Design Tradeoffs between Stator Core Loss and Torque Ripple in IPM Machines

High stator core losses can pose a significant problem in IPM machines operating over wide constant-power speed ranges. At lower speeds, the torque ripple can be undesirably large in some IPM machine designs, contributing to acoustic noise and vibration. While previous work has addressed these two problems independently, this paper shows that the conditions for reducing stator core losses during flux-weakening operation, dominated by harmonic eddy-current losses in the stator teeth, can conflict with the conditions for reducing the torque ripple of IPM machines. It is also shown that the resulting design tradeoffs depend on the details of the IPM machine topologies that are under consideration. The appropriate IPM machine topologies that offer more favorable tradeoffs are identified in order to achieve the best possible compromise of high-speed stator core losses and torque ripple characteristics.