Design of an axial-flux permanent-magnet generator(AFPMG) 1 kW, 220 volt, 300 rpm, 1 phase for pico hydro power plants

Abstract

This paper discusses a design of an axial-flux permanent-magnet generator (AFPMG) 1 kW, 220 Volt, 300 rpm, 1 phase for pico hydro power plants in remote areas. Methods that are used to design this generator are analytical and numerical method. The analytical method is used at the preliminary stage of the design process to determine the value of the output variables of the generator and to determine the performance of the generator. The numerical method is used to validate the magnetic circuit dimensions and the value of air-gap flux density that are resulted from the analytical method with the aid of a finite element software package. From the validation process, the dimension of the magnetic circuit that are resulted from the analytical method are able to distribute the magnetic flux without causing saturation to any part of the circuit. The performance of the generator under no-load condition is influenced by the variation of the rotor speed and under loaded at constant speed it is influenced by the variation of the line current. Analysis results shows that the efficiency of the generator is 91,71%, the voltage regulation is 6 % and the output power is 1114,3 watt when the generator is loaded with a resistive load under full-load condition.