Permanent Magnet Rotor Research Articles

Armature Reaction Analysis and Performance Optimization of Hybrid Excitation Starter Generator for Electric Vehicle Range Extender

The armature reaction of the hybrid excitation starter generator (HESG) under load conditions will affect the distribution of the main magnetic field and the output performance. However, using the conventional field-circuit combination method to study the armature reaction has the problem of low accuracy and inaccurate influencing factors. Therefore, this paper proposed a graphical method to analyze the armature reaction and a new type of HESG with a combined-pole permanent magnet (PM) rotor and claw-pole electromagnetic rotor. The analytical formula of the voltage regulation rate under the armature reaction was derived using the graphical method. The main influencing parameters of the armature reaction magnetic field (ARMF) were analyzed, and the overall output performance was analyzed using finite element software. On this basis, comparison analyses before and after optimization and the prototype test were carried out. The results show that the direct-axis armature reaction reactance, quadrature-axis armature reaction reactance, and voltage regulation rate of the optimized HESG were significantly reduced, the output voltage range of the whole machine was wide, and the voltage regulation performance was good.

Material Tradeoff of Rotor Architecture for Lightweight Low-Loss Cost-Effective Sustainable Electric Drivetrains

The art of the successful design of high-speed electrical machines comes with many challenges in the mass, size, reliability, and energy efficiency. Material engineering of electrical machines has been identified as a key solution for higher power dense electric drivetrains. One of the main challenges at high speed is the eddy-current losses in the active electromagnetic parts, especially magnetic materials and permanent magnets (PMs). This study is devoted to the selection of PM rotor materials using multidisciplinary design optimization for a high-speed electric drivetrain. Beside AC loss minimization, more disciplines are considered, such as the minimization of weight, and cost. Different laminations are investigated with different magnetic properties as well as cost. Additionally, different PMs are optimized considering low-cost ferrite and high-coercivity permanent magnets (HCPMs). Moreover, the optimal materials are identified which have the best balance between loss, weight, cost, ripples. Finally, different rotor designs are prototyped, assembled, and tested using the same stator configuration. Also, the best rotor design is selected, and the electromagnetic performance is measured and compared with conventional designs. The optimal design results in 8% extra torque with at least 20% weight reduction.

Design and Cogging Torque Reduction of Radial Flux Brushless DC Motors with Varied Permanent Magnet Pole Shapes for Electric Vehicle Application

Brushless direct current motors have more attractive features, making them a promising solution for electric vehicle applications. A 1 kW, 510 rpm, 24-slots and 8-pole inner runner type surface permanent magnet mounted radial flux brushless DC motor with seven different permanent magnet pole shape rotor is investigated. Motors with different permanent magnet shape rotors were designed, and finite element modelling and simulation were carried out. For performance comparison, the initial design with a radial-type pole shape was regarded as a reference design. Cogging torque is detrimental to the overall performance of the motor, typically in low-speed applications like electric vehicles. The primary aim of this paper is to reduce the cogging torque & study its effect on the overall performance of the motor and minimize torque ripples with reduced permanent magnet requirements. The proposed designs are analyzed in terms of cogging torque, flux density, torque, efficiency, flux linkage and back-EMF. The comparative analysis shows that the motor with bump-shaped permanent magnet rotor poles has betterperformance than the others.

Optimal design and control of permanent magnet assisted dual rotor motor

As high-performance motors, permanent magnet motors are widely used in a wide range of applications. It has become a consensus to mine reluctance torque in permanent magnet motors. The combination of permanent magnet motors and reluctance motors to generate higher output torque is one of the hotspots in motor research. A dual-rotor motor can be formed by connecting a coaxial connector or a concentric end disk, which can make the motor generate higher torque. However, although the motor torque has been improved, the cogging torque still affects the output torque of the motor. This paper describes a method to reduce the cogging torque of the permanent magnet rotor of the permanent magnet-assisted double rotor motor. By analyzing the motor power equation, it is concluded that the pole arc coefficient, the thickness of the magnetic steel, the length of the air gap, and the slot width of the stator have four influences on the teeth. For the parameters of the slot torque, the upper and lower limits of the parameter value are obtained according to the size of the motor. A certain parameter is taken as a fixed value, and the remaining parameters are uniformly valued. Use parametric scanning to determine the optimal value range of the parameter, and use Maxwell for parameterization. Simulation and analysis show that the cogging torque of the motor is reduced by 90% and the torque ripple is reduced by 50%. In order to simplify the motor control system, this paper designs a fuzzy controller based on granular functions, and the fuzzy rules of the fuzzy controller are to perform feature sampling and fit the response function, eliminating fuzzification and defuzzification, improving the response speed of fuzzy control, and simplifying the control system.

Cold-Spray Additive Manufacturing of a Petal-Shaped Surface Permanent Magnet Traction Motor

Several applications require low torque pulsations as they can lead to mechanical vibrations and acoustic noise in the electric motor. Optimization of the rotor permanent magnet (PM) shape is one of the effective methods for reducing torque pulsations. Unfortunately, the low versatility of the magnet fabrication technologies limits the development of new motor geometries. Cold spray additive manufacturing can be used for shaping permanent magnets for the direct fabrication of motor parts without the need for additional assembly steps. This fabrication technique allows an increase in the design flexibility of electric machine geometries targeting improved performance. This paper investigates the performance of permanent magnet rotors fabricated using a cold spray additive manufacturing technique for radial flux surface permanent magnet synchronous machines (SPMSM). The permanent magnet rotors considered are conventional rectangular-shaped with unskewed magnets (Model A), skewed magnets (Model B), and sinusoidal-petal shaped magnets (Model C) along the axial direction. The magnitude of magnetization current pulse required to magnetize these rotors is calculated and an impulse magnetizer setup is designed for in-situ magnetization. The performance of the shaped cold sprayed permanent magnet rotors and their effects on back EMF, electromagnetic torque, and cogging torque are analyzed experimentally and comparisons are made between the different rotor designs.

Design Consideration on a Low-Cost Permanent Magnetization Remanufacturing Method for Low-Efficiency Induction Motors

At present, a large number of inefficient induction motors (IMs) are still being used in various industrial fields, resulting in a huge waste of energy. Obviously, it is expensive to replace all these machines with high-efficiency motors. Therefore, this paper will investigate the method of low-cost modification of inefficient IMs and propose a low-cost permanent magnetization remanufacturing (PMR) method that can make full use of the original structure of IMs. The PMR method converts the IM’s rotor into a permanent magnet (PM) rotor by directly milling slots in the original rotor and embedding PMs, thus improving the efficiency of the original motor to meet the IE4 standard. Firstly, this paper proposes the PMR process of IM, and based on this process, a Y2-132M1-6 IM is designed for remanufacturing, and the performance of the motor before and after the PMR is compared through finite-element analysis. Then, this paper researches the factors that may affect the starting performance and rated performance of the motor in the PMR design. Finally, based on the PMR design scheme, the Y2-132M1-6 IM is remanufactured into an experimental prototype. The total cost of the PMR is calculated and the performance improvement is tested through experiments.

Electromagnetic design of ultra-high speed superconducting motors applied to electric pumps in liquid-propellant rockets

This paper provides an electromagnetic design for the 100 kW-class superconducting (SC) motor consisting of MgB2 armature windings and permanent magnet rotor; its stator part is made of non-magnetic and non-metallic materials. The SC motors, which are to be applied to future liquid-propellant rocket pump systems, are designed for the use at the ultra-high rotating speed: 50,000 rpm. The obtained results via the finite element method show that the output density of the designed SC motor reached 17.8 kW/kg, and that even at the ultra-high speed, total motor losses of the SC motor were so small as around 0.2 kW.

High Fault-Tolerance Dual-Rotor Synchronous Machine With Hybrid Excitation Field Generated by Halbach Permanent Magnets and High Temperature Superconducting Magnets

Superconductors can help electric machines achieve extremely high torque and power densities. However, operational instability is still a severe challenge for most superconducting electric machines. This paper proposes a novel dual-rotor hybrid excitation variable flux synchronous motor (DRHE-VFPM) suitable for applications with high safety requirements. The primary characteristic is using series-connected permanent magnet (PM) and High-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnet as the rotor's flux sources. These two magnets are on different rotors and steadily excited by each other through armature slots, improving several critical characteristics of the superconducting motor. First, the new electromagnetic topology can avoid severe quench accidents. At normal operation, the PM and HTS rotors can produce a large total electromagnetic torque. When the HTS magnets are damaged by the overtemperature or the mechanical shocks, the motor can still use the PM rotor to generate continuous torque instead of sudden interruption. Secondly, because an excessively strong rotor field will limit the speed, the variable flux density of the HTS magnet allows fuller use of voltage to extend the speed range and improve the power density. Moreover, the main magnetic circuit of the motor changes significantly under different operating states, which is analyzed theoretically in detail.

Multi-Objective Optimization Analysis of Magnetic Gear With HTS Bulks and Uneven Halbach Arrays

To improve the output torque of coaxial magnetic gears, a novel coaxial magnetic gear (CMG) with high temperature superconducting (HTS) bulks and uneven Halbach arrays is proposed in this paper. The convex structure is used in the middle of inner rotor permanent magnets (PMs). The PMs of the outer rotor are arranged in a low-high-low arrangement, epoxy resin is added between the PMs of outer rotor and the outer iron yoke. At the same time, the HTS bulks replace the epoxy resin to reduce magnetic flux leakage. In addition, according to the sensitivity analysis, the structural parameters can be divided into different levels, the multi-objective optimization analysis is carried out. Finally, the optimal CMG topology with 4 inner and 17 outer pole pairs is established. The results show that the amount of PM is reduced and the output torque is effectively increased by finite element analysis (FEA).

Torque Ripple Suppression Research of V-Shaped External Rotor Permanent Magnet Motor

Aiming at the problems of large torque ripple and poor output torque performance of external rotor permanent magnet synchronous motors, this paper took a three-phase 24-slot 19-pole external rotor motor as the research object, uses the magnetic circuit method and Lorentz theorem to analyze and calculate the motor torque, and improved the output torque by optimizing the position parameters of the V-shaped permanent magnet. The output torque was further optimized by a circular groove on the side of the stator teeth. The finite element simulation results show that the output performance of the motor can be improved by selecting the proper permanent magnet position. Stator tooth chooses slot position for Z = 1.2 mm, R = 3.5 mm torque ripple when dropped by 81.9%, up 7.6% on the output torque, motor performance is improved.

Design and Analysis of Permanent Magnet DC Machines with FEM Based ANSYS-MAXWELL

In this paper, permanent magnet direct current (PMDC) motor was designed and analyzed; The obtained speed, efficiency, torque and air gap flux distributions were examined and the results were compared with literature for the motor type. In order to compare the designed machine with literature, magnets made of the same materials and having the same geometric dimensions were used, as well as the basic motor features. The rated current, voltage, speed, torque and efficiency of two surface magnet motors with different rotor structures, including the eddy current effect, torque-speed characteristics and magnetic analysis, were investigated using the ANSYS-MAXWELL program, which performs a solution based on the Finite Element Method (FEM). This study will be a useful study for the literature in terms of examining the basic structure, electromagnetic properties, speed-torque values, efficiency of motor with surface permanent magnet (PM) rotor and comparing with literature.

Effects of interior angle and inclination angle of slot defect on electromagnetic-stress behaviours of superconducting swing system

Currently, copper-oxygen high-temperature superconducting materials have strongly anisotropic electromagnetic properties, which are difficult to describe in the equations. And in the rotating machine containing the permanent magnet (PM) rotor and bulk high-temperature superconductor (HTS) stator, when the HTSs have defects, their electromagnetic-stress behaviours may affect the mechanical stability of the equipment and even cause it to not work properly. In this paper, we proposed an anisotropic electromagnetic equation based on the H-formulation and established a three-dimensional coupled model with the magnetic, thermal and stress fields to study the electromagnetic-stress behaviours of a HTS with a slot defect during the swing of a PM, discussing the effects of the interior angle and inclination angle of the defect on the behaviours. The results show that the interior and inclination angles of the defect have a large influence on the electromagnetic-stress behaviours. For the electromagnetic characteristics, the main influence is on the rotational losses. Especially the losses at an inclination angle of 60° are 16.5 times those without damage. This is related to the ‘thin wall’ structure near the upper surface of the HTS. The stress concentration point appears on the defect boundary. The novelty of this paper is the proposal of the anisotropic electromagnetic equations based on the H-formulation and the study of the electromagnetic-stress behaviours of a superconducting swing system containing a PM and HTS with a slot defect from a three-dimensional perspective. The research results of this paper can be the references for the design and structural protection of superconducting rotating machines.

Claw‐pole magnetic levitation torque motor for 2D valve with automatic neutral adjustment

AbstractIn order to solve the problems of complex structure and the difficulty of neutral adjustment of the existing 2D valve electro‐mechanical converter, a kind of claw pole magnetic levitation torque motor (CPMLTM) was proposed, which automatically suspended the rotor in an axially and circumferentially neutral position by using the cogging torque and axial recovery forces between the stator claw pole and the rotor permanent magnet (PM). Compared with the conventional moving iron torque motor, it has positive magnetic stiffness, 1.54 times higher PM utilisation and 33.6% lower mass. A qualitative mathematical model of output torque is derived based on equivalent magnetic circuit model. Then, the response surface method was used to build the second‐order response surface model, and NSGA‐2 was used to optimise the design of five key structural parameters, and the non‐inferior solution sets satisfying the maximisation of the cogging torque, output torque and axial recovery force were obtained. The experimental prototype was developed, and static experiments were carried out on the experimental rigs. The results show that the relationship between the input current and the output angular displacement of the CPMLTM is linearly proportional when the magnetomotive force generated by the coil winding is from −50 to 50 A.

A Permanent Magnet Brushless Doubly Fed Electric Machine for Variable-Speed Constant-Frequency Wind Turbines

A permanent magnet brushless doubly-fed electric machine is presented in this paper. This machine is developed for variable-speed constant-frequency wind energy generation applications. Differing from conventional doubly-fed electric machines based on induction machines, a permanent magnet rotor provides the magnetic field excitations for both the control winding and the power winding in the presented machine. The operating principle of the presented machine for the variable-speed constant-frequency operation is revealed in detail. Compared to a counterpart machine, the presented machine exhibits significantly improved back- electromotive force, torque/power density, torque per magnet volume, efficiency, etc. Finally, a proof-of-concept prototype of the presented machine is fabricated, and the corresponding experimental results are provided to verify the fact that the presented machine is capable of achieving the variable-speed constant-frequency function.

Power Circuit Design and Analysis of Controller For High-Power Axial Flux PMSM

Designing a high-power controller having high efficiency for permanent magnet motors is a challenge for developers in recent times and very few techniques are available. Design and analysis of power electronic drive for a high-power axial flux permanent magnet synchronous motor is presented in this paper. The motor under consideration here is having two outer stators and single permanent magnet rotor to drive the shaft. Control schemes and methodologies are the major concentration for research. Present paper explains a method to estimate the operational drive parameters and loss calculation according the selected power switches. In addition to this, thermal modelling is also important for designing a controller for high power machines. The hardware selection for high current switching operations is very critical for reliable and robust operation. Parts like IGBT module, gate driver, DC link capacitor, snubbers, current sensor sensitivities and estimation of losses are also critical along with control logic and processor. The importance of thermal analysis for high current switching drives is discussed and methodology for thermal analysis of power electronic devices is explained. The current work focuses on hardware level design of high-power drive for 150kW axial flux PMS motor.

Alternative Surface-Mounted Permanent Magnet Topology for Reducing Voltage and Torque Harmonics in Shaft Generators

Traditional diesel generators on a merchant ship, composed of a wound rotor synchronous generator and a four-stroke diesel engine, supply electrical power for various loads. Recently, shaft generators for merchant ships have been increasingly replacing diesel generators to reduce CO2 emissions through fuel efficiency improvement. In particular, permanent magnet synchronous generators have replaced induction generators due to their high-efficiency characteristics at light loads. The surface-mounted permanent magnet rotor can be a suitable topology owing to the relatively short constant power range. This generator can also operate as a motor according to the propulsion mode, so minimizing the harmonics of the induced voltage with the torque pulsation being essential. This paper proposes an alternative surface permanent magnet topology. Three magnets comprise one pole, with one bread-loaf magnet and two rectangular magnets. It helps to simplify the magnetization and assembly of the rotor because of the flat bottom shape of the magnet. Due to the low remanence of two rectangular magnets at the pole edge, this rotor structure effectively makes the air-gap magnetic flux density sinusoidal with production costs reduced. The step-skew suppresses higher-order harmonics. The total harmonic distortion comparison of the two-dimensional finite element analysis and the no-load test result shows under 6% difference from the interior permanent magnet prototype machine. A comparison of harmonic characteristics with other rotors shows that the proposed modular pole has sufficient competitiveness compared to the tapered bread-loaf type. It can be applied as a substitute for the tapered bread-loaf magnet in direct-drive ship propulsion systems and is expected to shorten the manufacturing process and time.

Design and Performance Evaluation of a Novel Axial-Flux Hybrid Motor With Permanent Magnet Rotor and Unpaired Damper Cage

In order to improve the performance of synchronous motors, especially in dynamic-transient conditions, induction damper cages are usually used in the rotor structure. In this paper, a new hybrid structure of an axial-flux motor is proposed, which uses a permanent magnet (PM) rotor and an unpaired induction damper cage with independent movement capability. The proposed motor design procedure is provided in some detail. The performance of the proposed motor is evaluated using the finite element method (FEM) simulation and the operational effects of the unpaired damper cage are evaluated. In addition, comparisons were made between three different motor structures including the structure without damper cage (WDC), the structure equipped with coupled damper cage (CDC), and the structure equipped with unpaired damper cage (UDC) (proposed structure). Dynamic-transient and steady-state characteristics of motors including current profile, torque, and speed are evaluated. In order to confirm the results of the FEM simulations, a prototype of the proposed motor is manufactured, and some functional tests were performed on it. The results show that the proposed new structure can have better dynamic performance than other structures in terms of the amplitude of fluctuations as well as the time to reach the steady-state.

A Novel Axial High-Temperature Superconducting Magnetic Bearing With Simple Structure and Large Suspension Force

In this paper, we propose a novel axial high temperature superconducting magnetic bearing (HTSMB) which is used in the field of shaftless magnetic levitation flywheel. The permanent magnet (PM) rotor of the HTSMB is assembled with Halbach PM rings and a polymagnet yoke disc, and HTS bulks are equally distributed in a circle on the stator disk. Firstly, the structure of the novel axial HTSMB is proposed, and the potential advantage is introduced. Secondly, the suspension characteristic of a HTS bulk is simulated based on COMSOL Multiphysics interface of Magnetic Field, No Current (mfnc), Magnetic Field Formula (mfh), and Moving Mesh (ale), and it is verified by experiments. On this basis, the specific structure and size of the HTSMB are optimally designed by using ANSYS Maxwell. Then, the HTSMB is processed and assembled, a general method for assembling the PM rotor is introduced in detail. Finally, the suspension characteristic of the HTSMB is experimentally studied. The experimental results show that the HTSMB has more advantages in axial suspension characteristics and material cost.

PEDS13: Systemic force evaluation of Magnetic Bearings Design for a Pediatric LVAD Study

Study: A miniature magnetic levitation bearing system (maglev) was proposed for an implantable pediatric LVAD. The maglev bearing system is comprised passive radial bearings made of permanent magnet (PM) rings, and an active axial bearing. The study evaluates the passive bearing’s ability to radially stabilize the rotor within a moveable range of radial and axial displacements, and characterizes the axial forces produced. Methods: A stacked pair of concentric PM rings was placed on each side of the rotor and stator for the radial bearings. The PM rings were placed with like poles facing each other. The outer PM rings and stator were mounted on a six-axis force sensor attached to an xyz micrometer driven stage to set the position, and a rotational stage for alignment. The rotor and inner PM rings were inserted in the stator and held in place by both ends. The forces produced were measured at a combination of radial (0mm to 0.35mm with 0.05mm steps) and axial (0mm to 0.25mm with 0.05mm steps) displacements away from the center for a combination of 48 points. The measurements were taken three times and the average was taken. A finite element simulation was conducted by combining previously validated models of the motor, and the PM ring bearings to calculate radial and axial displacement forces. Results: As radial displacement increases, bearing force towards the center increases. Axial displacement decreases the force magnitude, but the direction towards the center remains. This shows the bearing’s ability to radially stabilize the rotor at a range of different radial and axial displacement combinations. As you increase axial displacement, the axial force away from the center increases. The radial position has little effect on axial force. This study quantifies the passive bearing’s axial forces to use in future work of developing the active axial bearing. The simulation results are in accordance with the experimental results. Variation is likely due to rotor-stator alignment error, holder manufacturing tolerances, and rotor rod flexing.Figure 1. Experimental Force Test SetupFigure 2. Axial and radial forces produced. Points are experimental results, dashed lines are simulation results.

Performance Evaluation of Stator/Rotor-PM Flux-Switching Machines and Interior Rotor-PM Machine for Hybrid Electric Vehicles

A three-phase interior permanent magnet (IPM) machine with 18-stator-slots/12-rotor-poles and concentrated armature winding is commercially employed as a 10 kW integrated-starter-generator in a commercial hybrid electric vehicle. For comprehensive and fair evaluation, a pair of flux-switching permanent magnet (FSPM) brushless machines, namely one stator permanent magnet flux-switching (SPM-FS) machine, and one rotor permanent magnet flux-switching (RPM-FS) machine, are designed and compared under the same DC-link voltage and armature current density. Firstly, a SPM-FS machine is designed and compared with an IPM machine under the same torque requirement, and the performance indicates that they exhibit similar torque density; however, the former suffers from magnetic saturation and low utilization of permanent magnets (PMs). Thus, to eliminate significant stator iron saturation and improve the ratio of torque per PM mass, an RPM-machine is designed with the same overall volume of the IPM machine, where the PMs are moved from stator to rotor and a multi-objective optimization algorithm is applied in the machine optimization. Then, the electromagnetic performance of the three machines, considering end-effect, is compared, including air-gap flux density, torque ripple, overload capacity and flux-weakening ability. The predicted results indicate that the RPM-FS machine exhibits the best performance as a promising candidate for hybrid electric vehicles. Experimental results of both the IPM and SPM-FS machines are provided for validation.