Abstract

High energy product neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnets are the premier candidate for demanding electrified vehicle traction motor applications. Injection molded (IM) or compression molded (CM) magnets made using NdFeB powders are promising routes to improve motor efficiency, cost, and manufacturability. However, IM and CM NdFeB magnets are susceptible to substantial thermal aging losses at motor operating temperatures when exposed to the automatic transmission fluid (ATF) used as a lubricant and cooling medium. The intrinsic coercivity Hci of NdFeB IM and CM magnets degrades by as much as 18% when aged for 1000h in ATF at 150°C, compared to a 3% loss when aged in air. Here we report aging studies of rapidly quenched NdFeB powder in air, ATF, and H2 gas. Expansion of the NdFeB crystal lattice in both ATF and H2 identified hydrogen dissociated from the ATF during aging and diffused into the primary NdFeB phase as the probable cause of the coercivity loss of IM and CM magnets.

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