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Permanent Magnet Starter-Generator for

Aircraft Application

Article · September 2014

DOI: 10.4271/2014-01-2157

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Puvan Arumugam Serhiy Bozhko

Romax Technology University of Nottingham
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University of Nottingham The University of Manchester
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Abstract
This paper describes a high-speed electrical machine for an aircraft starter-generator. A surface mounted permanent magnet machine
is designed to have minimal rotor losses and a novel cooling system for the stator. An inner stator sleeve is adopted to allow for a
flooded stator whilst minimizing rotor windage losses. Different slot-pole combinations are compared in view of attaining an optimal
combination that provides minimum losses whilst satisfying the electromagnetic, mechanical and thermal constraints.

Introduction
The aircraft electrical power systems in next generation commercial airlines are undergoing a significant development. Future aircraft
power systems are expected to be more fuel efficient and also simpler to service and maintain. The way towards this goal has been
identified as a move towards “more electric” systems by replacement of hydraulic and pneumatic sources of power with electrical
counterparts [1, 2]. This can lead to an increased reliance on electrical power for a range of primary functions including actuation, deicing,
cabin air-conditioning and engine start. A more electric power generation system plays a key role in this technology and this paper
focuses on the design of a starter-generator for such systems. One of the challenges often encountered in the design of a starter-
generator for aero-engines is the need to satisfy two fundamental functions, namely to energize the engines during start-up and to
generate power during normal engine operation. In addition, it should provide high efficiency at generation, better power density and
sufficient reliability.

This paper proposes a high speed PM machine for an aircraft starter-generator which has reduced size and weight when compared to
the current available technology. A permanent magnet machine is designed to have minimal rotor losses and an enhanced cooling
system for the stator. Particular attention was paid to address machine short-circuit fault prognostics to ensure the system’s safe
operation. This allowed for a distributed winding to be adopted, consequently minimizing rotor losses. The paper will detail the design
and optimization of the machine in order to minimize size and weight.

Machine should be designed to

maximize performance within
Torque (Per Unit)

this region
4.0 PU

1.6 PU

1.0 PU

ωstart ωmin ωmax

Speed (rpm)
Figure 1. Torque-Speed characteristics of the starter-generator

Starter-Generator Design
This section reports a design of a machine that acts as a starter and a generator which feeds into a 270V DC supply with a nominal
power of 45 kW at 32krpm. Figure 1 shows the approximate torque speed characteristics requirement of the starter generator. The
machine runs as a motor during engine start and must supply constant torque from standstill to ω start. Between ωstart to ωmin the machine
provides a constant power to accelerate the engine. When the machine reaches ωmin, it becomes a generator that generates a maximum
constant power of 45 kW up to a maximum speed (ωmax) of 32 krpm.

Different electrical machine topologies namely, induction, switched reluctance and topological variants of permanent magnet based
machines were considered. Amongst them a SPM machine was chosen considering mechanical and thermal constrains at high speed,
power density, reliability and overall drive size. Different FT design options were considered [3] in order to implement a solution that did
not require a disengagement mechanism between the machine and the gearbox such as that presented in [4]. A FT solution was
however not necessary as instead a solution based on a winding failure prognostic methodology was chosen [5]. This then allows the
adoption of a distributed winding, consequently minimizing rotor losses in both PM and the rotor back-iron. Different slot-pole
combinations were investigated in view of the overall drive system losses and performance and the design compromise in meeting the
operation requirements both as an engine starter and generator. The implications of adopting different magnet retention technologies
and the choice of soft magnetic material were also studied.

Page 1 of 3
Slot Pole Combinations

The stator geometry and winding design involves the selection of number of slots Q, number of pole pairs p, winding pattern, number of
conductors per-slot per-winding layer Nc, stack length lstk, stator tooth width wsp and depth hs2 and the remaining stator slot dimensions
such as stator back iron thickness hs3 and stator tooth edge dimensions bs0, hs0, hs1. Figure 2 illustrates the corresponding dimensions
in a quarter cross section of a stator design.

Figure 2. Illustration of machine parameters considered in the design

The slot (Q)/pole (p) combinations considered in this study are shown in Table 1. Both single and double layer (Nlay) winding topologies
are considered in the selection procedure. The number of rotor poles is limited to 4, 6 and 8 as any higher number of poles will lead to
too-high electrical frequencies and high magnetic material and power converter losses. Two pole number designs are not considered
due to the requirement of higher stating torque at motoring. In order to limit the temperature increase in the rotor as consequence of
eddy currents induced by non-synchronous MMF harmonics at high speed, the winding topology for each slot/pole combination is
selected such that the winding harmonics are minimized in a trade-off with the fundamental winding factor.

Table 1. Considered slot-pole combinations

q Nlay 2p Q 2p Q 2p Q
0.5 2 4 6 6 9 8 12
1 1 4 12 6 18 8 24
1 2 4 12 6 18 8 24
1.5 2 4 18 6 27 8 36
2 1 4 24 6 36 8 48
2 2 4 24 6 36 8 48

When comparing the different slot/pole combinations, in each design, the stator tooth maximum flux density at no-load is considered to
have 75% of the saturation flux density of the core material. The total weight of each machine was maintained the same for the
comparative study. This includes the stator, rotor and the copper associated with the winding including the end windings. Each machine
is thus designed for a constant weight and fixed outer diameter whereas it fulfils the torque-speed criteria presented in Figure 1.

To perform the operation in field weakening mode the machines are designed to have inductances (L) which satisfies the following
equation.

1 Vmax e  PM  2  Vmax3  2e  PM Vmax2

L (1)
e 2
 2Po 
Vmax imax2  e  PM  
 3e  PM 

Page 2 of 3
where, Vmax and imax are maximum converter voltage and current, ΨPM is no load flux linkage, ωe is angular velocity, Po is maximum
output power at generation and η is efficiency.

The converter in this case is of a 3 level structure and was contemporarily designed and optimised with the machine. This is however
not reported in this paper. Finally, the selection is made based on the generation efficiency and loss distribution.

Magnet Demagnetization
Operating conditions in both motoring and generating modes demand high currents which may result in high demagnetization fields. In
order to prevent a design of a machine with a high demagnetization risk, a maximum demagnetization field condition is incorporated in
the design process. Based on the cooling available, worst-case rotor temperature for the aero-engine starter-generator is considered at
o
300 C. The magnets are arranged in Halbach structure using Samarium cobalt magnet (Sm 2Co17) material. Magnet demagnetization at
different operating points is considered and the designs are modified when it was subject to strong demagnetization field.

(a) (b)
Figure 3. Demagnetization prediction plot at maximum speed

Figure 3a shows the demagnetization prediction plot obtained in FE at 32 krpm under worst case temperature. The constant value of 1
shown in the plot represents the magnet under risk of demagnetization whilst 0 is no demagnetization risk. From the results, it can be
clearly seen that there are slight demagnetisation effects during generating mode. This is due to the magnet arrangement of the
Halbach structure. To avoid the demagnetization on the edges, the magnets are modified as shown in Figure 3b. From Figure 3b, it can
be clearly seen that the magnets are not subject to demagnetization.

Implication of Magnet retention

In order to safely retain the magnet at high speed operation two different sleeve materials were investigated: Carbon Fibre (CF) and
Inconel 718. The sleeve thickness calculation is performed based on a 110% over-speed safety margin. Evaluated sleeve thickness
requirement for the selected rotor radii and magnet thicknesses are presented in Figure 4.

From Figure 4, it can be seen that the required sleeve thickness is highly influenced by rotor radius as centrifugal force proportionally
increases with the rotor radius; however the influence of the magnet thickness over the sleeve requirements is less significant.

Table 2 shows the pre-stress required from a 4 mm sleeve when CF and Inconel are used to retain the magnets up to maximum speed.
Both solutions are feasible and give the designer the capability to design a machine with the required optimal split ratio. In this case CF
has been chosen since eddy current losses are significantly less compare to the Inconel sleeve as illustrated in Table 2.

Page 3 of 3

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