03/24/2023
By Danielle Fretwell

The Francis College of Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering, invites you to attend a master’s thesis defense by German Reyes on the “Experimental Investigation on Noise and Vibration Characteristics of Outer-Runner Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors (PMSM) with Eccentricity Fault.”

Candidate Name: German Reyes Jr.
Degree: Master’s
Defense Date: April 5, 2023
Time: 2:30 to 4 p.m.
Location: Ball Hall 302 – in person

This will be an in-person defense with a Zoom option. Those interested in attending virtually should contact the student (German_Reyes@student.uml.edu) and the committee chair (Murat_Inalpolat@uml.edu) at least 24 hours prior to the defense to request access to the meeting.

Committee:

  • Advisor Murat Inalpolat, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Massachusetts Lowell
  • Christopher Niezrecki, Ph.D., Distinguished University Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Massachusetts Lowell
  • Siavash Pakdelian, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Brief Abstract:

Electric Vehicles (EV) have recently become a practical and feasible option for consumers to purchase as their personal vehicles to use in their daily lives. One of the major concerns for automotive manufacturers when it comes to the adoption of EVs is the noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) profiles associated with the motors used within the vehicles. In compact electric vehicles, outer-rotor brushless permanent magnet synchronous machines (PMSM) configurations are commonly chosen due to their greater power density and smaller form factor. As a result, these PMSMs used in electric vehicles are commonly mounted within or alongside the wheel hubs of the vehicle. With this configuration, a more direct path for the forces experienced from the road surface is present into the motor structure itself thus impacting the performance of the motor. In this thesis, an extensive experimental and computational investigation on NVH characteristics experienced from an outer-rotor PMSM used within EV applications is conducted specifically in the presence of eccentricity fault. First, a 2-dimensional computational model is constructed to obtain a baseline understanding and quantification of the electromagnetic forces experienced by the motor shell. From here, an experimental test rig is constructed in order to experimentally verify trends which may be present during motor operation in the presence of eccentricity fault under varying loading conditions.