Sensitivity analysis and optimum design for the stator of synchronous reluctance machines using the coupled finite element and Taguchi methods

This paper presents an investigation of the effect and optimization of stator geometry design parameters on the performance of synchronous reluctance machines (SynRMs). The level of importance of the stator design variable on the characteristic of the SynRM is determined using both the Taguchi method and a parametric analysis. An optimum design parameter combination is obtained using sensitivity analysis along with signal-to-noise ratio results. The 2-dimensional finite element model (FEM) of a SynRM is used to perform a sensitivity analysis and construct a Taguchi design of the experiment. The FEM simulation results confirm that the performance of the SynRM can be improved significantly in comparison with the initial design, using the proposed Taguchi method.