An Educational Toolbox for Performance Analysis of Line-Start Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors ARASH HASSANPOUR ISFAHANI, SADEGH VAEZ-ZADEH, SAEED HASANZADEH School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran Received 29 May 2011; accepted 21 July 2011 ABSTRACT: This article presents the development of an education purpose toolbox for performance analy- sis of three-phase line start permanent magnet synchronous motors. The motor state-space equations are implemented in Simulink and an easy to use graphic user interface is designed. The starting performance of a typical motor is then simulated in different conditions as a case study. This toolbox provides a friendly and efficient environment for students to become familiar with the performance of this type of motor which is receiving increasing attention in the industry and academic. An experimental study is also carried out to validate the toolbox. ß 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/cae; DOI 10.1002/cae.20569 Keywords: line-start; permanent-magnet synchronous motors; toolbox; Simulink INTRODUCTION Nowadays computer-based programs are widely used as power- ful teaching tools helping students through deeper understand- ing of the principles and performances of electrical machines and drives without possible costs and hazards of experimental analysis. An educational program is presented for performance analysis of claw-pole permanent-magnet (PM) stepping motors [1]. Fuzzy control of induction motors, brushless DC motors, and PM DC motors are also presented [2–4]. The performances of a self-excited induction generator under three operating con- ditions are simulated using conventional Matlab commands with a friendly graphical user interface (GUI) [5]. Cathey [6] presents a Matlab-based educational program for variable- frequency operation of three-phase induction motors and shows it can reduce effort and lecture time. An educational tool is implemented using Cþþ Builder for a switched reluctance motor (SRM) drive system for undergraduate and graduate level students containing different controllers used in SRM drive systems [7]. A computer-aided educational tool is presented for induction motors to help students and educators in teaching the equivalent circuit and the vector phasor diagrams in induction motors [8]. Virtual and remote web-based laboratories are widely present for the performance analysis of different types of electrical machines and drives [9–11]. A virtual tool for investigating the saturation effect in induction machines is also developed [12]. Matlab/Simulink tools are widely used to simulate the dy- namic performance of electrical machines and drives [13]. Computer-assisted learning methods using Simulink are pro- posed for teaching PM synchronous motors [14]. A Matlab/ Simulink-based implementation of three standard induction mo- tor tests is presented and integrated into an undergraduate course [15]. Simulation of direct online starting of three-phase induction motors is carried out using Matlab/Simulink [16]. A Matlab/Simulink-based simulation toolbox for studying and designing induction motor field oriented control schemes is proposed with a modular structure and a flexible simulation environment [17]. DC motor speed control methods, the Ward– Leonard control system, and transient performance of wound field synchronous machines are realized using Matlab/Simulink and are integrated into undergraduate courses [18–20]. Line start permanent magnet synchronous (LSPMS) motors use squirrel cage in their rotors for direct stating from the main. Recently, LSPMS motors, with their inherent high efficiency, have received much attention due to the advent of cost-effective rare-earth PM materials and the energy and cli- mate crises [21–23]. In fact, the motors mass production has gained momentum worldwide. Also, the motors are expected to be integrated gradually in electrical machine courses and text books as they cover PM motors in more details. However, the Correspondence to A. H. Isfahani (ahassanpour@ieee.org). ß 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. 1