Hybrid Modeling Method of Magnetic Field of Axial Flux Permanent Magnet Machine

A hybrid analytical-numerical method to predict the no-load magnetic flux density in an axial flux permanent magnet (AFPM) machine is presented in this paper. It involves the method of separation of variables. This leads to express the magnetic scalar potential (MSP) by a series where each term is the product of three functions. The function depending on the radial coordinate is determined by means of a 1- D finite difference method (FD) instead of using Bessel functions. The functions depending on the axial and azimuthal coordinates are described by Fourier series. The results obtained by this method are compared to the results obtained by 3D finite element analysis (FEA).