Thanks to their light weight and high power density, permanent-magnet synchronous traction motors are becoming increasingly popular for Chinese rail applications. Reports how CRRC Zhuzhou Institute Co has been working to optimise the design of both the motors and the related control systems. Thanks to the use of high-performance rare earth permanent magnets with no excitation losses, the compact PMS motor offers advantages in terms of higher efficiency and a high power factor. A totally-enclosed motor with built-in cooling also produces less noise and requires less maintenance. Details some possible problems and concludes that further work is needed to study the availability and maintainability of PMS systems.
Railway Gazette International, Apr. 2018. pp.43-44.