In this paper, a direct thrust force control (DTFC) strategy is proposed for the half-open winding primary permanent magnet linear motor (PPMLM) drive system in order to improve the dynamic response and performance of flux weakening control. The independent voltage active vector (IVAV) is selected as the candidate voltage vector to suppresses the zero sequence current in the proposed DTFC (P-DTFC). Meanwhile, a new switch table is designed to determine the control vector while the complexity of control method is greatly simplified in P-DTFC. The simulation and experimental results verify that P-DTFC maintains better steady-state and dynamic-state performance with lower complexity compared with traditional DTFC (T-DTFC).INDEX TERMS Open winding motor, direct thrust force control (DTFC), common mode voltage, zero sequence current, primary permanent magnet linear motor (PPMLM), independent voltage active vector (IVAV).