Improvement of synchronous reluctance motor design through finite-element analysis

The key-points in the design of synchronous reluctance motors are first evidenced and discussed, that is the choice of rotor type, the stator-rotor joint design, the optimization of the rotor structure. A purposely-designed finite-element code is then introduced and validated, on the basis of properly obtained experimental data. Measured and computed torques are compared, with emphasis on the evaluation of the torque ripple. Last, the FEM code is used to illustrate some aspects of the stator/rotor design and to show the torque-ripple performance of different types of machine structure.