Design and Analysis of an Axially Laminated Reluctance Motor for Variable-Speed Applications

In this paper, an axially laminated reluctance motor is presented. First, a set of a finite element analysis (FEA) on three different axially laminated rotor geometries was carried out and torque profiles of the rotors were predicted. The effect of the stator slot skewing on the torque profiles were also examined in the analysis. After deciding the rotor geometry, the mathematical model of the proposed motor was formed in terms of a,b,c variables and simulations were performed. Motor prototype and motor drive were introduced. Torque profiles of the motor were measured for different current values and load test were realized. Experimental results were compared to analysis and simulation results. There is a good accordance between experimental and simulation results. When the proposed motor is operated with electrical 120? mode as a brushless DC motor, the torque versus speed characteristic shows a DC series motor characteristic and speed of the motor can be easily controlled by regulating the bus voltage. These features make the proposed motor convenient for variable-speed applications such as electrical vehicles.