Contribution to Improve Magnetic Performance and Torque Ripple Reduction of the Low-Speed DSPM Machine

This article deals with the performance improvement of a toothed pole variable reluctance machine excited by permanent magnets housed in the stator yoke. The objective was to reduce the electromagnetic torque ripples caused by the structure geometry and by the supply technique. The machine was designed to meet the specifications of a small wind energy conversion system. The proposed solution improved the electromagnetic design of the new structure in order to minimize the variation of the reluctance. This improvement was obtained by action on the geometry of the structure (the location of the permanent magnets), by action on the stator and rotor tooth pitch, and by the application of an indirect control strategy called torque sharing function. The PSO optimization algorithm was applied in the first part for the optimization of the machine’s global parameters to maximize torque density and then, in the second part, for the research of the optimum tooth pitch parameters to minimize torque ripple. Static and dynamic performances were obtained using 2D-FEM and MATLAB/Simulink software. The results reveal that by action on the stator/rotor tooth pitch, the ripple torque was reduced by about 53%, and by approximately 76% with the used command technique.