Research on Multi-Harmonic Enhancement for a PM Flux-Modulated Motor Utilising Air-Gap Region Function

Abstract

In this paper, a method of motor design based on air-gap region function is proposed. By this design method, air-gap harmonics are enhanced to greatly improve the torque and loss performance. Flux-modulated permanent magnet (FMPM) motor has rich harmonics in the air gap. In this paper, the 12-slot/34-pole FMPM motor designed by air-gap region function is proposed. First, the process of motor design based on air-gap region function is presented. According to the harmonic characteristics, the function of air-gap region is edited by the design of magnetomotive force (MMF), permeance and flux density. As a result, the change of air-gap region functions influences air-gap harmonic order and amplitude. Then, according to the air-gap region function, the topology of the key components of the motor is generated. Compared with initial topology, the proposed FMPM motor has great performance on torque and loss. Finally, through finite element analysis and prototype experiment, the effectiveness and rationality of the proposed design method and FMPM motor are verified.