Design and Optimization of Linear Synchronous Motors for Transportation Applications

This paper presents a method for designing single-sided linear synchronous motor (SSLSM). In the proposed method, electrical circuit equations of the linear synchronous motor (LSM) at steady-state are used. In addition, a new method is proposed to model the “end effect” phenomenon by deriving an effective field current. To do this, induced currents in rail-way windings due to DC-excitation and the effect of these currents on induced voltage in rail-way windings are considered. So, in addition to the proposed design method, the main contribution of the manuscript is the modeling of the end effect in LSMs. Due to its simplicity, the proposed design method can be easily used in optimization of LSM that requires iterative algorithms. Therefore, by choosing appropriate design variables, an optimization is done to maximize efficiency and power factor of the motor as well as to minimize mover and rail weights. To validate the optimized design, 3-D Finite Element Method (FEM) is used. The comparison of the results of the FEM and the proposed method confirms the accuracy and effectiveness of the latter.