Contents

Abstract: ........................................................................................................................................................ 3
Introduction: ................................................................................................................................................. 3
Classification of PMSM wr.t the position of Permanent Magnet ................................................................. 3
Classification of PMSM w.r.t Flux density Distribution ................................................................................. 5
Classification w.r.t the magnetic material used............................................................................................ 5
Classification w.r.t Winding construction ..................................................................................................... 6
Classification w.r.t the direction of magnetization ....................................................................................... 6
Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................................... 7
References: ................................................................................................................................................... 7

Abstract: This report is about the study of Permanent Magnet Motors. The working operation and its
classification methods are presented here. The related tables and technical figures present the way of
the classification. The proposed classification is based on conventional and unconventional respects
including are also presented. These motors are good to be used in the applications where high torque is
required.

Introduction:
The permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) can be visualized as a hybrid of an AC induction
motor and a brushless DC motor (BLDC). They have rotor structures similar to BLDC motors which
contain permanent magnets. However, their stator structure has windings constructed in such a way as
to produce a sinusoidal flux density in the air gap of the machine. This results in their performance
enhancement when subjected to sinusoidal waveforms. As there is no rotor coil to provide mechanical
damping in transient conditions, the PMSM motors have not a satisfactory performance with open-loop
scalar V/Hz control. Field Oriented Control is the most popular control technique used with PMSMs. As a
result, torque ripple can be extremely low. The advantage of PMSM motors is their higher power density
for their size compared to induction motors. This is because with an induction machine, part of the
stator current is required to "induce" rotor current in order to produce rotor flux. These additional
currents generate heat within the motor. However, the rotor flux is already established in a PMSM by
the permanent magnets on the rotor [1].

Classification of PMSM wr.t the position of Permanent Magnet

PMSM have permanent magnet inside them as obvious from their name. The position of PM is
important and is varied in various type of PMSM. The position of magnet can be one of the following [2].

PM mounted on the surface of rotor

PM buried /IPM (Interior permanent magnet )

Spoke type Permanent Magnet

Figure 1 shows the above mentioned types of PMSM. In Surface mounted PMSM the magnets are
mounted on the rotor. This increases the amount of magnet used per pole in the motor. This increased
amount of magnet enhances the torque production. Most PMSMs utilize permanent magnets which are
mounted on the surface of the rotor. This makes the motor appear magnetically "round", and the motor
torque is the result of the reactive force between the magnets on the rotor and the electromagnets of
the stator. This results in the optimum torque angle being 90 degrees, which is obtained by regulating
the d-axis current to zero in a typical FOC application [1]. But it makes the motor more heavy and bulky
that also results in cost increment. However, some PMSMs have magnets that are buried inside of the
rotor structure. These motors are called Interior Permanent Magnet, or IPM motors. As a result, the

radial flux is more concentrated at certain spatial angles than it is at others. This gives rise to an
additional torque component called reluctance torque, which is caused by the change of motor
inductance along the concentrated and non-concentrated flux paths. This causes the optimum FOC
torque angle to be greater than 90 degrees, which requires regulating the d-axis current to be a fixed
negative ratio of the q-axis current. This negative d-axis current also results in field weakening, which
reduces the flux density along the d-axis, which in turn partially lowers the core losses. As a result, IPM
motors boast even higher power output for a given frame size. These motors are becoming increasingly
popular as traction motors in hybrid vehicles, as well as variable speed applications for appliances and
HVAC[1] They are also known as Buried PM motors as they have magnets buried inside the rotor. and
interior PM motor use the flux concentration principles where the magnet flux is concentrated in the
rotor core before it gets into the airgap. These motors usually have considerable reluctance torque
which arises from the fact that the use of flux concentration in the iron core introduces a position
dependent inductance and hence reluctance torque that can be beneficial in certain cases [2].

Figure 1: Surface mounted PM (a), buried PM (b) and spoke type PM (c) motor types

The saliency exhibited by IPM motors can also provide an additional benefit in sensor-less control
applications. In many cases, the saliency signature is strong enough that it can be used to determine
rotor position at standstill and low speed operating conditions. Some sensor-less Field Oriented Control
(FOC) designs use saliency mapping at low speeds, and then transition to a back-EMF observer model as
the motor speeds up [2]. For instance, surface magnet motor has very simple rotor structure with fairly
small speed limits. Buried or interior PM motors have wide speed ranges but their rotor is more complex
than both surface magnet and inset PM rotors. In addition, buried or interior PM motors can go up to
very high speeds unlike surface magnet motors although their control is more complex than surface
magnet type motors Table 1 below shows the comparison of surface mounted and buried PMSM. Figure
2 shows in detail the location of PM in the motors [3].
Table 1Basic comparison of surface magnet and buried magnet motors [2]

Convenience
Flux Distribution
Complexity of Rotor

Surface PMSM
BLDC
Square or Sinusoidal
Simple

Buried/Interior PM motor
PMSM
Usually Sinusoidal
Complex

Speed Limit
High Speed Capability
Control

1.2 r
Difficult
Easy

3r or higher
Possible
Complex

Figure 2: Location of the permanent magnets: a) Surface mounted magnets, b) inset rotor with surface magnets c) surface
magnets with pole shoes, d) embedded tangential magnets, e) embedded radial magnets, f) embedded inclined V-magnets
with 1/cosine shaped air-gap and g) permanent magnet assisted synchronous reluctance motor with axially laminated
construction [3].

Classification of PMSM w.r.t Flux density Distribution

PM motors are also classified based on the flux density distribution and the shape of the current
excitation. They are listed into two categories, one of which is PM synchronous motors (PMSM) and the
other is PM brushless motors (BLDC). PMSM, also called permanent magnet AC (PMAC) motors, has
sinusoidal flux density, current and back EMF variation while the BLDC has rectangular shaped flux
density, current variation and back EMF[2]. Table 2 shows the difference of PMSM with BLDC
Table 2: Classification of permanent magnet motors based on their excitation and back EMF [2]

Phase Current Excitation

Flux Density
Phase back EMF
Power and Torque

PMSM
Sinusoidal
Sinusoidal
Sinusoidal
Constant

BLDC
Trapazoidal
Square
Trapezoidal
Constant

Classification w.r.t the magnetic material used

PMSM can also be classified on the basis of material used as a PM. The following are some magnetic
materials used

ALNICO (Aluminum +Nickel +Iron +Cobalt)

Ferrite
SmCo (Samarium and Cobalt)
NdFeB (Neodymium Iron-Boron)

ALNICO and Ferrite both have high working temperature range up to 500C[2]. The rest of the materials
are good for having good BH characteristics.

Classification w.r.t Winding construction

PMSM motors can also be classified in term of winding construction. It can be divided into three types
and is shown below [3].

One Layer winding

Two layer winding, where the slots are divided horizontally
Two layer winding, where the slots are divided vertically

The end windings of one phase of a 10-pole-machine with different winding constructions are shown in
Fig. 3. It is easy to see that the length of the end windings of motor a) are about three times as long as in
motor b) or c).

Figure 3: End windings of one phase of a 10-pole-machine: a) a traditional one-layer winding with Qs=30 and q=1, b) a onelayer fractional winding Qs = 12 and q = 0.4 and c) a two-layer fractional slot winding with Qs = 12 and q = 0.4, where the slot
is divided vertically.

Classification w.r.t the direction of magnetization

As far as the IPM motor is concerned, it can be distinguished according to the direction of the
magnetization of the PMs inside the rotor [4]. They can be

Tangentially magnetized PMs

Radially magnetized PMs

In the first configuration as shown in fig 4(a), the PMs have tangential magnetization and alternating
polarity: then the flux in the air gap corresponds to the sum of the flux of two PMs. Rotor of this type is
generally designed with a high number of poles, so that the sum of the surface of two PMs results higher
than the pole surface, yielding a concentration of the flux in the air gap. A nonmagnetic shaft is required
in order to avoid flux leakage. In the second configuration as shown in fig 4(b), the PMs have radial
magnetization and alternating polarity. The PM surface is lower than the pole surface, yielding a lower
flux density in the air gap. This configuration can be designed with two or more flux barriers per pole [4]

Figure 4:Four-pole IPM motor with (a) tangentially and (b) radially magnetized PMs [4]

Conclusion
This short report classifies the PMSM according to various uncommon aspects including the placement
of magnet, the magnetic material for PM, the type of windings and the magnetization process. These
aspects along with the generalized theory of PMSM give an insight of PMSM for their prospected use in
industrial applications.

References:
[1] Motor Control- Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors (PMSM) Online Article available at
http://www.ti.com/ww/en/motor_drive_and_control_solutions/motor_control_type_permane
nt_magnet_PMSM.htm
[2] Metin Aydin Brushless Permanent Magnet ServoMotors Chapter 14, Serial and Parallel Robot
Manipulators-Kinetics, dynamics, control and Optimization. InTech publications
[3] http://www.doria.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/31164/TMP.objres.330.pdf
[4] Nicola Bianchi Permanent magnet Synchronous Motor Chapter 6 Power Electronics and Motor
Drives, Taylor and Francis 2011