Synchronous Reluctance Motor vs. Induction Motor at Low-Power Industrial Applications: Design and Comparison

Abstract

Although three-phase induction motors are the most common motor type in industry, a growing interest has arisen in emerging electric motor technologies like synchronous reluctance motors and permanent magnet motors. Synchronous reluctance motors are a step forward compared to permanent magnet motors when the cost of the system is considered. The main focus of this study is low-power industrial applications, which generally use three-phase induction motors. In this study, the synchronous reluctance motor family is compared at three different power levels: 2.2 kW, 4 kW, and 5.5 kW. The aim of this study is to design and compare synchronous reluctance motors, which can be alternative to the reference induction motors. Finite element analysis is performed for the reference induction motors initially. Their stators are kept the same and the rotors are redesigned to satisfy output power requirements of the induction motors. Detailed design, analysis, and optimization processes are applied to the synchronous reluctance motors considering efficiency, power density, and manufacturing. The results are evaluated, and the optimized designs are chosen for each power level. They are prototyped and tested to measure their performance.

Performance Analysis of Synchronous Reluctance Motor with Limited Amount of Permanent Magnet

“…where the subscripts d and q represent the dand q-axis, respectively, i d and i q are the currents, λ d and λ d are the flux linkages, R s is the phase resistance, and ω is the electrical angular speed. Equations (1) and (2) are general voltage equations for synchronous machines. To be applied to the two types of motors mentioned above, the flux linkages λ d and λ q in (1) and (2) need to be further discussed since the PMs are arranged differently in these two types of motors.…”

“…Equations 1and (2) are general voltage equations for synchronous machines. To be applied to the two types of motors mentioned above, the flux linkages λd and λq in (1) and (2) need to be further discussed since the PMs are arranged differently in these two types of motors.…”

“…The synchronous reluctance motor (SynRM), with its robustness, high overload capability and low cost, has become a popular research target for many years [1][2][3][4]. However, the relatively lower torque/power density and power factor are the inherent disadvantages of SynRMs [5][6][7] compared to a permanent magnet synchronous machine (PMSM).…”

Synchronous Reluctance Machines for Automotive Cooling Fan Systems: Numerical and Experimental Study of Different Slot-Pole Combinations and Winding Types

“…Synchronous reluctance machines (SynRMs) with distributed windings (DW) have already proven to be a serious competitor for other magnet-free topologies (e.g., induction machines-IMs) [1,2]. Not the same can be said about their concentrated windings (CW) variant, where research activities are rather scarce [3,4].…”

The Measurement of Additional Losses in Induction Motors: Discussion about the Actually Achievable Uncertainty

“…Due to the number of quantities to be measured when applying the indirect method, some critical issues can arise when estimating relative uncertainties. This analysis has implications both in terms of the measurement procedure and in terms of the instrumentation to be adopted [4][5][6][7][8][9][10]. In this paper, a summary of the evolution of the IEC standards, which has led to the current version of IEC 60034-2-1, is presented.…”