Structural Integrity Analysis of a Two-Pole Synchronous Reluctance Machine with Non-circular Shaft

This paper investigates the structural strength of a 6-inch diameter, two-pole, 4 kW line start synchronous reluctance machine (LS-SynRM) designed with a new noncircular shaft structure that serves as a pump motor. Flux paths on the rotor are widened while narrowing down the shaft of the motor on the q-axis to improve the motor efficiency. By using this method, a wider path is created for the flux in the d-axis. As a result, the inductance in the d-axis, the ratio of inductance between the d-axis and q-axis (referred to as saliency ratio), and the difference in inductance between the d-axis and q-axis are all amplified. To evaluate the structural strength of the machine, a series of analyses are conducted, including modal, harmonic, and static examination on the rotor using ANSYS Structural. The findings indicate that to prevent redundant deformations and undesirable vibrations because of resonance, the maximum safe limit for shaft size reduction is determined as 8 mm.