This paper discusses the benefits for an axially laminatedreluctance (ALAREL) motor deriving from a nonuniform distribution of therotor laminations and from use of grain-oriented steel. It is shown thathigher torque-to-current ratios may be obtained by rearranging the rotorlaminations. An analytical model is firstly presented for a preliminaryanalysis. Then, a finite element analysis (FEA) is used for betterestimation of the motor inductances. A comparison between calculated andmeasured inductances confirms the FEA accuracy. Thus, FEA is adopted toinvestigate the effect on motor performance of a nonuniform distributionof the laminations in the rotor as well as the effect of the magneticmaterial quality. The study proves that with nonuniform distributed andgrain oriented steel laminations a higher flux linkage (up to 30%) canbe obtained. Consequently, lower current is required to develop the samemotor torque
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