Line start permanent magnet synchronous motors: Challenges and opportunities

Future energy challenges, likewise the environmental crises such as fossil fuel emissions and global warming urge the world to focus on energy saving programs more than ever. An effective way to face these challenges is to improve electric motors efficiency as one of the greatest energy consumption apparatuses in the world. Induction motors constitute, by far, the largest portion of electric motors both in terms of quantity and total power ratings among all electric motors. However, more efficient motor types gradually appear as alternatives. In this paper, line start permanent magnet motors as a powerful candidate with growing market are investigated in some details. The motor opportunities like high efficiency, high power factor and high power density are explored against the challenges associated with this motor including higher cost, extra manufacturing burden and transient and synchronization behaviors. Finally, some concluding comments and remarks are drawn for future research and manufacturing of line start permanent magnet motors.