Control under normal and fault tolerant operation of multiphase SMPM synchronous machines with mechanically and magnetically decoupled phases

This paper deals with the control of multiphase surface mounted permanent magnet (SMPM) synchronous machines with mechanically and magnetically decoupled phases. As this type of machines is well suited for fault tolerant drives in critical applications as aerospace applications, the paper focuses on the power architecture and torque control strategies allowing to produce an almost ripple free torque both under normal and fault operation. The cases of a five-phase machine and of a six-phase machine are considered.