Comparative study of reliability and fault tolerance of multi-phase permanent magnet synchronous motors for safety-critical drive trains

This paper is a continuation of research on the choice of the optimum type of traction electric motor for safety-critical applications (such as an electrical helicopter), based on the results of previous works. The paper describes a comparative research of the today’s most promising type of electric motors for this purpose, namely multi-phase permanent magnet synchronous motor from the point of view of ensuring flight safety requirements. The results of comparative study of those motors with five, six, seven, and nine phases are allowing the selection of the most appropriate electric traction machine for the electrical helicopter regarding specified operating conditions.