Australasian Universities Power Engineering Conference (AUPEC 2004)

26-29 September 2004, Brisbane, Australia

ON THE ISSUES OF STARTING AND COGGING FORCE REDUCTION OF A

TUBULAR PERMANENT MAGNET LINEAR GENERATOR

H. Arof, A. M. Eid, K. M. Nor

Electrical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering

University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Abstract

In this paper methods to start a dual piston linear generator are proposed. The key issue of starting a
linear generator is finding efficient methods to provide initial force to move the translator that is
strong enough to overcome opposing forces like cogging, friction, and compression in the combustion
chamber. The cogging force is reduced using techniques listed in the paper. The finite element method
(FEM) is used to simulate the force calculation, energy equation and cogging force reduction. The
results of the calculation of cogging force and the electromotive force at the stator coils terminals are
subsequently verified by the experimental data collected from testing a real linear generator.

1. INTRODUCTION 2. TPM LINEAR GENERATOR FEATURES

The linear machines are being employed increasingly in
applications ranging from transportations,
manufacturing, and office automation to material
processing and generation systems [1]. For linear
generators that are powered by internal combustion
engine, the dual piston configuration has been suggested
to be superior as it is more suitable for high speed
applications and avoids complexity on control [2].
In order to initiate combustion, force must be applied to
move the translator to compress fuel in the combustion
chamber and ignite it. The existence of the cogging
force poses a problem for starting as it opposes the
movement of the generator translator wherever it travels
from one side to the other. This cogging force results
from the interaction between the iron-structure stator
teeth and the permanent magnets mounted on the
translator part.
This paper will mainly focus on the aspect of delivering
enough initial force to move the translator from
standstill to top dead center of a combustion engine
cylinder. The energy is delivered by the interaction of
the magnetic field of the permanent magnets attached to
the translator and the field produced by the coils
attached to the stator as suitable current is injected into
them. Two methods are used with varying currents to
produce enough propelling force to overcome the
opposing force mainly from cogging and compression.
Hence, the cogging force is reduced to the minimum.
Methods to reduce cogging force are explained briefly.
The stroke length, outer stator diameters are constrains
in this tubular generator design.
The linear machine has various topologies and
configurations. The tubular permanent magnet (TPM)
topologies are particularly attractive since they have a
high thrust force density and high efficiency, no end
windings and zero net attractive force between stator
and armature [3-5]. There are various tubular motor
topologies [6, 7], in which the armature may be either
air-cored or iron-cored. The force density for slotted
TPM topology is significantly higher than for slotless
iron-cored. The slotted TPM linear generator is the
subject of this paper. Figure 1 shows a TPM linear
generator with PM magnetized in the axial direction.
The generator is axi-symmetric around z-axis as shown
in Fig. 1, thus the generated cogging force is in the z-
direction only, and the other radial forces cancel out.
tooth
back-iron
spacer
r coil
PM
z
shaft
Fig. 1 The structure of TPM linear generator
The stator of the TPM linear generator consists of two
H c lm
slots in which the coils are placed to collect the J m = ∇ × (νµ 0 M ) = (6)
generated voltage. The moving part (translator) is Am
composed of three PM’s and magnetic material spacers
as well as a non-magnetic shaft. The PM used is a rare- where ν is the magnetic reluctivity, µ0 is the free space
earth type of Nd-Fe-B material which has high energy permeability, and M is the magnetization vector
product. The main dimensions and other specifications intensity, Hc is the coercive force, lm is the PM length
for the studied tubular PM linear generator are listed in and Am is the cross-section area of the PM.
Table 1. The cogging force is calculated using Maxwell Stress
Method as [9]:
Table 1: Specifications of TPM linear generator
Item Value unit F=∫
1
2µ 0
(B 2
n )
− Bt2 ds. t +
1
µ0
Bn Bt ds. n (7)
Pole pitch 76 mm s
Slot pitch 76 mm
where s is the surface enveloping the body under force,
Stator Slot depth 30 mm B is the flux density; n and t are unit vectors in the
Tooth width 8 mm normal and tangential direction on the surface s.
Back-iron thickness 6.5 mm The induced voltage, Ef at stator coil terminal is
Magnet length 56 mm calculated from Faraday’s law of magnetic induction as:
Translator PM Material Nd-Fe-B
PM retentivity, Br 1.1 T dφ dφ dz
Air gap Air gap length 1 mm
Ef =− N =− N (8)
dt dz dt
Stroke Stroke length 76 mm
where N is the number of turns per coil, φ is the flux
passing in each turn in time t and z is the position. The
3. FEM CALCULATIONS total induced voltage equals the sum of the two coils
voltages.
Magneto-static analysis is governed by the following
Maxwell’s equations [8]. As shown in Fig.1, the generator is symmetrical around
∇.B = 0 (1) z-axis. Therefore the tubular PM linear generator can be
analysed as an axi-symmetric problem. The analysis can
∇×H = J (2) be done in rz plane; i.e. in two dimensions only. A two
dimensional finite element method (Maxwell 2D version
Where B is the flux density vector, H is magnetic field
10 by Ansoft Corporations) is used in the analysis and
intensity vector and J is the equivalent current density.
calculations of the magnetic fields values.
.
In addition to Maxell’s equations, the constitutive
relation that describes the behavior of the magnetic 4. COGGING FORCE REDUCTION
material is given as:
PM linear machines have detent force caused by the
B = µH (3) interaction of the PM’s with the teeth of the stator [10].
The ripple of the detent force produces both vibrations
Where, µ is the nonlinear magnetic permeability of the and noise [11, 12]. Simulating the model of Fig. 1, the
magnetic material used in the design. maximum cogging force and the root mean square (rms)
The magnetic vector potential, A, can be defined as: of the generated voltage across the stator coils are 1.58
kN and 205.7 V, respectively. The stacking factor for
B =∇ ×A (4)
the stator laminations is considered unity. The cogging
From equations (1)-(4), the magnetic vector potential A, (detent) force is periodic and has a period of a slot pitch.
can be expressed as a function of the equivalent
magnetization current density of the permanent magnet 4.1 Effect of lengthening the air gap length
Jm and the current density of primary part Js as [9]:
To reduce the cogging force, the air gap length is
∇ × ∇ × A = µ (J s + J m ) (5) increased by cutting a 5 mm from the middle tooth,
while keeping the coil volume constant. For this case,
Where, Jm is calculated from the PM magnetization as: the corresponding cogging force and the output voltage
 1200 reduced, see Eq. (7). When lm is much reduced, the flux
1000 Experiment leakage increases in the air gap; thus leading to a
FEM reduction in the generated voltage in the stator coils.
800
Decreasing lm from 56mm to 20mm, the induced voltage
force (N)

600
is decreased from 171 V to 160 V, while the cogging
400
force is reduces to 260 N. The effect lm on the cogging
200 force is shown in Fig. 4. The corresponding effects of lm
0 on the induced voltage are shown in Fig.5. As it can be
0 4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40
z (m m )
noticed from Fig. 5 the induced voltage tends to be
constant for large values of lm while the cogging
increases quite linearly with PM length, lm.
Fig. 2 The cogging force for half stroke

800

700
300
600
250 Experiment 500

force (N)
FEM 400
200
voltage (V)

300
150 200

100
100
0
50 14 20 26 32 38 44 50 56 62
magnet length (mm)
0
0 0.002 0.004 0.006 0.008 0.01
time (sec) Fig. (4) Effect of the PM length on the cogging force

Fig. 3 The generated output voltage for half stroke 175

170
waveforms are shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3 for both finite
voltage (V)

element results and experimental results. The maximum 165

cogging force and output voltage of the TPM generator 160

are 1.044kN and 183V. The decrease in the rms voltage
is due to the increase of air gap length, which results in
an increase of the leakage flux and at the same time
decreases the cogging force by 33%. Cutting the middle
tooth by 5 mm in the radial direction decreases the
induced voltage by 11%.
As it is shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, the test results are
agreed with those obtained by the 2-D FEM. When the
outer teeth of the stator are chamfered by 5 mm, the
maximum cogging forces are 650 N and 440 N for
normal and sloped PM. The generated output voltages
become 167 and 171 V for normal and sloped PM,
respectively.
4.2 Effect of PM length
Another technique to reduce the cogging force is to take
the effect of the PM length (lm). The PM length is varied
over a wide range. For each value of lm, the detent force
and the induced voltage are calculated by FEM.
Decreasing lm will decrease the equivalent current
density of the PM, hence leading to reducing the
magnetic fields in the air gap. Thus the cogging force is
155
150
14 20 26 32 38 44 50 56 62
magnet length (mm)
Fig. (5) PM length effect on the induced voltage
5. STARTING METHODS
The linear generator integrates with the combustion
engine to form the free-piston engine. One possible
layout is shown in Fig. 6. The rod connecting two
oppositely placed combustion chambers is also the
prime mover of the linear generator. The reciprocating
compression and expansion processes in the oppositely
placed chambers impart an oscillating motion to the
connecting rod. Since the permanent magnets are
attached to the rod, this movement causes the magnetic
field to move at the same speed as the rod and thus
creates changes of flux with respect to time. As a result
an emf is induced in the coils. The process of generation
starts with the conversion of the energy released by the
burning fuel during the combustion into internal energy
of the hot gas [2]. This is then partially transformed into
the kinetic energy of the piston. A part of this energy is
drawn electrically via the linear generator directly
without any intermediary link. In the process of starting
the linear generator, there should be enough force to
drive the piston from standstill and also compress the
fuel to achieve the required compression ratio at the top
dead center. The initial force (or energy) is delivered by
the interaction of the magnetic field of the permanent
magnets attached to the translator and the field produced
by the coils at the stator as high current is injected into
them. The estimated opposing force exerted by the
compressed fuel on the piston is shown in Fig. 7.
Friction is neglected. The area under this curve
represents the total energy required to move the piston
from the initial position at the lowest energy state at the
end of far side to the top dead center.
In this case we assume that the initial position is at the
beginning of the stroke (0mm) and the top dead center is
at the end of the stroke (76mm). Concurrently, the other
piston at the opposite end will undergo the process of
expansion. Using trapezoidal rule integration, the total
energy required to move the piston under compression
from the initial state to the top dead center can be
calculated from the figure. It is equal to the area under
the curve which is equal to 19.32 J. Techniques to start
the TPM linear generator are proposed and explained
below.
Moving rod (translator)
5.1 Using Extra Coil method
To get a thrust force at the beginning of the stroke to
push the piston; an extra coil is attached to the stator as
shown in Fig. 8. The width of the extra coil is chosen on
the basis of minimum cogging force and maximum
thrust while maintaining the output voltage. The
dimensions of the extra coil are similar to the main coils
except that the width is 30 mm.
A direct current of maximum value of 35 A is injected to
the main coils and the extra coil simultaneously with
different polarities. The total force created will
overcome the cogging force and the resulting force
distribution of the sloped PM over one stroke is shown
Fig. 9. The sloped PM is advantageous since it reduces
the cogging force value and increases the output voltage
across the stator coils due to the linear change of its
sides. This results in more rapid change in the flux
linking the coils. Consequently, the sloped PM
configuration requires less starting force at the
beginning of the stroke and thus it has stronger initial
force to the translator given the same amount of input
energy. At the end of the stroke the total energy of the
system must be equal to zero. This requirement is
needed to make the piston stops at the top dead center.
Main coils Extra coil

r
Linear
Generator
z
Sloped PM Spacer
Piston Electricity Combustion
terminals chamber Fig. 8 TPM generator with starting extra coil

Fig. 6 Sketch of the free piston generator

100

2400 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
2000 -100
thrust (N)

1600 -200
force (N)

1200 -300

800 -400
400
-500
0
-600
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
position (mm)
dispacement (mm)

Fig. 7 Force exerted by compression and suction Fig. 9 The thrust force using extra coil
5.2 Using Split Coils method normal PM sloped PM

0
The second method for starting the linear generator is by 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
-500
using split coils. Instead of applying two different
-1000
currents in the main coils, the two main coils of the

thrust (N)
generator are split into four sub-coils (C1, C2, C3, and -1500

C4). The widths of the four coils are equal as shown in -2000

Fig. 10. Splitting the main coils into four sub-coils, -2500
provides more current control when applying currents -3000
during starting the linear generator so that the currents in position (mm)
the same main coil may have different values or
polarities. When DC currents are applied into the four Fig. 11 The thrust force using split coil
sub-coils the generated thrust force for both normal and
sloped PM is shown in Fig. 11.
0
The injected currents are varied between -50A and 50A -2 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

to provide enough force to compress the fuel. The -4

-6
maximum current can be adjusted to get the desired

energy (J)
-8
thrust force. Any stable system can achieve the equation -10
of energy balance. The input energy to a stable system is -12
equal to the output energy from the system which can be -14

expressed as: -16

-18

∑Q input = ∑ Qoutput (9) -20

position (mm)

In other words, the injected energy should be the same

as the energy required for initiating combustion. The
energy of the engine side as well as the energy of the
stator side are calculated at different positions and
compared to verify equation (9). The total energy of the
system (injected energy minus compression) against
position is shown in Fig. 12. The figure shows that the
energy at the end of the stroke is approximately zero.
The maximum injected current used is 35 A.
Sub-coil Main coil
Fig. 12 The total system energy stored
linear generator are proposed; namely extra and splitting
coils with varying the injected current to the coils. The
finite element method is used to simulate the thrust
calculations and cogging force reduction methods. The
results of the calculation of cogging force and the
electromotive force at the stator coils terminals are
subsequently verified by the experimental data collected
from testing a real TPM linear generator.

It is found that the sloped PM reduces the cogging force

more than the normal PM. The split coil method for
starting is more practical than the extra coil method. In
C1 C2 C3 C4
this case the stator weight is less and thrust force can be
controlled more easily by providing four different
Translator currents in the sub-coils instead of three in the extra coil
method. Thus the injected currents can be controlled to
provide the desired thrust force required to push the
Fig. 10 Splitting the main coils translator against the engine forces. Both starting
methods have achieved the natural energy balance law.
6. CONCLUSIONS 7. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Different methods are used in this paper to reduce the The authors gratefully thank the Ministry of Science,
cogging force of the tubular permanent magnet linear Technology and Environment, Malaysia for supporting
generator. Two different methods to start a dual piston this project under IRPA Grant No. 33-02-03-3013.
 8. REFERENCES
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