Abstract
This paper presents the electromagnetic and thermal characteristics of a permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) in a joint actuator which is used for articulated robot application. In an attempt to design a compact PMSM for the articulated robot, robot link should be taken into consideration during the motor design process as it can reduce the temperature distribution on motor, thus reducing the volume of the motor. A lumped-parameter thermal model of PMSM with and without a link is proposed considering the core loss, copper loss, and mechanical loss as heat sources. The electromagnetic and thermal analysis results are well confirmed by the experiment in a 400 W 20-pole/24-slot PMSM. The experiment results show that the robot link helps to reduce the motor end-winding temperature by about 40%, and this leads to an increase in power density of the motor.
Highlights
IntroductionPermanent magnet synchronous machines (PMSM) are preferably used for various applications which require high torque and power density in a limited space, like electric vehicles and robots [1]
Permanent magnet synchronous machines (PMSM) are preferably used for various applications which require high torque and power density in a limited space, like electric vehicles and robots [1].There are several approaches to increase the power density of a PM motor, such as optimizing the geometric shape of either the stator or rotor [2,3], using Halbach Array PM type [4], or using soft magnetic alloy material for the stator core [5]
Since the link is quite long, which is 450 mm in this study, it may cause inaccurate results in thermal analysis if we model the link as a single node
Summary
Permanent magnet synchronous machines (PMSM) are preferably used for various applications which require high torque and power density in a limited space, like electric vehicles and robots [1]. To obtain the maximum power density of the motor, we need to consider both electromagnetic and thermal characteristics in the motor design process. In PMSM, the operation must be done under the proper temperature to avoid the possibility of magnet demagnetization and to maintain a long insulation life. This is because the temperature rise affects the motor performance. The numerical methods are commonly used in thermal analysis with high accuracy. They have a huge disadvantage, which is that they are extremely time-consuming.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
