Abstract
This paper presents an investigation into the effects
of a novel rotor cut-off design on the performance of a
synchronous reluctance machine. The rotor design consists of
a sinusoidal lamination shape in the axial direction thereby
varying the magnetic flux in the q-axis direction and reducing
torque harmonics due to slotting effects. The presented study
uses single-factor experimental design, with Analysis of Variance
(ANOVA), and Finite Element Analysis (FEA) to quantitatively
and qualitatively assess the effects of the rotor cut-off on the
torque, torque ripple, saliency, power factor and efficiency of
the machine. Results of the investigation indicate that although
variation in the rotor cut-off design significantly reduces the
torque ripple, the effects on the average output torque, saliency,
power factor of the machine are relatively insignificant.
Index Terms—Synchronous Reluctance Machine; Rotor Design;
ANOVA; FEA.