Hi @Sebastian,
Thank you for your question regarding the PMSM (Six-Phase) block in Simscape. I've conducted a thorough review of the MathWorks documentation to address your concern about the spatial displacement between winding sets.
Current Situation:
The built-in PMSM (Six-Phase) block has a hardcoded 30-degree electrical spatial displacement between the ABC and XYZ winding sets. This is explicitly stated in the documentation and embedded in the block's flux linkage equations. There is no parameter to adjust this value directly within the block.
The complementary 6-Phase VSD Transform block (used in control algorithms) only supports two predefined configurations:
Asymmetric: 30° spatial angle (matches the PMSM Six-Phase block)
Symmetric: 60° spatial angle
Recommended Solutions for Arbitrary Spatial Displacement:
Custom Simscape Component (Highest Fidelity - Recommended for Thesis Work)
MathWorks provides a working example specifically for custom six-phase configurations:Example: "Import a Dual Three-Phase PMSM from Motor-CAD"
Access: openExample('simscapeelectrical/SixPhasePMSMFromMotorCADExample')
This uses a custom Simscape component that can be modified for arbitrary spatial displacement angles
The example includes detailed derivation documentation in a MATLAB Live Script
Your students can modify the transformation matrices and flux linkage equations to implement any desired spatial angle
This approach provides full control and is educationally valuable for understanding the underlying physics
FEM-Parameterized PMSM Block (Alternative High-Fidelity Option)
For motors with non-standard configurations, the FEM-Parameterized PMSM block accepts flux linkage lookup tables from FEA software (Motor-CAD, ANSYS Maxwell, JMAG-RT, MotorXP). While this is primarily for three-phase machines, similar principles can be applied to create custom six-phase implementations based on the Motor-CAD example.
Dual Three-Phase PMSM Blocks (Legacy Workaround)
An older approach involves using two standard three-phase PMSM blocks:
Connect both to a common mechanical shaft
Use electrical transformations (or transformer blocks) to create the desired phase shift
Less elegant but functional for arbitrary angles
Additional Context:There is a 2021 MathWorks webinar titled "Integrating FEM Motor Data into Simscape Electrical" that demonstrates the six-phase custom component approach in detail. This may be helpful for your students to understand the implementation methodology.
My Recommendation:For master's thesis work requiring arbitrary spatial displacement, I strongly recommend Option 1 (custom Simscape component based on the Motor-CAD import example). This provides:
Complete flexibility in spatial displacement configuration
Deep understanding of motor modeling (valuable for research)
Professional-quality implementation
A foundation that can be extended for additional research contributions
The custom component approach is well-documented, and your students can examine the source code to understand and modify the spatial displacement parameters in the transformation equations.
Hope this helps!
