Improved calculation of core losses of high-speed motors with two different permanent magnets considering higher order current harmonics

In high-speed permanent magnet synchronous motor drives, time harmonics in the current occur owing to the carrier frequency of the inverter, which affects the core losses among the electromagnetic losses. According to Steinmetz’s equation, the core loss depends on the frequency and magnetic flux density, with each term influenced by harmonic currents. Therefore, to accurately predict core loss, it is necessary to consider harmonic currents. This study presents the effects of differences in the resistance, inductance, switching frequency, and harmonic current on the core loss for two models with different PMs at the same output power. Core losses are significantly affected by harmonic current content and magnetic field behavior, making the analysis of harmonic components and magnetic field behavior essential. To achieve this, the stator core was divided into segments to examine the magnetic field behavior owing to harmonic currents in each region, thus facilitating a comprehensive analysis of the core losses. When the results were compared with the experimental data, it was observed that the analysis of harmonic currents significantly improved the accuracy compared to the analysis based solely on sinusoidal currents; in particular, the error rate reduced from 37.8% to 4.1%. Furthermore, it was confirmed that ferrite PMs resulted in smaller core losses owing to harmonic currents than rare-earth PMs. This finding suggests that ferrite PMs are a suitable alternative to high-speed permanent-magnet synchronous motors.