Machine Torque Density Research Articles

Analysis of Dual PM Vernier Machines With Different Consequent-Pole PM Topologies

In order to further improve the torque density of flux modulation machines, two novel dual-PM vernier machines (DPMVMs) with two PM pieces and two ferromagnetic iron poles on each stator tooth are proposed in this paper. Together with two conventional DPMVMs, four types of DPMVMs with different consequent-pole PM topologies are comprehensively investigated and compared. The working harmonics and the dominating harmonics that contribute to torque production of four machines are analyzed. Aiming at maximum torque, four machines are all optimized and their electromagnetic performances in terms of cogging torque, back-EMF, rated torque, overload capability, power factor, loss, and efficiency are evaluated and compared using finite element (FE) method. Finally, a prototype is fabricated and tested. The experimental results have validated the theoretical analysis.

A Three-Phase Nonisolated Pseudo-Six-Phase-Based Integrated Onboard Battery Charger for Electric Vehicles

The trending modern designs of electric vehicle (EV) motors are concerned with maximizing the machine torque density while offering a fault tolerance capability. Among different available stator winding layouts, the so-called pseudo-six-phase (P6P) winding has recently been proposed, which offers an improved torque density and fault tolerance over conventional six-phase distributed winding. An integrated onboard battery charger (IOBC) has also been proposed as a new leading technology that employs the propulsion components of the EV in the charging process to achieve the highest possible charging current with zero machine torque production. In this context, this article proposes a new P6P-based IOBC system. Two different controllers have been investigated, namely, conventional proportional–resonant (PR)-based current control and predictive current control (PCC) techniques. Under the charging mode, the control objectives aim at achieving a balanced three-phase grid current while nullifying machine torque production. To this end, the sequence stator currents are regulated to ensure a balanced <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${xy}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> current, while both the <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${\alpha \beta }$ </tex-math></inline-formula> and <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${ {0}}^{ {+}}{ {0}}^{ {-}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> current components are controlled to zero. Furthermore, a novel postfault controller using a PR-based current controller has been proposed, which ensures balanced grid line currents under one open-phase fault. A comparative experimental study has been carried out under different controllers for both vehicle-to-grid (V2G) and grid-to-vehicle (G2V) modes using a 2-hp prototype machine.

A new dual-ferrite–assisted hybrid reluctance machine with two-stage excitation for starter generator application

Reluctance machines with DC field coil in stator are a competitive candidate for starter generation application, due to the elimination of rare-earth permanent magnet (PM), robust structures, and controllable excitation. However, due to the poor excitation ability of DC field coils, the torque density is disadvantageous. Moreover, with the increase in the DC field current, it is exposed to the risk of extra DC saturation in stator teeth. As a consequence, the torque density and efficiency are both constrained. To solve the aforementioned problems, based on the comprehensive consideration of production cost and torque performance, this study proposed a novel type of hybrid reluctance machine with dual-ferrite–assisted in stator slots. The inner-layer ferrite PM is magnetized tangentially, which can effectively achieve the DC-saturation–relieving effect, while the outer-layer ferrite PM is magnetized radially to increase the machine torque density through the flux modulation effect. Based on finite element analysis, the machine torque density and efficiency can be improved by 20 and 5%, respectively. Furthermore, to simplify the excitation system of the DC terminal, a two-stage excitation method is proposed by splitting some turns of armature winding to feed DC field winding with passive rectifier. No power switching devices are needed for the excitation system in this way, making the system highly robust. The effectiveness of the proposed design is verified by time-stepping finite element analysis.

Comparison between Space Mapping and Direct FEA Optimizations for the Design of Halbach Array PM Motor

Effective methods for the design of high-performance electrical machines must use optimization techniques and precise and fast physical models. Convergence, precision and speed of execution are important issues, in addition to the ability to explore the entire domain of solutions. The finite element method (FEM) presents a high accuracy in the results but with high computational costs. Analytical models, on the other hand, solve the problem quickly but compromise the accuracy of the results. This work shows a comparison between an optimization made with an analytical electromagnetic model and a direct optimization with finite element field calculation for the optimal design of a Halbach array permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM). In the case of the analytical model, it is necessary to use an iterative method of correcting the model to obtain a valid solution. This method is known as Space Mapping (SM) and the analytical model can be improved with a reduced number of iterations with the FEM. The results show a rapid convergence towards an optimal solution for the SM, with more than 78% reduction in computational cost compared to a Direct FEM optimization. Both solutions have only a difference of 3% on the power density, which indicates that FEM does not improve the results obtained by SM. This represents a great advantage that allows for the consideration of a large amount of designs to analyze the domain of solutions in more detail. This study also shows that SM is a powerful method to optimize the power density or torque density of electrical machines.

Preliminary analysis of eddy current and iron loss in magnetic gear in electric vehicle

The inclusion of a high energy density permanent magnet into magnetic gear improves the machine's torque density. However, it also contributes to eddy current loss, especially in a high-speed application such in electric vehicle. In this paper, the losses from eddy current and iron loss are investigated on concentric magnetic gear (CMG). Torque multiplier CMG is designed with 8/3 gear ratio for this study. Iron loss and eddy current loss are compared and discussed. Based on this study, eddy current loss contributes to almost 96% of the total loss. This finding is hoped to direct the researcher to focus more on reducing loss associated with eddy current loss.

Ceramic 3-D Printed Direct Winding Heat Exchangers for Thermal Management of Concentrated Winding Electric Machines

Direct cooling of the windings in a motor using oil offers more effective thermal management than conventional alternatives and can therefore increase the torque density of electric machines; however, this technique is limited by the thermophysical properties of the oil. The use of a direct winding heat exchanger allows a glycol-water coolant mixture to be used, which leads to a significant improvement in heat transfer and a reduction in the pumping losses compared to direct oil cooling. This article proposes ceramic 3-D printed direct winding heat exchangers (3D-DWHX), which can significantly improve the cooling of windings in electric machines due to the unique geometries enabled by 3-D printing. Ceramics are also capable of withstanding extremely high temperatures, which extends the application of the proposed 3D-DWHX. A closed-form analytical thermal model incorporating the temperature dependence of winding losses is proposed and used with empirical heat transfer correlations to design a microfeature enhanced 3D-DWHX. The ceramic 3D-DWHX was built and tested in a motorette that demonstrated a continuous current density of 35.7 A <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">RMS</sub> /mm <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> , corresponding to a continuous specific power in the reference electric machine of at least 12.1 kW/kg while keeping the maximum winding temperature below 200 °C.

Electromagnetic Fault Analysis of Superconducting Wind Generator With Different Topologies

Superconducting (SC) direct-drive wind generators are one of the best candidates for the offshore wind energy applications. The gearbox that exists in the traditional wind generators can be removed. Using superconductors in the armature and excitation windings will largely increase the machine torque density. However, the synchronous reactance in a traditional superconducting synchronous machine is usually low due to its large air gap. Consequently, operating faults will largely threat the machine itself. Also, the superconductor needs to work in the low temperature, usually around 30 K. The magnetic field around it and the current flows in it are also limited. Thus, to improve the machine reliability, the superconducting system needs to be taken care. In this paper, a double stator superconducting flux modulation machine (DSSFMM) is studied and its fault performances are analyzed. From the results, both fault current and fault torque in this kind of machine are low. It is also indicated that the AC loss of the SC coils during fault condition is low.

Analytical Analysis of Electromagnetic Torque and Magnet Utilization Factor for Two Different PM Machines With SPM and HUPM Rotor Topologies

Permanent magnet (PM) machines with a harmonic utilization PM (HUPM) rotor show advantages in terms of magnet utilization and magnet weight reduction compared to common PM rotors. In this article, an analytic approach to estimate the electromagnetic torque, torque density, and magnet utilization of PM machines is presented. Two different rotor types, i.e., the surface-mounted PM (SPM) rotor and the HUPM rotor, have been chosen for analysis. The impact of geometry scaling on electromagnetic performances with a focus on torque characteristics and magnet utilization is studied. The 2-D finite element analysis (FEA) has been used to validate the analytical model. The analysis shows that the toque characteristics and the magnet weight of both machines are strongly affected by the outer machine dimensions and current loading. However, due to the higher utilization factor for the HUPM rotor, the magnet weight of this machine type can be reduced.

A High Torque Density Claw-Pole Permanent-Magnets Vernier Machine

Permanent magnets vernier (PMV) machine is gaining more and more attention due to its high torque density contributed by multi-orders working harmonics, especially low-pole-pair numbers harmonics. Spoke-array PM machine seems to be a good way to increase the machine working harmonics. But the flux barrier effect is revealed and it explains why the advantages of the spoke-array PMV (SAPMV) machine are not fully used. Thus, its low-pole-pair numbers harmonics could be further enhanced. In this article, a novel structure&#x2014;claw-pole PMV (CPPMV) machine&#x2014;is first proposed and its working principle is investigated. Then, the CPPMV machine is compared with the surface-mounted PMV machine, the SAPMV machine, and the SAPMV machine with alternate flux bridges in terms of their electromagnetic performances using equivalent circuit analysis and FEM. The result shows that claw-pole structure can enhance the magnetic flux modulation effects, which increases the machine torque density. At last, a CPPMV machine prototype is manufactured and tested. Experimental results indicate that it reaches a torque density of 30.5 kNm/<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\text{m}^{3}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> and a power factor of 0.84 underrated conditions.

Optimal Rotor Design of Synchronous Reluctance Machines Considering the Effect of Current Angle

The torque density and efficiency of synchronous reluctance machines (SynRMs) are greatly affected by the geometry of the rotor. Hence, an optimal design of the SynRM rotor geometry is highly recommended to achieve optimal performance (i.e., torque density, efficiency, and power factor). This paper studies the impact of considering the current angle as a variable during the optimization process on the resulting optimal geometry of the SynRM rotor. Various cases are analyzed and compared for different ranges of current angles during the optimization process. The analysis is carried out using finite element magnetic simulation. The obtained optimal geometry is prototyped for validation purposes. It is observed that when considering the effect of the current angle during the optimization process, the output power of the optimal geometry is about 3.32% higher than that of a fixed current angle case. In addition, during the optimization process, the case which considers the current angle as a variable has reached the optimal rotor geometry faster than that of a fixed current angle case. Moreover, it is observed that for a fixed current angle case, the torque ripple is affected by the selected value of the current angle. The torque ripple is greatly decreased by about 34.20% with a current angle of 45° compared to a current angle of 56.50°, which was introduced in previous literature.

Feasible Stator/Rotor Pole Combinations of Variable Flux Reluctance Machines With Second Harmonic Current Injection Method

The second harmonic current injection method is recently developed to enhance the torque density of variable flux reluctance machines (VFRMs). This article investigates the feasibility and effectiveness of the second harmonic current injection method in VFRMs with different stator/rotor pole combinations. By using magnetic gearing effect, it is found that the second harmonic injection method can only be applied to the 6 j /(6 i ± 2) j ( i , j = 0, 1, 2…) stator/rotor pole VFRMs for the torque density enhancement. For the other stator/rotor pole combinations, the second harmonic current has no contribution in average torque production but only leads to excessive torque ripple. Further, by using global optimization method and finite element analysis, 6/8 stator/rotor pole combination is proved to be the optimal stator/rotor pole combination for 6-stator-slots VFRMs with the second harmonic current injection method, being able to exceed the maximal torque density of conventional VFRMs by 12% at a fixed copper loss.

Investigation of a hybrid excited doubly salient machine with permanent magnets located on stator slot openings

This study proposes a hybrid excited (HE) doubly salient machine with permanent magnets (PMs) located on stator slot openings. The HE machine inherits the high torque density of PM machines as well as flexible magnetic field regulation of wound field machines. Since the PMs are located at stator slot opening, the PM flux is shunted in the stator without DC excitation, and the machine exhibits high fault-tolerant capability at high-speed operation. The proposed machine is optimised, together with a comparison with a conventional stator slot PM HE machine. It is revealed that the proposed HE machine exhibits a significantly higher torque density under the same copper loss and PM usage. Finally, a prototype is fabricated, and experiments have been conducted to verify the accuracy of finite element simulation on the proposed machine topology.

Synchronous Electrostatic Machine Torque Modulation via Complex Vector Voltage Control With a Current Source Inverter

Advances in electrostatic machine design have enhanced the torque density of macroscale electrostatic machines toward practical use. A recently developed fractional horsepower three-phase separately excited synchronous electrostatic machine (SEM) demonstrates torque densities comparable to those of air-cooled permanent-magnet-based electromagnetic machines (1.5 Nm/kg) when excited with a medium voltage (5 kV). SEMs develop torque from voltage, not from current, and therefore incur nearly zero losses at low speeds or stall. However, there is no off-the-shelf medium-voltage drive at this power level, and the appropriate control framework for these machines has yet to be established. This article presents a complex vector voltage regulator control approach as a means for modulating torque in an SEM. Ampere-second (charge) is sourced from a current source inverter (CSI) serving as the drive electronics for voltage regulation. Together, the control approach and the CSI hardware form the first high-performance electrostatic drive. Key research outcomes include the theoretical development and experimental verification of charge-oriented control via voltage regulation. Experimental results are presented for rotational and stall conditions, which are reflective of the “position and hold” applications suited to electrostatic machines. The dynamic performance of the voltage regulator is verified by measuring the controller frequency response function, dynamic stiffness, and command tracking on a separately excited SEM.

A New Relieving-DC-Saturation Hybrid Excitation Vernier Machine for HEV Starter Generator Application

Benefiting from flexible flux control and short-circuit withstand ability, the hybrid excitation machine is an emerging starter generator solution for hybrid electric vehicle propulsion. However, to realize a brushless hybrid design in conventional permanent magnet machines, a three-dimensional magnetic circuit is usually adopted, leading to complicated mechanical structure and torque density sacrifice. To address this issue, a new relieving-dc-saturation hybrid excitation Vernier machine is proposed in this article, which integrates good torque density and bidirectional flux control within a simple and brushless structure. The key is to artificially construct reluctance effect in a consequent-pole Vernier permanent magnet machine (CP-VPMM) by introducing extra dc field excitation equipped with the relieving-dc-saturation ability. In this way, the advantages of bidirectional flux control in stator-dc-excited reluctance machine and good torque density in CP-VPMM are well combined in this topology, making it especially suitable for multimode starter generator application. In this article, the machine structure and its design mechanism are introduced, with its electromagnetic performance evaluated by the finite-element simulation. A prototype is manufactured and tested. Experiment results verify the feasibility of this new topology.

Design and Performance Analysis of Dual-Stator Brushless Doubly-Fed Machine With Cage-Barrier Rotor

This paper proposes a novel dual-stator brushless doubly-fed machine (DSBDFM) with cage-barrier rotor structure for torque density improvement in application of wind power generation. The torque density of electrical machine mainly relates to machine main dimensions and rotor coupling capability (CC). Therefore, optimizing the DSBDFM, especially the machine power distribution and rotor, affects machine torque density and rotor CC. At first, several rotor topologies are proposed and analyzed to strengthen rotor CC. Then, design principles and methods in deciding the main dimensions and power distribution for the developed DSBDFM are analyzed and illustrated in detail. Based on the machine structure and design methods, a 50-kW DSBDFM is designed, with outer and inner unit electrical machine power distribution, rotor CC, slot-pole combinations, and non-magnetic ring considered. The design example with detailed design procedure in this study provides designers a practical method in initial estimation of the dimensions and parameters for the designed DSBDFM. Meanwhile, a finite-element method is used to analyze performances of DSBDFM with winding series connection, which are verified by the experimental test. Through the results analysis, it is found that the designed DSBDFM satisfies the requirements with desirable performances, indicating the validity and rationality of design methods.

Application of Standard Three-Phase Stator Frames in Prime Phase Order Multiphase Machine Construction

The application of multiphase machines in high-power applications is now a recognized alternative, thanks to their higher fault-tolerance when compared with standard three-phase systems. Although multiphase machines with multiples of three-phase winding sets have been favored in many applications, literature has shown that machines with a prime number of phases, such as five-phase machines, generally outperform other phase orders, especially in terms of machine torque density. One of the major problems when dealing with a prime number of phases either in academic research or industrial applications is the special stator design. This paper provides a general technique to rewind standard off-the-shelf three-phase stator frames with any general prime phase order while preserving the same copper volume. The proposed winding layout is derived using the star of slots theory and the concept of stator winding shifting. Finite-element simulations are used to investigate examples with different phase orders, while experimental investigation is carried out to corroborate the proposed concept by rewinding a standard three-phase stator as a five-phase machine.

A New Perspective on the PM Vernier Machine Mechanism

Permanent magnet vernier (PMV) machines have attracted more and more attention for their merits of high torque density and simple structure. Also, the principle of electromechanical energy conversion is the most common way to investigate the PMV machine by calculating back electromotive force and electromagnetic torque. In this paper, a new perspective on the mechanism of PMV machines based on the Maxwell stress tensor method is presented to deepen the insight into the reason why the force on the rotor of a PMV machine is larger than that of an surface permanent magnet (SPM) machine. Based on the finite element analysis (FEA) method, three machines with exactly the same rotor are analyzed and compared, namely 24-slot/20-pole SPM, 12-slot/20-pole surface PMV, and 6-slot/20-pole split-tooth PMV machines. The radial and tangential flux densities and force distributions along the airgap are illustrated. The influence of pole ratio on the performance of PMV machines is also investigated. It is shown that the improvement of tangential flux density in the PMV machine plays a primary role in the higher torque density, which shows a promising way to improve the torque density of machines.

Investigation of Spoke Array Permanent Magnet Vernier Machine With Alternate Flux Bridges

In recent years, permanent magnet vernier (PMV) machines are attracting more and more attentions owing to their high torque density feature, which is mainly benefited from its special operation principle called flux modulation effect. Nevertheless, It is found that its working flux density is low, viz., ∼0.3T for modulated flux density in the surface mounted PMV machines. Hence, there is a really large space to further improve the torque density of PMV machine. The spoke array magnet is widely used in the regular PM machine to improve working flux density. However, the flux barrier effect of spoke array magnet for the PMV machine has been proved, and a large torque reduction would be introduced in the high pole ratio spoke array PMV machine. In this paper, a novel spoke array PMV machine is proposed to improve working flux density and the torque density of PMV machines. The alternate magnetic bridges are added in the rotor core to connect iron pieces with same polarity and provide magnetic circuit for the low-pole number working magnetic field, hence the no-load back EMF and output torque of the proposed machine can be significantly improved. Moreover, analytical airgap flux density distribution based on equivalent magnetic circuit is presented to reveal the mechanism of working flux density improvement, and finite element analysis is used to investigate the performance features and structure parameter influence on the key performances, viz., back EMF and torque, of the proposed machine. Finally, a 25 N·m prototype has been built and tested to validate these analyses.

Investigation of Optimal Split Ratio for High-Speed Permanent-Magnet Brushless Machines

The split ratio, i.e., the ratio of rotor outer diameter to stator outer diameter, is one of the most vital design parameters for permanent-magnet (PM) machines due to its significant impact on the machine torque or power density. However, it has been optimized analytically in the existing papers with due account only for the stator copper loss, which is reasonable for low-to-medium speed PM machines. For high-speed PM machines (HSPMMs), the negligence of stator iron loss and the mechanical stress on the rotor will lead to a deviation of optimal split ratio and actual torque capability. In this paper, the optimal split ratio of HSPMM is investigated analytically with the consideration of stator iron loss as well as the mechanical stress on the rotor. The influence of air-gap length and rotor pole pairs on the optimal split ratio is elaborated. Both the analytical and finite-element analysis reveal that the optimal split ratio for HSPMM will be significantly reduced, when stator iron loss and mechanical constraints are taken into account.

Split ratio optimisation of high‐speed permanent magnet brushless machines considering mechanical constraints

The split ratio of rotor outer diameter to stator outer diameter is one of the most important design parameters due to its significant impact on machine torque density and efficiency. It has been optimised analytically in existing papers with due account given only for the thermal limitations. Here, the optimised split ratio for high-speed permanent magnet machines (HSPMM) with consideration of the mechanical constraints is investigated analytically. In addition, the influences of flux density ratio, maximum operating speed and sleeve material on the optimised split ratio are discussed in detail. The analytical results are verified by finite-element analyses. It is demonstrated that the optimised split ratio as well as the achievable torque of HSPMM is significantly reduced when the mechanical constraints are taken into consideration. The experimental results on a 6/slot-4pole HSPMM confirm the validity of previous analyses.