Analytical modeling of flux-switching in-wheel motor

using variable magnetic equivalent circuits

Tang, Y.; Paulides, J.J.H.; Lomonova, E.A.

Published in:
ISRN Automotive Engineering

DOI:
10.1155/2014/530260

Published: 01/01/2014

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Citation for published version (APA):

Tang, Y., Paulides, J. J. H., & Lomonova, E. A. (2014). Analytical modeling of flux-switching in-wheel motor
using variable magnetic equivalent circuits. ISRN Automotive Engineering, 2014, 1-11. DOI:
10.1155/2014/530260

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Hindawi Publishing Corporation
ISRN Automotive Engineering
Volume 2014, Article ID 530260, 10 pages
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/530260

Research Article
Analytical Modeling of Flux-Switching In-Wheel Motor Using
Variable Magnetic Equivalent Circuits

Y. Tang, J. J. H. Paulides, and E. A. Lomonova

Electromechanics and Power Electronics Group, Department of Electrical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology,
Den Dolech 2, 5612 AZ Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Correspondence should be addressed to Y. Tang; [email protected]

Received 28 June 2013; Accepted 6 August 2013; Published 1 January 2014

Academic Editors: R. Kazemi, O. Prentkovskis, and D. Sanders

Copyright © 2014 Y. Tang et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which
permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Flux-switching motors (FSM) are competitive candidates for in-wheel traction systems. However, the analysis of FSMs presents
difficulty due to their complex structure and heavy magnetic saturation. This paper presents a methodology to rapidly construct,
adapt, and solve a variable magnetic equivalent circuit of 12-stator-slot 10-rotor-tooth (12/10) FSMs. Following this methodology,
a global MEC model is constructed and used to investigate correlations between the radial dimensions and the open-circuit phase
flux linkage of the 12/10 FSM. The constructed MEC model is validated with finite element analysis and thus proved to be able to
assist designers with the preliminary design of flux-switching motors for different in-wheel traction systems.

1. Introduction To solve this problem, an indirect-driving in-wheel module,

shown in Figure 2(a), can be adopted, in which the electrical
With the rising concern on environmental issues, hybrid/elec- motor is indirectly driving the wheel through a gearbox. By
tric vehicles (HEV/EV) have attracted an increasing interest this means, the required torque for the motor is reduced
from public and industry since the end of the 20th century. (Figure 2(b)), and the wheel mass is maintained. Different
The fast developing technology of HEV/EV has also intro- topologies of the in-wheel traction lead to different require-
duced a revolutionary traction concept to vehicles designers, ments and constraints for the motor design. Nevertheless, in
namely, in-wheel traction. By putting electric motors in the both topologies, electrical motors need to have a high torque
wheels, the drivetrain is greatly simplified. Mechanical axes density with certain level of ruggedness.
can thus be removed, which creates extra space for the cargo Permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) is
and reduces the total weight of the vehicle [1, 2], as shown in advantageous in torque production. However, the perfor-
Figure 1(a). These advantages of simplicity and freedom make mance of PMSM is usually limited due to crucial limits on the
the in-wheel traction a preferable traction mode for vehicle thermal and mechanical conditions of the permanent mag-
designers. nets in the rotor. Compared to PMSM, switched reluctance
For the design of an in-wheel traction system, there are motor (SRM), on the one hand, presents better ruggedness
two possible topologies, namely, direct driving and indirect benefitting from the robust rotor structure and, on the other
driving. In a direct-driving system, the electrical motor is hand, lower torque density resulting from the absence of a
directly driving the wheel without a gearbox, as shown in second magnetic excitation source [1, 2, 4].
Figure 1(b). This direct-driving in-wheel module provides a Flux-switching motors (FSM), including flux-switching
maximum simplicity for the system design; thus, it is com- permanent magnet motor (FSPMM) and dc-excited flux-
monly adopted in most existing in-wheel traction systems. switching motor (DCE-FSM) as shown in Figure 3, are prefer-
However, due to the absence of gearbox, the electrical ably considered as they combine the advantages of both SRM
motor of a direct-driving system needs to provide a high and PMSM. By placing the permanent magnets in the stator,
torque. The high torque in-wheel motor increases the wheel FSPMMs gain a similar robust rotor structure as SRMs while
mass and consequently reduces the passenger comfort [3]. preserving comparable torque density as PMSMs due to the
2 ISRN Automotive Engineering

Lateral link
Damper
Spring

(a)

Gearbox In-wheel
motor

(a)

T1

(b)

Required torque
Figure 1: In-wheel traction—(a) an electric truck with large cargo
and (b) an in-wheel motor.

T2
flux-concentrating effect [5–7]. Hence, they are a competitive
candidate for the application of in-wheel traction where high
torque and ruggedness are both concerned.
However, the analysis of FSMs presents great difficulty n1 n2
due to their complex structure and heavy magnetic satu- Required rotor speed
ration. Numerical methods, such as finite element analysis Indirect driving
(FEA), usually require a significant computational time Direct driving
despite of relatively high accuracy. Thus, they are not pre-
(b)
ferred for preliminary motor design, for example, initial
sizing [8, 9]. In contrast, certain analytical methods, such as Figure 2: Light-weight in-wheel module—(a) the module structure
Fourier analysis, are relatively faster in computing. However, and (b) torque-speed requirements for electrical motors in direct-
they are less accurate in solving nonlinear magnetic problems driving and indirect-driving in-wheel modules.
resulting from magnetic saturation [10–13]. Magnetic equiv-
alent circuits (MEC) provide a good compromise between
computational time and accuracy. Hence, they have been circuit topology should be changed. This repetitive adaption
extensively used for analyzing subsystems of electrical motors usually requires a considerable amount of manual effort and
and actuators which are prone to saturation, for example, the makes it especially difficult to implement the MEC method
stator and rotor teeth or back iron [14–21]. for motors with low periodicity, in which an elaborate global
In this paper, 12-stator-slot 10-rotor-tooth (12/10) FSMs MEC is required.
selected for various in-wheel traction systems are modeled In this paper, the global MEC of 12/10 FSM is constructed
using nonlinear variable MEC. The methods for constructing based on a number of MEC modules, including stator MEC
and solving the variable MEC of the 12/10 FSM are introduced modules, rotor MEC modules, and airgap MEC modules.
in Sections 2 and 3. Using the constructed variable MEC, By this means, the requirement of adapting the global MEC
correlations between certain design parameters and the open- is addressed to specific MEC modules. Hence, the involved
circuit phase flux linkage of 12/10 FSM are investigated. The workload is reduced.
results obtained using the MEC method are validated by the
FEA results in Section 4.
2.1. Categorization of MEC Elements. The MEC method is
based on the analogies of the quantity relations in a magnetic
2. Variable Magnetic Equivalent Circuits field and in a resistive electric circuit [22, 23], as
The airgap magnetic flux distribution of an FSM is highly sen- F
sitive to its rotor position due to the double-salient structure Φ= = F ⋅ P, (1)
R
of this motor. Hence, the global MEC of the motor needs to
be frequently updated in synchronism with rotor position. At in which Φ is the flux, F is the magnetomotive force (mmf),
certain positions, not only the permeance values but also the R is the reluctance, and P is the permeance.
ISRN Automotive Engineering 3

𝜃 𝜃

r r

Three-phase armature windings Ferromagnetic material

Permanent magnets Dc field windings

(a) 12/10 FSPMM (b) 12/10 DCE-FSM

Figure 3: Cross-sections of (a) flux-switching permanent magnet motor (FSPMM) and (b) dc-excited flux-switching motor (DCE-FSM).

In a MEC, permanent magnets are modeled as mmf ℱPM

ℛPM
sources with reluctances in series or as flux sources with
reluctances in parallel, shown in Figure 4. In these models,
the values of mmf source FPM and flux source ΦPM can be
calculated as
𝐵𝑟 (a)
FPM = 𝑙 (2)
𝜇0 𝜇𝑟 PM, ℛPM

ΦPM = 𝐵𝑟 𝐴 PM, (3)

in which 𝐵𝑟 , 𝜇𝑟 , 𝑙PM , and 𝐴 PM are the remanent magnetic flux ΦPM

density, the relative permeability, the length in the magnetiza-
tion direction, and the area of the cross-section perpendicular
to the magnetization direction, respectively, of the permanent
magnet.
(b)
Reluctances or their reciprocals permeances are approx-
imately calculated by merging an area of flux paths into flux Figure 4: Magnetic equivalent circuit models of permanent mag-
tubes. These flux tubes are defined as objects that enclose the nets as (a) an mmf source and a reluctance in series; (b) a flux source
flux lines with their side face parallel and head face perpen- and a reluctance in parallel.
dicular to them [22].
For the 12/10 FSM, seven types of flux tubes are iden-
tified, shown in Figure 5. The equally distributed lines in
each cross-section indicate the flux paths, and the magnetic
properties along the longitudinal dimension of each flux tube 2.2. Stator MEC Modules. A stator MEC module is defined as
are assumed to be homogeneous. the MEC model that represents the magnetic flux distribution
To simplify the permeance calculation of flux tubes, in a unit section of the stator, that is, the section between
two coordinate systems are used, namely, Cylindrical and central axes of each two neighboring stator slots, as shown
Cartesian. The two types of flux tubes, shown in Figures 5(a) in Figure 6(a).
and 5(b), are defined in the Cylindrical coordinate system. The resulting MEC module is shown in Figure 6(b),
The other four flux tubes, shown in Figures 5(c)–5(f), are where the nodes and branches are numbered in Arabic and
defined in the Cartesian coordinate system. Roman numerals, respectively.
4 ISRN Automotive Engineering

x x
6 6%6%6%6%% x
6 6%6%6%%
x
r1 h
r2 h
h
h
r2 r
θ r2
𝜃
r1 r1 w
(a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f)

Figure 5: Transversal cross-sections of flux tubes and their permeances: (a) P = 𝜇𝐿𝜃/ ln(𝑟2 /𝑟1 ); (b) P = 𝜇𝐿 ln(𝑟2 /𝑟1 )/𝜃; (c) P = 𝜇𝐿𝑥/ℎ; (d)
P = 2𝜇𝐿 ⋅ ln[1 + 𝜋𝑥/(𝜋𝑟 + 2ℎ)]/𝜋; (e) P = 𝜇𝐿 ⋅ ln[1 + 2𝜋𝑥/(𝜋𝑟1 + 𝜋𝑟2 + 2ℎ)]/𝜋; (f) P = 2𝜇𝐿𝑥/(𝜋𝑤 + 2ℎ).

Table 1: Types of flux tubes in the stator and rotor MEC modules.

𝒫sl2 Pms Pst Psi Psl1 Psl2 Prt Pri

b a b f e b a
𝒫sl1

𝒫si 𝒫si For the 12/10 FSM, the MEC of the stator consists of twelve
stator MEC modules that are similar to Figure 6(b). However,
when connecting the circuits, the polarity of the mmf source
on branch II should be reversed in each neighboring module.
𝒫st ℱms 𝒫ms 𝒫st Furthermore, it is worth noting that the actual magnetic flux
paths in the stator vary with rotor position. However, to
simplify the modeling problem, this variation is neglected as
the permeability of the ferromagnetic material is relatively
(a) large under nonsaturated conditions.
III 𝒫sl

2.3. Rotor MEC Modules. A rotor MEC module is defined as

𝒫si ℱms 𝒫ms 𝒫si the MEC model that represents the magnetic flux distribution
1 I 2 II 3 IV 4
in a unit section of rotor. This rotor section is obtained by
dividing the rotor of the FSM into equal sections, each with a
rotor tooth in the middle, as shown in Figure 7(a).
𝒫st 𝒫st The resulting MEC module is shown in Figure 7(b), where
the nodes and branches are numbered in Arabic and Roman
V VI numerals, respectively. In this module, the flux paths in the
rotor tooth and rotor back iron are modeled as different
5 6 flux tubes with permeances Prt and Pri , respectively. The
(b) types of flux tubes selected from Figure 5 for the permeance
calculation are summarized in Table 1.
Figure 6: Stator MEC module of FSM: (a) a stator section; (b) mag- For the 12/10 FSM, the MEC of the rotor consists of ten
netic equivalent circuit for a stator section (Psl = Psl1 + Psl2 ). rotor MEC modules. With the same simplifications as applied
to the stator MEC modules, the rotor MEC modules are also
assumed to be invariant to rotor position.

The magnetic source in the stator section is modeled as 2.4. Airgap MEC Modules. An airgap MEC module is defined
an mmf source Fms with a permeance Pms in series, as as the MEC model for the magnetic flux distribution in the
shown in Figure 6(a), in which Fms is calculated using (2), airgap area around a rotor tooth. The airgap magnetic field
and Pms represents the permeance of the permanent magnet is modeled with a certain number of different airgap MEC
or the iron core, accordingly. The flux paths in the stator modules for different rotor positions.
tooth and stator back iron are modeled as different flux tubes To limit the number of module varieties, this paper
with permeances Pst and Psi , respectively. The leakage flux divides a stator section into eight intervals, shown in Figure 8.
outside the stator is also included and modeled as two parallel A different airgap MEC module is used only when the rotor
flux tubes with permeances Psl1 and Psl2 , respectively, as can tooth enters a different interval.
be seen in Figure 6(a). The types of flux tubes selected from It can be seen from Figure 8 that, with respect to the
Figure 5 for the permeance calculation are summarized in central axis of the stator section, the four intervals on the left,
Table 1. numbered from 1 to 4, are symmetric to the four on the right,
ISRN Automotive Engineering 5

Table 2: Types of flux tubes in different airgap MEC modules.

𝑗
P𝑖,𝑗
𝒫rt
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
P1,𝑗 d e d c d d f d c d —
P2,𝑗 d f e d c d f f d c d
𝒫ri 𝒫ri P3,𝑗 d f e d c e f d — — —
P4,𝑗 d f d d c d e f — — —

Table 3: Variation of the rotor position state during rotation.

(a)
T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 T7 T8 T9 T10
1
P1 −4 −3 −1 1 3 −4 −3 −1 1 3
I P2 −4 −3 −1 2 3 −4 −3 −1 2 3
P3 −4 −2 −1 2 3 −4 −2 −1 2 3
P4 −4 −2 −1 2 4 −4 −2 −1 2 4
𝒫rt
P5 −4 −2 1 2 4 −4 −2 1 2 4
𝒫ri 𝒫ri P6 −3 −2 1 2 4 −3 −2 1 2 4
4 3 P7 −3 −2 1 3 4 −3 −2 1 3 4
III II P8 −3 −1 1 3 4 −3 −1 1 3 4
2
(b) −3 −1 1 3 −4 −3 −1 1 3 −4
−3 −1 2 3 −4 −3 −1 2 3 −4
Figure 7: Rotor MEC module of FSM: (a) a rotor section; (b) mag- −2 −1 2 3 −4 −2 −1 2 3 −4
netic equivalent circuit for a rotor section. ⋅⋅⋅ ⋅⋅⋅ ⋅⋅⋅ ⋅⋅⋅ ⋅⋅⋅ ⋅⋅⋅ ⋅⋅⋅ ⋅⋅⋅ ⋅⋅⋅ ⋅⋅⋅ ⋅⋅⋅

from Figure 5 for the permeance calculation are summarized

4 3 2 1 −1 −2 −3 −4
in Table 2.
Hence, four different airgap MEC modules are built with
variable permeances, as shown in Figures 10(b), 11(b), 12(b),
and 13(b). In these models, permeances are expressed as
functions of the angle 𝜃𝑥 using the equations introduced in
Figure 5. By integrating the parallel permeances, topologies
of the four modules are obtained, as shown in Figures 10(c),
11(c), 12(c), and 13(c).
For the 12/10 FSM, the MEC of airgap consists of ten
airgap MEC modules selected corresponding to the traveling
interval of each rotor tooth.

3. Construction and Solving Method

3.1. Position State Shifting. Periodicity of the 12/10 FSM allows
modeling only half of the motor. Hence, the global MEC
of this motor with certain rotor position is assembled using
Figure 8: Interval divisions of a stator section for positioning a rotor
six stator MEC modules (S1–S6), five rotor MEC modules
tooth.
(T1–T5), and five airgap MEC modules (A1–A5), shown in
Figure 14.
Each airgap MEC module varies with rotor position.
numbered from −1 to −4; thus, only four different airgap MEC Therefore, this paper proposes a strategy named “position
modules are needed. state shifting”. In this strategy, a shifting scheme of rotor
FEA is performed on the model of 12/10 FSMs to obtain position states is allocated to indicate the sequence of the
an impression of the magnetic flux distribution in the airgap airgap MEC module types for each position. These rotor posi-
during the rotor’s rotation, shown in Figure 9. tion states are arrays of interval numbers of the rotor teeth.
Based on the FEA results, the airgap flux distribution is With certain slot/tooth configurations, for example, 12/10, the
simplified by grouping the flux paths into a certain number shift of rotor position states in an electrical period can be
of flux tubes, as shown in Figures 10(a), 11(a), 12(a), and 13(a), mathematically predicted.
in which 𝜃𝑥 is the angle that the rotor tooth has traveled in Table 3 presents the shifting scheme of position states for
the corresponding interval. The types of flux tubes selected the considered 12/10 FSM, in which the columns T1–T10 refer
6 ISRN Automotive Engineering

Interval 4 3 2 1 −1 −2 −3 −4 4 3
number

r r
𝜃 = 0∘ 𝜃 = 3∘ 𝜃x
(a) (b)

Figure 9: FEA results of equipotential contour in part of 12/10 FSM

while a rotor tooth travels in (a) interval 1 and (b) interval 2. 𝒫1,4 𝒫1,5 𝒫1,6
𝒫1,7
𝒫1,3 𝒫1,8 𝒫1,9 𝒫1,10
𝒫1,1 𝒫1,2
to the ten rotor teeth, the rows P1–P8 refer to the position
states, and the numbers show the traveling intervals of each
rotor tooth. It can be seen that the first eight states (P1–P8) are r
repeated for different starting-points. This repetition suggests
𝜃
a possibility in reducing the number of varieties of the global
MEC. (a)

3.2. Incidence Matrix. The MEC modules can be mathemat- 𝒫1,6 𝒫1,7 𝒫1,8
𝒫1,1 𝒫1,2 𝒫1,3 𝒫1,4 𝒫1,5 𝒫1,9 𝒫1,10
ically described using the incidence matrix method [24],
explained as follows.
For a circuit with 𝑚 nodes and 𝑛 branches, its incidence
matrix A is an 𝑚 × 𝑛 matrix in which

{ 1, if branch 𝑗 begins from node 𝑖, (b)

{
A𝑖𝑗 = {−1, if branch 𝑗 ends to node 𝑖, 1 2
{
{0, if branch 𝑗 is not connected to node 𝑖. I II
(4) 𝒫ag1,I 𝒫ag1,II

Variables of this circuit can be further defined in the form

𝒫ag1,III
of matrix or vector listed as follows: 𝒫ag1,IV
3
A: incidence matrix (𝑚 × 𝑛 matrix); IV III
𝑉: magnetic potential on each node (𝑚 × 1 vector);
𝑈: mmf drop across each branch (𝑛 × 1 vector); 5 4

𝜑: flux through each branch (𝑛 × 1 vector); (c)

𝐸: mmf source in each branch (𝑛 × 1 vector); Figure 10: Airgap MEC module 1: (a) flux tubes in the airgap while
a rotor tooth travels in interval 1; (b) detailed magnetic equivalent
Λ: permeance of each branch (𝑛 × 𝑛 diagonal matrix);
circuit; (c) topology of airgap MEC module 1.
R: reluctance of each branch (𝑛 × 𝑛 diagonal matrix).
According to Kirchhoff Circuit Laws, following equations
can be derived: each node are computed; therefore, the magnetic flux through
𝑡 each flux tube is obtained.
𝑈 = A ⋅ 𝑉, In addition, magnetic saturation is taken into account by
A ⋅ 𝜙 = 0, (5) iteratively solving the global MEC to identify the applicable
relative permeability used for certain flux tube.
𝑈 = R ⋅ 𝜙 + 𝐸 = Λ−1 ⋅ 𝜙 + 𝐸.
4. Validation with Finite Element Analysis
Therefore, with given A, Λ, and 𝐸, the magnetic potentials
can be solved as The nonlinear MEC model of 12/10 FSMs is constructed and
−1
used to investigate the correlation between the open-circuit
𝑉 = (A ⋅ Λ ⋅ A𝑡 ) ⋅ (A ⋅ Λ ⋅ 𝐸) . (6) phase flux linkage resulting and certain design parameters
such as the motor size and the airgap length. To validate
Hence, using the incidence matrix method, the global the accuracy of this model, the results of open-circuit phase
MEC is assembled and solved. The magnetic potentials of flux linkage are compared to corresponding FEA results. To
ISRN Automotive Engineering 7

Interval
4 3 2 1 −1 −2 −3 −4 4 3 Interval number −4 4 3 2 1 −1 −2 −3 −4
number

𝜃x
𝜃x
𝒫3,4
𝒫2,4 𝒫2,5 𝒫2,6 𝒫2,7 𝒫2,8 𝒫3,3 𝒫3,5
𝒫3,7
𝒫2,3 𝒫3,2
𝒫3,6
𝒫2,9 𝒫2,10 𝒫2,11
𝒫2,1 𝒫2,2 𝒫3,1
𝒫3,8

r r

𝜃 𝜃

(a) (a)

𝒫3,7
𝒫2,1 𝒫2,2 𝒫2,3 𝒫2,4 𝒫2,5 𝒫2,6 𝒫2,8 𝒫2,9 𝒫2,10 𝒫2,11
𝒫2,7
𝒫3,1 𝒫3,2 𝒫3,3 𝒫3,4 𝒫3,5
𝒫3,6

𝒫3,8
(b)
6 1 2
III (b)
V 𝒫ag2,I
VI IV 𝒫ag3,III
4 1 2
III
IV 𝒫ag3,I
𝒫ag2,IV IV
𝒫ag2,V 𝒫ag2,V I 𝒫ag2,II
II
3 𝒫ag3,IV I 𝒫ag3,II
II

5 3
4
(c)
(c)

Figure 11: Airgap MEC module 2: (a) flux tubes in the airgap while Figure 12: Airgap MEC module 3: (a) flux tubes in the airgap while
a rotor tooth travels in interval 2; (b) detailed magnetic equivalent a rotor tooth travels in interval 3; (b) detailed magnetic equivalent
circuit; (c) topology of airgap MEC module 2. circuit; (c) topology of airgap MEC module 3.

simplify the comparison, the number of turns is assumed to MEC model for different airgap lengths is researched. In
be 𝑛𝑐 = 1. Properties of steel laminations and permanent this respect, Figure 17 illustrates the open-circuit phase flux-
magnets adopted for the modeling are shown in Table 4. linkage results of the 12/10 FSPMM (Geom1) with different
values of the airgap length 𝛿. It can be seen that the MEC
results are close to the FEA results, although the later presents
4.1. Motor Size. To research the robustness of the method, an improved sensitivity to the airgap length variation. This
three sets of geometric parameters, noted as Geom1, Geom2, difference suggests room for improving the accuracy of the
and Geom3 in Figure 15 and Table 5, are implemented into MEC model, which can be achieved by refining the MEC
the MEC and FEA models of 12/10 FSPMM. In Figure 16, the modules while preserving the structure of the global MEC
MEC results show a good agreement with the FEA results. model.

4.2. Airgap Length. The airgap length of an electrical motor 5. Conclusions

is an important parameter for the motor design as it directly
influences the airgap flux density and the saturation level Flux-switching motors (FSM) combine the advantages of
in the rotor and stator iron. Therefore, the flexibility of the synchronous motors and switched reluctance motors; thus,
8 ISRN Automotive Engineering

S6 S5 S4 S3 S2 S1
Interval number −2 −3 −4 4 3 2 1 −1 −2

T5 T4 T3 T2 T1 r
𝜃x
Interval −1 −3 4 3 1 𝜃
number =
𝒫4,3 𝒫4,4
𝒫4,5 (a)
𝒫4,2 𝒫4,6
𝒫4,8 𝒫4,8
𝒫4,1 S6 S5 S4 S3 S2 S1
𝒫4,7 𝒫4,7

A5 A4 A3 A2 A1
r

𝜃 T5 T4 T3 T2 T1
(b)
(a)

𝒫4,7 𝒫4,7 Figure 14: Global MEC of half of 12/10 FSPMM at a certain rotor
position: (a) cross-section in polar coordinate; (b) network topology.
𝒫4,1 𝒫4,2 𝒫4,3 𝒫4,4 𝒫4,5 𝒫4,6
𝒫4,8 𝒫4,8
270 mm

180 mm
(b)
𝒫ag4,IV 𝒫ag4,II 90 mm
5 4 1 2
IV III I II

Geom1 Geom2 Geom3

𝒫ag4,III 𝒫ag4,I
Figure 15: Cross-sections of three FSPMM models in various motor
3
sizes.
(c)

Figure 13: Airgap MEC module 4: (a) flux tubes in the airgap while ×10−3
a rotor tooth travels in interval 4; (b) detailed magnetic equivalent 10
circuit; (c) topology of airgap MEC module 4. 8
6
Phase flux linkage (Wb)

4
Table 4: Magnetic properties.
2
Description Symbol Value Unit 0
Steel lamination type M400-50A — — −2
PM remanent flux density 𝐵𝑟 1.2 T −4
PM relative permeability 𝜇𝑟 1.05 — −6
−8
−10
0 60 120 180 240 300 360
they are competitive candidates for in-wheel traction systems. Rotor position (elec. deg.)
However, the analysis of FSMs presents difficulty due to their
complex structure and heavy magnetic saturation. MEC (Geom1) FEA (Geom2)
The magnetic equivalent circuit (MEC) method is recom- FEA (Geom1) MEC (Geom3)
MEC (Geom2) FEA (Geom3)
mended as it provides a good compromise between compu-
tational time and accuracy. However, constructing a global Figure 16: Open-circuit phase flux linkages of 12/10 flux-switching
MEC for FSMs that varies in synchronism with the rotor posi- permanent magnet motor (FSPMM) in various sizes, obtained using
tion is an elaborate work due to their double-salient structure magnetic equivalent circuits (MEC) and finite element analysis
and low periodicity. (FEA).
ISRN Automotive Engineering 9

×10−3 ×10−3
3 2.0

Phase flux linkage, rms (Wb)

Phase flux linkage (Wb)

1.8
1

1.6
0

−1 1.4

−2
1.2
−3
0 60 120 180 240 300 360 0.5 0.75 1 1.25 1.5
Rotor position (elec. deg.) Airgap length, 𝛿, (mm)
MEC (𝛿 = 0.5 mm) FEA (𝛿 = 1.0 mm) MEC
FEA (𝛿 = 0.5 mm) MEC (𝛿 = 1.5 mm) FEA
MEC (𝛿 = 1.0 mm) FEA (𝛿 = 1.5 mm)
(a) (b)

Figure 17: Open-circuit phase flux linkages of 12/10 flux-switching permanent magnet motor (FSPMM) with the airgap length varying from
0.5 mm to 1.5 mm, obtained using magnetic equivalent circuits (MEC) and finite element analysis (FEA): (a) waveforms of the phase flux
linkage; (b) root-mean-square (rms) values of the phase flux linkage.

Table 5: Geometric parameters of three flux-switching PM motors. Conflict of Interests

Description Symbol Geom1 Geom2 Geom3 Unit The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests
Stack length L 120 120 120 mm regarding the publication of this paper.
Stator outer diameter DSO 90 180 270 mm
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