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Design and Analysis of 42-V Coreless Axial-Flux Permanent-Magnet Generators for Automotive Applications
Saeid Javadi1;2 and Mojtaba Mirsalim1;2;3
Electrical Engineering Department, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran 15916, Iran Center of Excellence in Power Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran 15916, Iran Electrical Engineering Department, St. Marys University, San Antonio, TX 78228 USA
This paper presents the design and analysis of a novel structure of an axial-ux permanent-magnet machine with ironless stator to generate sinusoidal electromotive force with very low harmonics. The structure is of a special design that is suitable for ux weakening in variable speeds. Flux weakening is done by a mechanical actuator to change the position of windings relative to each other. To conrm the machine performance and the design, analytical and three-dimensional nite-element numerical methods are implemented. The simulations results of the proposed generator coincide very well with the experimental results on a prototype 42-V system realized in the laboratory. Index TermsAutomotive, axial ux, coreless, ux weakening, 42-V system, permanent-magnet (PM) generator.

I. INTRODUCTION HE main trend in automotive design is to replace mechanical equipment with electric devices to increase the efciency, feasibility, and controllability of the system. The continuous progress in the new high magnetic eld rare-earth permanent magnets (PMs) such as neodymiumironboron (NdFeB), the most powerful PMs available today, has shown great opportunities for novel topologies of electric machines to be used in automobile industry [1], [2]. With the implementation of rare-earth NdFeB magnets that today are widely produced with low cost, it is possible to get high power density in a small volume that helps designers to produce high-performance machines with minimum loss and materials [1]. One of the main parts of an automobile is the electric generator to produce electricity for different parts of the system. In modern vehicles, the demand for on-board electric energy generation is rapidly growing in order to satisfy new requirements for passengers comfort and safety. This growth, which is predicted to reach higher power in the very next years, is forcing manufactures to explore new solutions concerning the whole electrical system inside the vehicle. First of all, the present 12-V system will be substituted by a 42-V system, which guarantees better handling of the higher power level, without increase in cable weight and power losses due to high currents [3]. The automotive electric system in use for the last four decades is based on the Lundell generator. The power demand with new loads being added to the automotive power system in a vehicle is close to 3 kW. Examples of such loads are electric air conditioners, electric steering systems, electric brakes, or high-energy discharge lamps. At this level of demand, the system based

Manuscript received May 14, 2009; revised August 31, 2009; accepted October 21, 2009. First published November 20, 2009; current version published March 19, 2010. Corresponding author: S. Javadi (e-mail: s_javadi_arani@yahoo.com; saeid.javadi@aut.ac.ir). Color versions of one or more of the gures in this paper are available online at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org. Digital Object Identier 10.1109/TMAG.2009.2036256

on the Lundell machine and the 12-V dc bus voltage becomes inefcient. The losses in the alternator are signicant and the increased currents require thicker wiring harnesses. Considering the concern for improved fuel economy and reduced emissions, the need for an electric system with improved efciency is apparent whereas the increase in cost can now be justied with energy savings [3]. Axial-ux machines are among the most suitable candidates for several automotive applications due to their compactness and lightness, together with their high efciency [4], [5]. A coreless conguration eliminates any ferromagnetic material, and thus eliminating the associated eddy current and hysteresis losses. Also, these machines can be stacked axially allowing for a simple mechanical construction [1]. Because of the absence of core losses, a coreless stator axial-ux permanent-magnet (AFPM) machine can operate at higher efciency than conventional machines [4], [6], [7][10]. Adoption of ironless windings results in a signicant reduction in the stator weight, so that a small size actuator can be employed for shifting of winding. Moreover, by implementing an ironless stator core, no cogging torque would be produced. For a large pole-number, the diameters of the magnets and coils are xed and limit the radial length of the active area. This can result in a generator that has quite a large radius but small active length. For small, low-power turbines that tend to run relatively quickly this is not a problem, but as power increases and a reduction in speed is desired, the number of poles should increase, and now the radial length of the active area can be small compared to the radius. Such a problem can be reduced by using trapezoidal or rectangular magnets whereby pole pitch and active length can be decoupled from each other [11]. The development of a coreless generator considered in this paper is focused on the design and space harmonic analysis of a modied structure of an AFPM generator with rectangular magnets. It will be shown that due to the simple structure, controllable output voltage, low amount of harmonics, and higher efciency, this generator can be a suitable choice for automobiles and an alternative to the conventional Lundell generator. The machine type selection is based on several key advantages, in-

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that has lower weight and cost relative to magnetic materials, and is resistive against temperature and pressure. In this structure, one stator is stationary whereas the other can be turned. By connecting the two stator windings in series, the resultant voltage can be obtained as follows [7]: (1) are the mechanical phase shift bewhere , , , and tween the windings of the two stators, the number of pole pairs, root-mean-square (rms) voltage per phase per stator, and rms voltage per phase, respectively. If the phase shift is equal to zero, then maximum voltage is induced which is suitable for low-speed ranges. At higher speeds, the phase shift between the two stator windings is increased to obtain the desired voltage at the output terminals of the generator. In other words, an approximately xed output voltage can be generated for a wide speed range. Using this conguration a mechanical eld weakening is implemented that is cost effective without power electronic devices. To do so, it was necessary to form gear teeth on one of the bony ber plates (the second part of Fig. 11) to make it turn by a pivot. The three-phase output voltage of the generator is then rectied by diodes to obtain the required 42-V dc output voltage. is obtained as The open circuit dc voltage of the generator follows: (2) where , , and are output frequency, the number of coil turns in series per phase, and the magnetic ux per pole, respectively. Of course, the voltage drop of the diodes and total resistances should also be taken into account. The output volt-ampere ratings (VA) of the machine can be obtained by [12] (3) , , , and f/p are the output power cowhere efcient, the mean diameter of stator, the axial length, and the synchronous speed of the generator, respectively. The output coefcient is related to magnetic and electric loading of the machine. The electric loading is similar to the Lundell generator [13], [14]. Equation (4) can be used to obtain the required number of [11] concentrated coils (4) In (2)(4), and the volume limitation the designer is faced with, the authors chose eight poles and six concentrated coils for the proposed three-phase generator. Looking radially inwards onto the machine shown in Fig. 1 and ignoring curvature allows the machine to be represented as shown in Fig. 3 where the x- and z-coordinates represent the circumferential and axial directions, respectively. The model assumes the radial direction to be innite. Although strictly a

Fig. 1. Proposed machine structure.

Fig. 2. Flux paths.

cluding high power density, being brushless, easy maintenance and low manufacturing cost relative to the conventional Lundell generators and other proposed PM machines [3]. The dc load voltage of the designed generator under loadings at different speeds is assumed to be 42 V. II. MODELING AND DESIGN The schematic structure of the proposed AFPM generator shown in Fig. 1 consists of two stators and one rotor. This generator has a simple structure to manufacture, and also no iron cores which reduces the weight. The two ironless stator windings are placed in the air gap with 1-mm mechanical clearance from the rotor disc on each side. The rotor disc consists of rectangular at-shaped high-energy NdFeB magnets glued into the emptied spaces of similar size of magnets on an aluminum rotor-supporting part. Because of this low magnet permeability structure, the machine is less sensitive to air gap variations. Therefore, manufacturing tolerances could be loosened to reduce the cost. Also, solid mild steel back plates are placed on the outer of the two stators. Using a nonmagnet material for the armature support structure ensures minimal axial magnetic forces between the rotor and stator, thereby making the assembly easier, while ensuring the generator has no cogging torque. Fig. 2 shows the schematic rotor poles with an opposite arrangement (N-S type) and the associated ux paths for the proposed generator. Concentrated armature coils of each stator are easily glued onto nonmagnetic nonconducting material such as bony ber

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Fig. 3. Schematic for the analytic model.

Fig. 5. Coil geometry. Fig. 4. Model for Laplace solution.

three-dimensional (3-D) problem, a satisfactory analytical solution for the ux density distribution produced from magnets can be found by solving Laplaces equation for the two-dimensional Cartesian problem dened in Fig. 3. The problem is symmetrical on either side of the center line, allowing it to be considered in the form of Fig. 4. A solution is now possible using the analysis described in [15] where the magnet is presented by an equivalent described current. The analytic formula for normal component of magnetic ux in Fig. 4 is as follows: density in the middle of air gap

Fig. 6. Different positions of the right arm of a coil passing by a pole.

(5) where , , , , and are pole pitch at different radii, the width of PM in circumferential direction, the PM thickness, the residual ux density, and the relative permeability of PM, respectively. To calculate ux and the induced voltage, it is assumed that the coil geometry of the stator is in the form of Fig. 5 and hence, only two arms in the radial direction are effective to produce voltage as follows:

Fig. 7. Equivalent magnetic circuit.

(6) (7) , , and are the number of turns of one coil, where the coil width in radial direction, and the width of differential , , element of the main arm of coil, respectively. Also, , and are sectional areas of and poles swept by the

rst and second arms, respectively. It is clear that only one arm is in front of a pole at a time and thus, only one of the sectional , , , and is considered in the calculation of areas ux at that moment, which is dependent on the arm position. As an illustration, different positions for the differential element of the rst arm with width in front of a North Pole are depicted , , and in Fig. 6. For the positions shown in the gure, are all equal to zero and is the covered area underneath the North Pole. To calculate the resistance and inductance of a coil, one may turns of a coil shown with dotted lines assume that the in Fig. 5 are located in the middle of coil with outer and inner

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Fig. 8. Machine structure.

Fig. 9. DC load and the equivalent circuits.

Fig. 10. Prototype generator (in EMTR laboratory). Fig. 11. Detailed structure of the machine. (a) PMs, (b) stator winding, and (c) prototype machine.

average radii and , respectively. Now, the resistances per coil and per phase can approximately be obtained as follows:

in Fig. 7. By observing Fig. 8, the reluctances can be obtained as in the following: (8) (9) where , , and , are the cross-sectional area of wire, the number of coils in parallel per phase, and the number of coils in series per phase, respectively. To simplify the calculation of armature inductance, it is assumed that the resultant magnetic ux density produced by a coil in the air gap is in axial direction [11]. The equivalent magnetic circuit for one phase of the proposed generator is shown

(10) where and , , , , and are the axial distances of the middle of the rst stage coil from the back

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TABLE I DESIGN DATA OF THE PROPOSED MACHINE

Fig. 12. Meshed model of half of the generator.

Fig. 13. Models of windings in zero and nonzero mechanical phase shift.

iron core, the middle of the rst stage coil from the second stage coil, the middle of the second stage coil from other back iron core, the average area of one coil, and the core area. By using and Fig. 7, it is clear that

generator efciency are obtained as in the following [11]:

(11) Therefore (13) , , , , and are equivalent dc resiswhere tance, equivalent resistance due to diode commutating inductance, open circuit dc voltage, output dc voltage, and efciency, respectively. The resistances of the connections from the generator to the diode rectier and to the load have not been considered in (13). If required, these can be taken into account by increasing the generator resistance as appropriate. The term has been added to (13) to account for the voltage drop in the diodes.

(12) where and are the inductance values of one coil, and per-phase, respectively. Fig. 9 shows the circuit and its equivalent model for automotive applications. The equivalent circuit parameters and the

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Fig. 14. Phase shift angle versus speed for the proposed generator.

Fig. 16. Comparison of the experimental, 3-D FEM, and analytical no-load voltages at 800 rpm. (a) Experimental, (b) 3-D FEM, and (c) analytical method.

Fig. 15. Magnetic ux density distribution in back iron and PMs.

III. PROTOTYPE GENERATOR AND SIMULATION A prototype generator was constructed for verication. It was tested for various loads at different speeds to evaluate its performance. The generator and detailed structure of the machine is shown in Figs. 10 and 11. Two parallel coils per phase on each side are connected in series with each other according to (1). It should be noted that one of the stators can be turned by a small actuator to get the desired voltage and performance. The design data are summarized in Table I. The meshed model of the generator is shown in Fig. 12. It is sufcient to analyze half of the machine structure due to symmetry. For 3-D nite-element method (FEM) calculation with motion, the model is divided in two moving and stationary parts.

Fig. 17. Harmonic spectrum of the voltage at 800 rpm.

In this model, the rotor is placed in the meshed volume and turned whereas the stator is kept stationary.

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Fig. 18. Magnetic ux density variations versus circumferential distance in different radii using analytical method.

Fig. 19. Magnetic ux density variations versus circumferential distance in different radii using 3-D FEM.

Fig. 13 shows the relative position of the two windings with respect to each other. One stator is stationary and another is movable to get the desired dc output voltage. The required phase shift in electrical degrees for the proposed generator to get 42 V at no load from zero to 12 000 rpm is depicted in Fig. 14. It is clear that to get 42 V in loading condition, the curve is shifted to the right side because of the voltage drop on generator and rectier circuit elements. Fig. 15 shows magnetic ux density values in back iron and the PMs. The variations are not smoothly distributed in some parts of the gures due to the coarse mesh density and numerical errors. It is observed that the ux density in back iron is below 1.8 T which is lower than the eld saturation value of the magnetic iron. The comparison between the experimental and theoretical no-load output voltage at 800 rpm for a zero phase-shift between the windings is shown in Fig. 16. The results are approximately the same. The harmonic analysis for the experimental no-load output voltage of Fig. 16 is shown in Fig. 17. The total harmonic voltage (THD%) is under 6.9%, which is suitable. The magnetic ux density versus circumferential distance by the 3-D FEM and analytical methods are shown in Figs. 18 and 19, respectively. It is deduced from the gures that the results compare very well. The maximum value of ux density is 0.595

Fig. 20. Comparison between theoretical and experimental efciencies versus dc load current at 800 rpm.

T for a 10-mm air gap between PMs and back iron, suitable for air core electric machines. The efciency and the dc output voltage at 800 rpm are, respectively, shown in Figs. 20 and 21. The maximum discrepancy is less than 4%. The main source of losses in the machine is from stator copper losses. As it was expected, the graphs are linear, because armature reaction is insignicant in ironless stators. Assuming an average speed of 2000 rpm for automotive generators, a dc voltage of 42 V at rated load is desired. Usually, the starting speed of the automotive generator is 2000 (rpm) and the

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Fig. 21. Comparison between theoretical and experimental dc output voltage versus dc load current at 800 rpm.

Fig. 24. Comparison between theoretical and experimental efciencies versus load current at 2000 rpm.

IV. CONCLUSION The main objective of this paper was to introduce, analyze, and verify a modied structure of axial ux generators for automotive applications. Simple and robust structure of the proposed machine and lower manufacturing cost with better performance are the main advantages achieved. The generator is a brushless PM machine which is an advantage especially at high speeds. Because of its simple structure, controllable output voltage, and very low harmonic components, the proposed generator can be a suitable choice and an alternative to the conventional Lundell generator in 42-V systems. Due to coreless stator, the armature reaction is very small, which is advantageous in voltage regulation. It also has lower losses and higher efciency. REFERENCES
[1] J. F. Gieras, R. J. Wang, and M. J. Kamper, Axial Flux Permanent Magnet Brushless Machines. Norwell, MA: Kluwer, 2004. [2] W. Mo, L. Zhang, A. Shan, L. Cao, J. Wu, and M. Komuro, Improvement of magnetic properties and corrosion resistance of NdFeB magnets by inter-granular addition of MgO, Trans. Alloys Compounds, vol. 461, no. 1, pp. 351354, Aug. 2007. [3] M. Comenscu, A. Keyhani, and M. Dai, Design and analysis of 42-V permanent-magnet generator for automotive applications, IEEE Trans. Energy Convers., vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 107112, Mar. 2003. [4] S. Javadi and M. Mirsalim, A coreless axial-ux permanent-magnet generator for automotive applications, IEEE Trans. Magn., vol. 44, no. 12, pp. 45914598, Dec. 2008. [5] M. Mirzaei, M. Mirsalim, and S. E. Abdollahi, Analytical modeling of axial air gap solid rotor induction machines using a quasi-three-dimensional method, IEEE Trans. Magn., vol. 43, no. 7, pp. 32373242, Jul. 2007. [6] S. M. Hosseini, M. Mirsalim, and M. Mirzaei, Design, prototyping, and analysis of a low cost axial-ux coreless permanent-magnet generator, IEEE Trans. Magn., vol. 44, no. 1, pp. 7580, Jan. 2008. [7] L. D. Ferraro, F. G. Capponi, R. Terrigi, F. Caricchi, and O. Honorati, Ironless axial ux PM machine with active mechanical ux weakening for automotive applications, in Proc. IEEE Industry Applications Conf., 2006, pp. 16. [8] F. Caricchi, F. Crescimbini, O. Honorati, G. Lo Bianco, and E. Santini, Performance of coreless-winding axial-ux permanent-magnet generator with power output at 400 Hz, 3000 r/min, IEEE Trans. Ind. Applicat., vol. 34, no. 6, pp. 12631269, Nov./Dec. 1998. [9] F. Crescimbini, A. D. Napoli, L. Solero, and F. Caricchi, Compact permanent-magnet generator for hybrid vehicle applications, IEEE Trans. Ind. Applicat., vol. 41, no. 5, pp. 11681177, Sep./Oct. 2005. [10] L. Del Ferraro, F. Caricchi, F. Giulii Capponi, and G. De Donato, Axial-ux PM starter/alternator machine with a novel mechanical device for extended ux weakening capabilities, in Proc. IEEE 39th IAS Annu. Conf., Oct. 37, 2004, vol. 3, pp. 1413419.

Fig. 22. Experimental no-load output voltage at 2000 rpm.

Fig. 23. Comparison between theoretical and experimental dc output voltage versus load current at 2000 rpm.

desired dc voltage under loading is 42 V. The winding is of air winding type, which means we can have higher current values for the same condition as in a conventional Lundell generator. Fig. 22 shows the test no-load voltage at 2000 rpm which is approximately sinusoidal. The efciency and the dc output voltage at 2000 rpm are, respectively, shown in Figs. 23 and 24. One can deduce from the plots that the output voltage is higher than the desired 42 V and the efciency is higher than 91% for a load current of 15 A (normal current). The phase-shifting between the two stators is required to maintain the output voltage at a 42-V value. As an example, from Fig. 14, we need a phase shift of close to 66.4 for a speed of 2000 rpm.

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[11] J. R. Bumby and R. Martin, Axial-ux permanent-magnet air-cored generator for small-scale wind turbines, Proc. Inst. Elect. Eng., vol. 152, pp. 10651075, Sep. 2005. [12] E. S. Hamdi, Design of Small Electrical Machines. New York: Wiley, 1994. [13] L. M. Lorrilla, T. A. Keim, J. H. Lang, and D. J. Perrault, Topologies for future automotive generatorsPart I: Modeling and analytics, in Proc. IEEE Vehicle Power and Propulsion Conf., 2005, pp. 819830. [14] L. M. Lorrilla, T. A. Keim, J. H. Lang, and D. J. Perrault, Topologies for future automotive generators Part II: Optimization, in Proc. IEEE Vehicle Power and Propulsion Conf., 2005, pp. 831837. [15] J. R. Bumby, R. Martin, E. Spooner, N. L. Brown, and B. J. Chalmers, Electromagnetic design of axial ux permanent magnet machines, Proc. Inst. Elect. Eng., pp. 151160, 2004.

His research interests are numerical and analytical analysis of electromagnetic elds, and electrical machines.

Saeid Javadi was born in Aran and Bidgol, Iran, on March 21, 1969. He received the B.S. degree in communication engineering and the M.S. degree in electrical power engineering from Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran, in 1992 and 1999, respectively. He is pursuing the Ph.D. degree in the Department of Electrical Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology.

Mojtaba Mirsalim (SM04) was born in Tehran, Iran, on February 14, 1956. He received the B.S. degree in EECS/NE and the M.S. degree in nuclear engineering from the University of California, Berkley, in 1978 and 1980, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from Oregon State University, Corvallis, in 1986. Since 1987, he has been at Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, where he has served ve years as the Vice Chairman and more than seven years as the General Director in Charge of Academic Assessments, and is currently a Full Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering where he teaches courses and conducts research in energy conversion, electrical machine design, and hybrid vehicles, among others. His special elds of interest include the design, analysis, and optimization of electric machines, FEM, renewable energy, and hybrid vehicles. He is the author of more than 110 international journal and conference papers and three books on electric machinery and FEM. He is the founder and at present, the director of the Electrical Machines and Transformers Research Laboratory. His web page is available at http://ele.aut.ac.ir/~emtrl.