i s increased, t h e power f a c t o r firstly increases towards i t s maximum, before decreasing. The situation should be t h e one reported in Fig. 8. The r a t e d current vector r e f e r s t o TBL.1 ( f i r s t row1 design: s t a t o r s t r a y inductances a r e not considered. If y is t h e angle between current and flux vectors, sin7 varies f r o m 0.773 ( r a t e d ) t o 0.784 (overload 3). The maximum of s h y is, in this case, near t o 0.83. corresponding t o an overload f a c t o r of about 1.7. I t can be then concluded t h a t the siny and t h e related power f a c t o r maintain reasonable values f o r t h e usual overload range. If a different driving strategy is used, e.g. increasing both i g and id t o counteract the reaction effect, higher torque but lower power f a c t o r would be obtained.

TBL.2. Torque sensitivity t o detuning of x. For a practical design, i t is then interesting t o evaluate t h e sensitivity of the torque t o an increasing of the x value beyond the optimal one.This should allow a trade-off between a torque loss and a decreasing in q-axis reactance. With reference t o TBL.l f i r s t row parameters, some points of t h e T ( x ) function a r e reported in TBL.2. The imposed b value is the maximum torque one, f o r each given x. A s can be seen, f o r x values which a r e common f o r induction motors (0.6) the torque loss is about 5%. The q-axis reactance should be s t i l l superior than t h e induction motor one, because the magnetizing term Lqrn/Ldrn, although decreased, is s t i l l superior t o the corresponding induction motor term: t h e total reactance should be slightly less t h a n 1.5 the induction motor one, in this case. I t i s also useful t o evaluate t h e torque sensitivity t o detuning of b, at a given x. The results a r e reported in TBL.3: b i s moved across the optimum f o r t h e x value of 0.503. Let us observe t h e sensitivity be poor, f o r a quite large b interval. This suggests t o design at b values somewhat
71

a f u r t h e r decrease in t h e optimal x . Disregarding t h i s e f f e c t , we have introduced 0.5 mm r i b s in t h e TBL.l, f i r s t row "reference" case, by assuming Bs= 2 T. The obtained torque i s about 6.9 Nm, showing a torque loss of 8%. The same has been done f o r t h e TBL.1, s i x poles example, giving a loss of 177. because of (351. Even in t h e f o u r pole case, t h e torque loss i s not negligible, and any e f f o r t has t o be made in reducing t h e rib's width t o i t s mechanical minimum. On t h e other hand, serious practical problems may be found in cutting very thin ribs. A t last, with reference t o overload condition, l e t u s observe t h e rib's f l u x cannot increase because of t h e iron saturation. A s a consequence, t h e % torque loss i s lower, in t h i s case.
Fig. 9. Rib's profile.
6. CONCLUSIONS
5. MECHANICAL PROBLEMS

A t last, let us consider t h e problems related t o t h e r o t o r ' s mechanical ruggedness. Of course, t h e Fig.6 s t r u c t u r e i s not self-sustaining. The e a s i e r way t o built such a r o t o r in an industrial environment i s t o punch r o t o r laminations as a whole, leaving thin r i b s between adjacent segments. Of course, these r i b s will increase t h e q-axis f l u x and consequently lower t h e torque performance. Another way is t o proceed as before, then c a s t t h e r o t o r by a plastic material and finally machine-out t h e ribs. This way magnetic insulation i s preserved, but many non-magnetic disks have t o be placed axially t o prevent deformation: as a consequence, active length i s reduced. Coming back t o t h e easier solution (ribs) i t i s possible t o calculate approximately t h e torque loss due t o ribs, once t h e i r width is defined. With reference t o Fig.9, a s o f t profile i s chosen, mainly f o r mechanical reasons. The magnetic analysis i s very complicate because of non linearity, s t a t o r toothing, etc.. To verify a particular design, a f i n i t e element approach should be adopted. However, at t h e aim of obtaining rough r e s u l t s b u t of general validity, a simplified approach can be adopted. Provided t h a t sufficient q-axis m.m.f. i s applied, let us suppose all r i b s be s a t u r a t e d a t t h e same (known) induction value Bs and have t h e same width. A s a consequence, all r i b s should conduct t h e same flux, given by (33). Two f l u x paths in parallel per pole pair exist. Owing t o t h e Fig.1 "ideal winding", t h e additional contribute kr t o linked f l u x i s reported in (34).

The main problems related t o the design of a synchronous reluctance servomotor have been examined. The most suitable r o t o r s t r u c t u r e has been identified, among d i f f e r e n t alternatives. A simplified but general algorithm has been found, t o calculate t h e "internal" optimized anisotropy ratio. A "maximum torque" design has been illustrated in t h e design have general case: practical involvements of t h i s been pointed out and discussed. The conclusion i s t h a t a synchronous reluctance servomotor can be designed and produced, at a cost which isn't higher t h a n t h a t of a correspondent induction motor. The obtained torque, superior t o t h e induction motor one a [6,11,141, i s still slightly lower than that of correspondent rare-earth brushless motor. The reference case of TBL.l (plus .5 mm ribs) should give about 7 Nm: in t h e same volume, a commercial SmCo motor gives about 9 Nm. However, t h e synchronous reluctance servomotor should easily be flux-weakened, allowing f u r t h e r savings in iron losses at high speed and in t h e kVA requirements. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This research h a s been partially supported by t h e Italian Ministry of Scientific Research and National Research Council. The a u t h o r s a r e also grateful t o Isoflux Servomotors S.P.A. f o r t h e technical support. REFERENCES J. K. KOSTKO: " Polyphase reaction synchronous motor", Journal Amer. Inst. Elect. Engrs, !923, Vol 42, pp. 1162-1168. A. J.O. CRUICKSHANK, A.F. ANDERSON, R.W. MENZIE" Theory and performance of reluctance motors with axially laminated anisotropic rotors", Proc. IEE, July 1971. A.EL-ANTABLY, J.ZUBEK, "Proposed control s t r a t e g y f o r a cageless reluctance motor using terminal voltage and current", IEEE-IAS Annual Meeting, 1985. A. FRAlTA, A. VAGATI, "A reluctance motor drive f o r high dynamic performances applications", Conf. Rec. of IEEE-IAS Annual Meeting, Atlanta (USA), October 1987, pp. 295-302. A. FRATTA, A. VAGAT1,"Axially laminated reluctance motor: an analytical approach t o t h e magnetic behavior", Proceedings of International Conference on Electrical Machines, Pisa (Italy), September 1988, vol. 111, pp.1-6. A. FRATTA, A. VAGATI, F. VILLATA, "On t h e evolution of A.C. machines f o r spindle drive applications", Conf. Rec. of IEEE-IAS Annual Meeting, San Diego (USA), October 1989, pp.690-704. T. J.E. MILLER, C.COSSAR, A. J. HUTTON, "Design of a synchronous reluctance motor drive", Conf. Rec. of IEEE-IAS Annual Meeting, San Diego (USA), October 1989, pp. 122-127. A. FRATTA, A. VAGATI, F. VILLATA, "Design c r i t e r i a of
72

pwk = Bs w 1

(33)

hr =

-w fi
4

1 N Bs

(34)

The torque loss due t o r i b ' s flux can be then evaluated as in (351, f r o m (22). Let us observe t h i s loss i s proportional t o p2: t h i s strongly suggests not t o increase t h e pole number beyond four. Moreover, being this loss dependent on t h e magnetizing requirements, low magnetizing current designs should be less affected. AT =

3
2

p hr id =

4 (W
cl0

1 Bs) pz B (kc g ks) d

(35)

Eq. (35) i s proportional t o t h e r i b s width w, of course: t h i s depends on mechanical design, mainly on t h e maximum allowed speed. The optimization procedure previously described should also depend on t h e rib's presence: larger r o t o r diameters need, in f a c t , l a r g e r ribs, at a given speed. This should lead t o

l-

a n IPM machine suitable f o r field-weakened operation" Proceedings of International Conference on Electrical Machines, Boston (USA), August 1990, pp.1059-1065. I91 LONGYA XU, XINGYI XU, T.A. LIPO, D.W. NOVOTNY, "Vector control of a synchronous reluctance motor including saturation and iron losses", Conf. Rec. of IEEE-IAS Annual Meeting, Seattle (USA), October 1990, pp.359-364. [lo] DON PLATT, "Reluctance motor with strong r o t o r anisotropy", Conf. Rec. of IEEE-I AS Annual Meeting, Seattle (USA), October 1990, pp.225-229. 1111 T.A.LIP0, Synchronous reluctance machines: a viable alternative for A.C. drives?", 1nt.Conf. on the Evolution and Modern Aspects of Synchronous Machines, Zurich, 27-29 August 1991. [I21 D.A.STATON, T.J.E.MILLER, S.E.WOOD, "Optimization of t h e Synchronous Reluctance Motor Geometry", Electrical Machines and Drives Conference, London, Sept. 1991, IEE 341. I131 I.MARONGIU, A.VAGAT1, "Improved Modelling of a Distributed Anisotropy Synchronous Reluctance Machine", IEEE-IAS Annual Meeting, Dearborn (USA), Oct. 1991, pp. 359-364. (141 A. FRATTA, A VAGATI, "Synchronous Reluctance vs Induction Motor: a comparison", Int. PCIM Conference, Niirimberg, April 1992. I151 P.L.ALGER, "The nature of induction machines", Gordon and Breach, Science Publishers, 1965.

13