Performance Evaluation of a Five-Phase Fractional-Slot Distributed Winding Permanent Magnet-Assisted Synchronous Reluctance Motor for Traction Applications

The high-phase order permanent magnet-assisted synchronous reluctance motors equipped with windings having a small number of slots per pole and phase are good candidates for high-speed traction applications, this is due to high torque density and efficiency that can be achieved. This paper presents the design considerations and performance evaluation of a five-phase fractional-slot distributed winding permanent magnet-assisted synchronous reluctance motor (FSDWAPMSynRM) for traction applications. The 2-D Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is utilized for ac magnetic-transient solutions to evaluate the electromagnetic parameters of the five-phase FSDWAPMSynRM. The results of the latter are compared to the results of two other five-phase permanent magnet-assisted synchronous reluctance motors (APMSynRMs) of the same power rating, but having different winding configurations:-the first APMSynRM is equipped with concentrated modular winding and the second one is designed with conventional single-layer overlapping distributed winding. Despite having less number of coils and number of series conductors per phase, the five-phase FSDWAPMSynRM achieved high torque density for all current vector angles as compared to the five-phase APMSynRMs equipped with modular concentrated winding or convention distributed winding.