Browsing by Author "Takunda Victor Gadza"

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    Design of Synchronous Reluctance Motor for Light Rail Transit Traction
    (Addis Ababa University, 2023-08) Takunda Victor Gadza; Abebe Teklu (PhD)
    Trains play a crucial role in modern society transporting a significant portion of the freight and passengers transported worldwide. With increased urban populations, Light Rail Transit (LRT) systems have become one of the important means of transportation for large populations. Therefore, finding less expensive, reliable, and efficient ways of operating these trains is pivotal. In addition, there has also been a huge drive toward environmental conservation. This has resulted in standards and regulations that advocate for increased energy consumption efficiency and cleaner energy sources to reduce pollution-related environmental damage. Traction motors are one of the areas where these improvements may be introduced. Various types of traction motors have been used that include Direct Current (DC) motors, Alternating Current (AC) Induction Motors (IMs), and Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors (PMSMs). However, these motors have shortcomings, such as inefficiencies in IMs due to rotor losses and expensive material costs in PMSMs due to rare earth permanent magnets. Therefore, finding alternatives with better efficiency and less cost is of paramount importance. One alternative is to replace the IM and PMSM with the Synchronous Reluctance Motor (SynRM). Therefore, this thesis designed a SynRM motor and drive system that can be used for the LRT application as an alternative. The design process includes investigating LRT traction requirements, investigating SynRM characteristics, design of a SynRM model for the LRT, optimizing the model’s performance, and evaluating it using Finite Element Analysis (FEA). The motor was designed for the Addis Ababa Light Rail Transit. A control for the SynRM was also generated using SyR-e software and simulated. The SynRM performed comparably to the reference IM with a 4% higher torque output and 5% higher efficiency. It is also three times smaller in volume, weighs 50% less, and the material cost is 40% less than the reference IM. However, the designed SynRM has less power factor than the IM. This is due to the rotor needing a high level of magnetization, leading to an increase in reactive power. This increase in reactive power can then cause a decrease in the motor's power factor.