Design of Spoke-Type Ferrite Interior Permanent

Magnet Synchronous Machines Considering the

Number of Rotor Poles
Weizhong Fei∗ , Bing Xia† , and Jianxin Shen‡
∗ Zhejiang Tongxing Refrigeration CO., LTD, Shaoxing Zhejiang, 312500, China
† Centre of Power Engineering, Cranfield University, Cranfield, MK43 0AL, U.K.
‡ College of Electrical Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou Zhejiang 310027, China

Email: [email protected], [email protected], j x [email protected]

Abstract—Spoke type is one of the most popular rotor con- temperature, and extremely low electric conductivity, ferrite
figurations in ferrite interior permanent magnet synchronous PMs are considered as a potential alternative solutions of
machines. In such configuration, the focusing factor of permanent high-performance PMSM [10]–[12]. However, the residual
magnet flux is of essential importance to achieve high perfor-
mance. Large number of rotor poles is usually preferred to boost flux density and energy product of such PM materials are
the air-gap flux density from the low-energy ferrite permanent generally much lower than their rare-earth counterparts. As a
magnets. Besides, multi-layer magnet configuration is commonly result, the machine performance will greatly deteriorate by
employed to increase the rotor saliency in interior permanent simply replacing rare-earth PMs with ferrite ones. With the
magnet synchronous machines. However, such rotor saliency of instinctive flux-squeezing structure, the spoke-type interior
interior permanent magnet synchronous machine is also heavily
influenced by the number of rotor poles. The novel two-layer PMSM (IPMSM) is able to achieve high PM flux field in the
ferrite magnet spoke-type structure can harness considerable re- air gap and thus considered as one of the most promising
luctance torque and enhance the torque density. In this paper, the solutions for low-cost high-performance machines [13], [14].
designs of both conventional one-layer and novel two-layer spoke- High flux-focusing technique is a common practice for
type ferrite interior permanent magnet synchronous machines ferrite PM machines to boost their air-gap PM flux field
are investigated with particular emphasis on the influences of
rotor pole numbers. The machine performances are compared in so that approximately similar performance to their rare-earth
terms of torque capability, electromagnetic losses, and efficiency. counterparts can be realized. With relatively modest reluctance
Finally, a prototype machine with such novel two-layer ferrite torque, the spoke-type structure relies heavily on PM torque.
magnet structure is built and tested to validate the advantageous As a result, large amount of ferrite PM material is usually
performances. required for such structure in order to increase the PM flux
Index Terms—Core losses, efficiency, ferrite permanent
magnet, interior permanent magnet, reluctance torque, spoke type
density [15]. On the other hand, various approaches have been
explored to improve the rotor saliency for reluctance torque
harness [16]–[18]. Thereinto, hybridization of spoke-type and
I. I NTRODUCTION
multi-layer ferrite PM configuration can achieve good flux
With the eminent developments of power electronics de- concentration with high rotor saliency and hence deliver no-
vices, soft and hard magnetic materials, and electric machine ticeable torque improvement [18]–[20]. It is revealed that the
design technologies, permanent magnet synchronous machines ferrite IPMSM with novel two-layer spoke-type rotor strikes
(PMSMs) are becoming one of the most promising solutions on the right balance between electromagnetic performance and
for various existing and emerging applications due to their rotor complexity [20].
remarkable features of high torque density, excellent controlla- With the same main sizing parameters, large number of
bility, and good efficiency [1]–[4]. Interior permanent magnet rotor poles can significantly intensify the air-gap PM flux
(IPM) configuration is widely adopted for the PMSM rotor density thanks to the big overall PM surface.However, that
in order to improve the rotor saliency, harness the resultant will inevitably increase the operational electrical frequency
reluctance torque, and maximize the torque capability [5]. and hence core loss. Meanwhile, that also adds complexity to
Meanwhile, the rare-earth permanent magnet (PM) materials the rotor structure and results in stringent tolerance require-
have dominated the high performance PMSMs over the past ments for manufacture and assembly. Generally, the rotor pole
decade for their merit of high magnetic strength [6]–[8]. number has a big influence on the rotor saliency. Moreover, the
However, the high price and volatile global market of these number of winding turns in series per pole per phase decreases
rare earth materials have certainly propelled the quest of high- drastically due to improved air-gap PM flux density as the rotor
performance electric machine with less or no rare earth PM pole number increases. As a result, the armature inductances
material [9]. With the advantages of abundant raw material and resultant reluctance torque will be significantly reduced.
resources, low cost, good corrosion resistance, high working As the contributions of PM reaction torque and reluctance

978-1-5386-3246-8/17/$31.00 2017
c IEEE
 based on conventional one-layer spoke-type configuration with
V-shaped secondary PM layer inserted in between the main
spoke-type poles. The introduction of the secondary PM layer
cannot only improve the air-gap PM flux distribution but also
increase the rotor saliency and hence harness more reluctance
torque. In addition, the main critical parameters of the ma-
chines under study must keep identical to avoid invidious
comparisons so that the research could be of both theoretical
and practical significance. The key design parameters of those
ferrite IPMSMs are given in Table I.
The total electromagnetic torque production of PMSMs can
(a) Conventional one layer (b) Novel two layer
be derived by [3]
Fig. 1. Cross sections of ferrite IPM synchronous machines with conventional
mp mp
one-layer and novel two-layer spoke-type rotors. Tem = Ψm iq + (Ld − Lq )id iq
2 2
TABLE I
= Tpm + Tr (1)
M AIN D ESIGN PARAMETERS OF THE F ERRITE IPMSM S
where m and p are the respective numbers of phases and
Machine Parameters Values Machine Parameters Values rotor poles, Ψm is the armature flux linkage from PMs, id ,
Stator outer diameter 160mm Rotor outer diameter 94.5mm iq and Ld , Lq are the corresponding d- and q-axis currents
Rotor inner diameter 27mm Stack axial length 90mm and inductances, and Tpm and Tr represent the PM reaction
Airgap length 0.25mm Lamination material 50W470 torque and reluctance torque, respectively.
Ferrite volume 180mm3 Base rotational speed 1500rpm Equation (1) indicates there are normally two types of
Ferrite material Y30 Slot fill factor 50% electromagnetic torques induced in ferrite IPMSMs. The first
term represents the PM reaction torque generated from the
interactions between the PM excitation and the armature
torque in conventional one-layer and novel multi-layer spoke- winding current, while the second term denotes reluctance
type configurations are quite different, the number of rotor torque produced by the winding inductance variation with the
poles which delivers optimal performance differs. rotor position due to rotor saliency. The inevitable magnetic
This paper concerns the influences of rotor pole number saturations in the ferrite IPMSMs under load conditions make
on the electromagnetic performances of variant spoke-type the above two torque components tightly coupled so that
ferrite IPMSMs. The rotor structure gets too complex with the torque segregation is analytically unattainable. However,
no noticeable performance improvement as the magnet layer the frozen permeability technique can be easily implemented
exceeds two [20]. Without loss of generality, the two-layer along with FEA to achieve torque decomposition numerically
spoke-type configuration is investigated for the multi-layer [21]. This paper assumes that the machines are ideally driven
structure. The machine features including open-circuit air-gap by pure sinusoidal currents in order to simplify the analysis.
flux density, stator armature inductances, and electromagnetic Since the rotor saliency is greatly enhanced by the secondary
torque under rated armature current with maximum torque per PM layer, the design criteria concerning the number of rotor
ampere conditions, are demonstrated by two-dimensional (2- poles can be quite different between the conventional one-
D) finite element analysis (FEA) results. The influence of rotor layer and novel two-layer spoke-type configurations. It is of
pole number on PM flux density and armature inductances is particular interest to reveal the influences of rotor pole number
investigated and compared to insightfully reveal its impacts on on not only the overall electromagnetic torque but also the
PM reaction and reluctance torque productions. Furthermore, insightful PM and reluctance components.
the core loss and machine efficiency are also studied as they
are of great importance for electric machine design. III. I NFLUENCE OF ROTOR P OLE N UMBER ON M ACHINE
D ESIGN
II. VARIANT S POKE -T YPE F ERRITE IPMSM S One of the most significant advantages in spoke-type
The PMSM with two slots per pole per phase, which can be IPMSM is its outstanding flux-focusing ability. As the PM pole
facilitated by the single-layer overlapping windings, is widely pieces in those machines are usually much thicker than the air-
employed for various applications. The single-layer overlap- gap length, the resultant air-gap PM flux density is approxi-
ping winding configuration can effectively reduce the wind- mately proportional to the number of rotor poles [22], [23].
ing factors of the harmful fifth and seventh harmonics with The higher the rotor pole number is, the larger the PM flux and
minimum compromise on the fundamental one. Therefore, torque are. On the other hand, armature winding inductance
all the ferrite IPMSMs under the study have this particular is also directly related to the rotor pole number. Windings
configuration. Fig. 1 depicts the cross sections of typical six inductances is inversely proportional to the square of rotor
pole machines with conventional one-layer and novel two- pole number [24]. Consequently, severe decline in reluctance
layer spoke-type rotors. The two-layer structure is developed torque is expected as the number of rotor poles mounts up.
 ϭ ϭ ϭϮ ϭϱϬ ϵϱй

dŽƚĂů ůĞĐƚƌŽŵĂŐŶĞƚŝĐdŽƌƋƵĞ;E͘ŵͿ
Ϭ͘ϴ Ϭ͘ϴϴ ŽƌĞ>ŽƐƐ ĨĨŝĐŝĞŶĐLJ
Ϭ͘ϵ
ϵ͘ϰϯ ϵ͘ϲϯ ϵ͘ϳϰ ϵ͘ϳϮ ϵ͘ϲϰ

ŝƌͲ'ĂƉ WD&ůƵdžĞŶƐŝƚLJ;dͿ
ϭϬ
ŝƌͲ'ĂƉWD&ůƵdžĞŶƐŝƚLJ;dͿ

Ϭ͘ϲ ϭϮϬ ϵϯй

Ϭ͘ϴ ϴ͘ϵϭ
ϴ͘ϭϰ

ŽƌĞ>ŽƐƐ;EŵͿ
Ϭ͘ϰ Ϭ͘ϳ ϴ
ϳ͘Ϭϳ

ĨĨŝĐŝĞŶĐLJ
ϵϬ ϵϭй
Ϭ͘Ϯ Ϭ͘ϲ ϲ͘ϯϴ
Ϭ͘ϱ ϲ
Ϭ
ϲϬ ϴϵй
Ϭ ϲϬ ϭϮϬ ϭϴϬ ϮϰϬ ϯϬϬ ϯϲϬ Ϭ͘ϰ
ͲϬ͘Ϯ ϰ
Ϭ͘ϯ
ͲϬ͘ϰ Ϭ͘ϮϬ Ϭ͘ϮϮ
ϯϬ ϴϳй
Ϭ͘Ϯ Ϭ͘ϭϲ Ϯ
ͲϬ͘ϲ Ϭ͘ϭϮ
Ϭ͘ϭ Ϭ͘Ϭϳ
Ϭ͘ϬϮ Ϭ͘Ϭϰ Ϭ͘ϬϮ
ͲϬ͘ϴ Ϭ Ϭ ϴϱй
Ϭ
ϰ ϲ ϴ ϭϬ ϭϮ ϭϰ ϭϲ ϭϴ ϮϬ ϰ ϲ ϴ ϭϬ ϭϮ ϭϰ ϭϲ ϭϴ ϮϬ
Ͳϭ ϭ ϯ ϱ ϳ ϵ ϭϭ ϭϯ ϭϱ ϭϳ
ůĞĐƚƌŝĐŶŐůĞ;ĞŐƌĞĞͿ ,ĂƌŵŽŶŝĐKƌĚĞƌ EƵŵďĞƌŽĨZŽƚŽƌWŽůĞƐ EƵŵďĞƌŽĨZŽƚŽƌWŽůĞƐ

(a) Air-gap flux density distribution (b) Air-gap flux density spectra (a) Electromagnetic torque (b) Core loss and efficiency
Fig. 2. Air-gap PM flux density distribution and its spectra from a typical Fig. 4. The influences of rotor pole number on the electromagnetic torque,
ferrite IPMSM with conventional one-layer spoke-type rotor. core loss, and efficiency in ferrite IPMSMs with conventional one-layer spoke-
type rotor.

ϭ͘Ϯ ϭϬϬ
&ƵŶĚĂŵĞŶƚĂůWD&ůƵdžĞŶƐŝƚLJ;dͿ

ϭ͘Ϭϴ ϭ͘ϭϬ ϭ͘ϭϬ ϭ͘Ϭϲ

ϭ͘Ϭϯ >Ě >Ƌ >ƋͲ>Ě because less space within one rotor pole pitch is available to
^LJŶĐŚƌŽŶŽƵƐ/ŶĚƵĐƚĂŶĐĞ;ŵ,Ϳ

ϵϬ
ϭ Ϭ͘ϵϲ
Ϭ͘ϴϴ ϴϬ accommodate them. Therefore, the working points of these
Ϭ͘ϴ ϳϬ
Ϭ͘ϳϯ
ϲϬ
ferrite PMs drop. When the rotor pole number exceeds certain
Ϭ͘ϲ ϱϬ value, the assumption that PM thickness is much larger than
Ϭ͘ϰϳ
ϰϬ air-gap length does not apply any more. Hence, the drop of
Ϭ͘ϰ
ϯϬ
PM working point will eventually surpass the increment of
ϮϬ
Ϭ͘Ϯ
ϭϬ
the corresponding flux-focusing factor and cause the decline
Ϭ Ϭ of the resultant PM flux field.
ϰ ϲ ϴ ϭϬ ϭϮ ϭϰ ϭϲ ϭϴ ϮϬ ϰ ϲ ϴ ϭϬ ϭϮ ϭϰ ϭϲ ϭϴ ϮϬ
EƵŵďĞƌŽĨZŽƚŽƌWŽůĞƐ EƵŵďĞƌŽĨZŽƚŽƌWŽůĞƐ While large rotor pole number boosts the PM flux, it
(a) Fundamental flux density (b) synchronous inductances imposes quite an inverse effect on winding inductances. Gen-
erally the higher the PM flux density is, the less winding
Fig. 3. The influences of rotor pole number on the fundamental air-gap PM
flux density and armature synchronous inductances in ferrite IPMSMs with turn per pole and hence inductance are. Moreover, the pockets
conventional one-layer spoke-type rotor. accommodating the PMs are the major air regions for armature
reaction field. The decrease of PM thickness in machines with
large rotor pole number narrows the difference between the d-
Such contradictory will result in an optimal number of rotor and q-axis reluctance. All these factors will lead to minimal
poles which can strike the right balance between these two difference between d- and q-axis inductances for high rotor
torque components. pole number as shown in Fig. 3(b). The inductance difference,
which is responsible for the production of reluctance torque in
A. Conventional One-Layer Spoke-Type Configuration Equation (1), becomes negligible as the number of rotor poles
The Open-circuit air-gap flux density is excited by PMs exceeds twelve. Such results imply that conventional spoke-
in the rotor and more or less determines the PM reaction type ferrite IPMSM depends solely on PM reaction torque with
torque of the machine. Fig. 2 illustrates a typical air-gap flux high rotor pole number.
density distribution and its spectra of ferrite IPMSM with The Overall electromagnetic torque values with different
conventional one-layer spoke-type rotor. It can be observed rotor pole numbers are compiled from 2-D FEA results and
that it can be approximately regarded as a result of the demonstrated in Fig. 4(a). As the conventional spoke-type
interaction between a square-wave PM magnetomotive force ferrite IPMSMs rely heavily on PM reaction torque, the overall
(MMF) and slot permeance. As a result, the harmonic contents electromagnetic torque comports well with PM flux density.
are quite rich as shown in Fig. 2(b). However, only the Although the PM flux density is improved by 40%, the torque
fundamental component is normally considered as the major is only improved by 12% with the rotor pole number increased
contributor to PM flux linkage and torque. The influence from four to six. The significant decrease in rotor saliency is
of rotor pole number on the fundamental air-gap PM flux the main cause of this difference. The largest torque improve-
density is compiled from the 2-D FEA results and depicted ment happens when the rotor pole number changes from six
in Fig. 3(a). As the flux-focusing factor can be expressed by to eight. Thereinto, the PM flux density is greatly boosted
the ratio between PM length and pole pitch, the air-gap PM while the decline in rotor saliency is not as dramatic. Further
flux density increases significantly as the rotor pole number increase on the rotor pole number, the overall electromagnetic
picks up. The fundamental PM flux density in the air gap torque is mainly determined by the PM flux density and
can achieve up to 1.1T, which is comparable to its rare- reaches its maximum at sixteen rotor poles. However, One of
earth counterparts. Meanwhile, the thickness of the ferrite PMs distinctive demerits for high number of rotor poles is high
gradually decreases as the number of rotor poles increases core loss [25]. The electrical frequency is proportional to
 ϭ ϭ ϭϮ ϭϲϬ ϵϱй

dŽƚĂůůĞĐƚƌŽŵĂŐŶĞƚŝĐ dŽƌƋƵĞ;E͘ŵͿ
/ƌŽŶ>ŽƐƐ ĨĨŝĐŝĞŶĐLJ
Ϭ͘ϴ Ϭ͘ϵ

ŝƌͲ'ĂƉ WD&ůƵdžĞŶƐŝƚLJ;dͿ
ϭϬ
ϵ͘ϭϲ ϵ͘ϯϬ ϵ͘ϯϱ ϵ͘ϰϮ ϵ͘ϯϰ
ŝƌͲ'ĂƉWD&ůƵdžĞŶƐŝƚLJ;dͿ

Ϭ͘ϲ Ϭ͘ϴ ϴ͘ϳϴ ϭϮϬ

Ϭ͘ϳϭ ϴ͘ϮϮ ϴ͘ϰϳ
Ϭ͘ϰ Ϭ͘ϳ ϴ ϳ͘ϳϬ

ŽƌĞ>ŽƐƐ;tͿ

ĨĨŝĐŝĞŶĐLJ
Ϭ͘Ϯ Ϭ͘ϲ
Ϭ͘ϱ ϲ ϴϬ ϵϬй
Ϭ
Ϭ ϲϬ ϭϮϬ ϭϴϬ ϮϰϬ ϯϬϬ ϯϲϬ Ϭ͘ϰ
ͲϬ͘Ϯ ϰ
Ϭ͘ϯ
ͲϬ͘ϰ ϰϬ
Ϭ͘Ϯ Ϭ͘ϭϴ Ϭ͘ϭϲ
Ϭ͘ϭϮ Ϯ
ͲϬ͘ϲ Ϭ͘Ϭϳ
Ϭ͘ϭ Ϭ͘Ϭϳ Ϭ͘Ϭϲ
ͲϬ͘ϴ Ϭ͘ϬϬ Ϭ͘ϬϬ Ϭ ϴϱй
Ϭ Ϭ
ϭ ϯ ϱ ϳ ϵ ϭϭ ϭϯ ϭϱ ϭϳ ϰ ϲ ϴ ϭϬ ϭϮ ϭϰ ϭϲ ϭϴ ϮϬ ϰ ϲ ϴ ϭϬ ϭϮ ϭϰ ϭϲ ϭϴ ϮϬ
Ͳϭ
ůĞĐƚƌŝĐŶŐůĞ;ĞŐƌĞĞͿ ,ĂƌŵŽŶŝĐKƌĚĞƌ EƵŵďĞƌŽĨZŽƚŽƌWŽůĞƐ EƵŵďĞƌŽĨZŽƚŽƌWŽůĞƐ
(a) Air-gap flux density distribution (b) Air-gap flux density spectra (a) Electromagnetic torque (b) Core loss and efficiency
Fig. 5. Air-gap PM flux density distribution and its spectra from a typical Fig. 7. The influences of rotor pole number on the electromagnetic torque,
ferrite IPMSM with novel two-layer spoke-type rotor. core loss, and efficiency in ferrite IPMSMs with novel two-layer spoke-type
rotor.

ϭ͘Ϯ ϭϰϬ TABLE II

&ƵŶĚĂŵĞŶƚĂůWD&ůƵdžĞŶƐŝƚLJ;dͿ

ϭ͘Ϭϰ ϭ͘Ϭϰ >Ě >Ƌ >ƋͲ>Ě

Ϭ͘ϵϵ ϭ͘ϬϮ
P ERFORMANCE COMPARISONS BETWEEN TWO CONFIGURATION
^LJŶĐŚƌŽŶŽƵƐ/ŶĚƵĐƚĂŶĐĞ;ŵ,Ϳ

ϭ ϭϮϬ
Ϭ͘ϵϯ
Ϭ͘ϴϳ
Ϭ͘ϴϬ ϭϬϬ Parameters One-layer Tow-layer Unit
Ϭ͘ϴ
Ϭ͘ϳϭ
ϴϬ Rotor pole number 8 6 -
Ϭ͘ϲ
Ϭ͘ϱϭ
ϲϬ Electromagnetic torque 8.14 8.22 N·m
Ϭ͘ϰ
ϰϬ Rotational speed 1500 1500 rpm
Ϭ͘Ϯ ϮϬ Power 1279 1290 W
Ϭ Ϭ
Core loss 34.4 21.7 W
ϰ ϲ ϴ ϭϬ ϭϮ ϭϰ ϭϲ ϭϴ ϮϬ ϰ ϲ ϴ ϭϬ ϭϮ ϭϰ ϭϲ ϭϴ ϮϬ Efficiency 92.2% 92.9% -
EƵŵďĞƌŽĨZŽƚŽƌWŽůĞƐ EƵŵďĞƌŽĨZŽƚŽƌWŽůĞƐ

(a) Fundamental flux density (b) synchronous inductances

Fig. 6. The influences of rotor pole number on the fundamental air-gap PM
flux density and armature synchronous inductances in ferrite IPMSMs with
machine with high rotor pole number. This implies that the
novel two-layer spoke-type rotor. PM reaction torque becomes the dominant component in the
two-layer machine with large number of rotor poles.
By comparing with the conventional one-layer spoke-type
the number of rotor poles at the same mechanical rotational counterparts, the q-axis inductance in the novel two-layer
speed. Together with the improved PM flux density, core spoke-type machine increases considerably while d-axis in-
loss increases exponentially along with rotor pole number ductance gets slightly down, as shown in Fig. 6(b). There-
as shown in Fig. 4(b). The maximum efficiency of 92.2% fore, better salient ratio is accomplished by introducing the
can be achieved with ten rotor poles in such conventional secondary layer, which can definitely improve the reluctance
one-layer spoke-type ferrite IPMSM. Despite large overall torque. Similarly, the winding inductances also decrease dra-
electromagnetic torque, the efficiency declines rapidly with matically as the rotor pole number rises. With the improved
higher rotor pole number due to the excessive core loss. PM flux density and reduced difference between d- and q-axis
Moreover, machines with large number of rotor poles require inductances, the benefits of the secondary layer will vanish
small PM poles, which cause difficulties in the manufacture quickly as rotor pole number picks up.
and assembly of the brittle ferrite PM pieces. Fig. 7 illustrates the influence of number of rotor poles on
electromagnetic torque production, core loss, and efficiency
B. Novel Two-Layer Spoke-Type Configuration for the two-layer structures. The improvement of the over-
The air-gap PM flux distribution and its spectra for a all torque with large rotor pole number is less significant
typical ferrite IPMSM with two-layer spoke-type structure is compared with the one-layer configuration. The resultant high
demonstrated in Fig. 5. With the additional secondary PM rotor saliency provides large portion of reluctance torque to
layer, a two-stepped square-wave PM MMF is created rather compensate the weak PM flux field especially with small
than the square-wave one. Some of the belt harmonic contents rotor pole number. The highest torque improvement of 6.8%
have been effectively mitigated. The fundamental PM flux happens when rotor pole number changes from four to six. The
density is derived and depicted in Fig. 6(a), which reveals two-layer designs exhibit better torque capability for machines
the air-gap PM flux density can be considerably improved with low number of rotor poles, gaining 20% and 15% torque
by increasing rotor pole number. However, the flux focusing improvement for the four- and six-pole designs, respectively.
is not as effective as the conventional one-layer spoke-type When rotor pole number exceeds ten, the conventional one-
rotor. It is noteworthy that the distance between the main and layer spoke-type design shows superior performance owing
secondary layers tends to collide for the optimal design of the to its better flux-focusing ability. Moreover, there are more
 ϭϬ
ϴ ϰϬϬ dĞƐƚĞĚ
ƵƌƌĞŶƚ sŽůƚĂŐĞ
&
ϲ ϯϬϬ ϴ

WŚĂƐĞƵƌƌĞŶƚ;Ϳ
ϰ ϮϬϬ

dŽƌƋƵĞ;E͘ŵͿ
ϲ

sŽůƚĂŐĞ;sͿ
Ϯ ϭϬϬ

Ϭ Ϭ
ϰ
Ϭ Ϭ͘ϬϮ Ϭ͘Ϭϰ Ϭ͘Ϭϲ Ϭ͘Ϭϴ Ϭ͘ϭ
ͲϮ ͲϭϬϬ

Ͳϰ ͲϮϬϬ Ϯ

Ͳϲ ͲϯϬϬ
Ϭ
Ͳϴ ͲϰϬϬ Ϭ ϭϱ ϯϬ ϰϱ ϲϬ ϳϱ ϵϬ
dŝŵĞ;ƐͿ ƵƌƌĞŶƚWŚĂƐĞŶŐůĞ;ůĞĐƚƌŝĐĂůĞŐƌĞĞͿ

(a) Stator (b) Rotor (a) Conventional one layer (b) Novel two layer
Fig. 9. Cross sections of ferrite IPM synchronous machines with conventional
one-layer and novel two-layer spoke-type rotors.

of rotor poles, the operational frequency is increased by 33.3%,

leading to 58.5 % and 13.7% more in core loss and total loss,
respectively. As a result, the novel two-layer spoke-type design
exhibits 0.7% higher in efficiency.

IV. P ROTOTYPE M ACHINE AND E XPERIMENTS

Based on the investigation and comparison carried out in
(c) Experimental setup the previous section, the novel two-layer spoke-type ferrite
Fig. 8. Stator and rotor of the prototype machine and its experimental setup. IPMSM design with six rotor poles is chosen as prototype
machine. Fig. 8(a) and Fig. 8(b) depict the stator and rotor
of the prototype machine, respectively. The stator is with 36
disadvantages concerning manufacturing cost and losses with slots and single layer windings. For the convenience of rotor
high number of rotor poles. The core loss and efficiency with assembly, each of the PM pole is divided into two parts in
different rotor pole numbers for the two-layer configurations axial direction and then asserted inside the rotor from different
are demonstrated in Fig. 7(b). The maximum efficiency of ends of the rotor lamination stack. This is to reduce the risk
92.9% is achieved with six rotor poles, where noticeable torque of chipping and breaking the ferrite magnets when stress is
improvement is observed. The core loss rises much more exerted on them with consideration of the brittle physical
rapidly than the torque so that the machine efficiency starts to nature of ferrite materials. The experimental setup of the
drop when the rotor pole number is over six. The reluctance testing rig for loaded experiments is depicted in Fig. 8(c). The
torque plays an important role in the overall torque, the two- prototype machine is connected to the dynamometer through
layer configuration is not very suitable for machines with high a torque sensor to provide measurement of the torque on
number of rotor poles. The complex rotor structure will make the shaft. The dynamometer is controlled by programmable
the situation worse for high rotor pole number, concerning controller for different loading. The prototype machine is
manufacture tolerance and assembly costs. On the other hand, powered by controller kit with vector control algorithm.
the advantage of flux-focusing effect also disappears with low Fig. 9(a) depicts the phase voltage and current under 8N·m
number of rotor poles. Compromises between the two torque at 1500rpm with maximum torque per ampere strategy. Ac-
components are necessary for such configuration. Moreover, cording to the measure results of terminal voltages, winding
electromagnetic losses should be taken into consideration as current, shaft torque and rotating speed, the efficiency at
it is critical for the lifespan and efficiency of the machine. rated working condition is 92.3%. Because of low machining
accuracy of ferrite material, the normal tolerance is 0.2mm.
C. Performance Comparison This will affect the PM torque and thus cause slightly lower
Based on the performance predictions of the aforementioned performance especially for small machines. Moreover, the
two configurations with different number of rotor poles, an prototype machine is fed by pulse width modulation (PWM)
eight-pole conventional one-layer and a six-pole novel two- technique, the harmonics introduced by power switches would
layer spoke-type designs are chosen as potential solutions increase core loss. These are the main reasons why the tested
of the low-cost ferrite PMSM. The comparisons of their efficiency is slightly lower than the predicted ones. The phase
performances are listed in Table II. The torque and power of current is slightly lagging to terminal voltage, and the
of two-layer design is marginally higher than its spoke-type power factor achieved is 0.94. The loading performance of
counterpart under the same rated current and speed. As the an electric machine is revealed by its torque characteristics.
conventional one-layer spoke-type design has higher number The generated torque depends on both the magnitude and
phase of the current. Since the prototype machine is de- [7] W. Fei, P. C. K. Luk, D. M. Miao, and J. X. Shen, “Investigation
signed with large saliency ratio and flux-focusing structure, of torque characteristics in a novel permanent magnet flux switching
machine with an outer-rotor configuration,” IEEE Trans. Magn., vol. 50,
comparable portions of reluctance and PM torque will be no. 4, pp. 1–10, Apr. 2014.
achieved for torque enhancement. Therefore, relatively large [8] B. Xia, J. X. Shen, P. C. K. Luk, and W. Fei, “Comparative study
advanced current angle is expected under loaded operations of air-cored axial-flux permanent-magnet machines with different stator
winding configurations,” IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron., vol. 62, no. 2, pp.
for harnessing considerable reluctance torque. To validate the 846–856, Feb. 2015.
torque curve, the prototype machine is tested with different d- [9] I. Boldea, L. N. Tutelea, L. Parsa, and D. G. Dorrell, “Automotive
axis current under various loading torque while the amplitude electric propulsion systems with reduced or no permanent magnets: An
overview,” IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron., vol. 61, no. 10, pp. 5696–5711,
of winding current stays the same. Lower speed is preferred Oct. 2014.
for the torque tests so as to minimize the influence of core [10] J. E. Gould, “Permanent magnets,” Proc. Int. Elect, Eng., vol. 125,
loss and mechanical loss, as they all increase with speed and no. 11, pp. 1137–1151, Nov. 1978.
[11] U. S. Deshpande, “Recent advances in materials for use in permanent
difficult to measure directly. The measured torque curve at magnet machines-a review,” in Proc. IEEE Int. Conf. Elect. Mach.
6.3A peak current and 200rpm are compared with FEA result, Drives, vol. 1, Jun. 2003, pp. 509–515 vol.1.
as illustrated in Fig. 9(b). Good agreement with the FEA model [12] S. Zhang, J. Xu, J. Junak, D. Fiederling, G. Sawczuk, M. Koch,
A. Schalja, M. Podack, and J. Baumgartner, “Permanent magnet technol-
is achieved for the prototype machine. The maximum torque ogy for electric motors in automotive applications,” in Proc. Int. Conf.
is obtained at an advanced current angle of 36 electric degrees, Elect. Drives Production, Oct. 2012, pp. 1–11.
proving the considerable reluctance torque under rated load. [13] D. G. Dorrell, M. F. Hsieh, and A. M. Knight, “Alternative rotor designs
for high performance brushless permanent magnet machines for hybrid
It can also be noticed that the tested torque is slightly smaller electric vehicles,” IEEE Trans. Magn., vol. 48, no. 2, pp. 835–838, Feb.
than FEA under lower current angle, and coincides with 2012.
FEA when negative d-axis current is very high. That may be [14] M. Kimiabeigi, J. D. Widmer, R. Long, Y. Gao, J. Goss, R. Martin,
T. Lisle, J. M. S. Vizan, A. Michaelides, and B. Mecrow, “High-
caused by slightly lower remanence of the magnet material. In performance low-cost electric motor for electric vehicles using ferrite
general, the experiments agree well with the FEA simulations magnets,” IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron., vol. 63, no. 1, pp. 113–122, Jan.
and prove the performance of the proposed novel two-layer 2016.
[15] M. M. Rahman, K. T. Kim, and J. Hur, “Design and optimization of
spoke-type ferrite IPMSMs. neodymium-free spoke-type motor with segmented wing-shaped pm,”
IEEE Trans. Magn., vol. 50, no. 2, pp. 865–868, Feb. 2014.
V. C ONCLUSION [16] S. I. Kim, J. Cho, S. Park, T. Park, and S. Lim, “Characteristics
comparison of a conventional and modified spoke-type ferrite magnet
Comprehensive analysis on the influence of rotor pole motor for traction drives of low-speed electric vehicles,” IEEE Trans.
number on design of conventional one-layer spoke-type and Ind. Appl., vol. 49, no. 6, pp. 2516–2523, Nov./Dec. 2013.
novel two-layer spoke-type ferrite IPMSMs has been carried [17] W. Kakihara, M. Takemoto, and S. Ogasawara, “Rotor structure in 50kW
spoke-type interior permanent magnet synchronous motor with ferrite
out. The investigations suggest that conventional spoke-type permanent magnets for automotive applications,” in Proc. IEEE Energy
designs show better performances with relatively high number Convers. Congr. Expo., Sep. 2013, pp. 606–613.
of rotor poles. However, losses and manufacturing costs have [18] B. Xia, W. Fei, P. C. K. Luk, and D. Wu, “Design of a multi-layer
interior ferrite permanent magnet synchronous machine for traction
also to be considered. The novel two-layer configurations are applications,” in Proc. IET Int. Conf. Power Electron. Mach. Drives,
not very suitable for machines with high number of rotor poles Apr. 2014, pp. 1–6.
and compromise is necessary between the PM and reluctance [19] B. Xia, W. Fei, and P. C. K. Luk, “Analysis and design of v-spoke ferrite
interior permanent magnet machine for traction applications,” in Proc.
torque components during design and optimization. Compared Int. Conf. Power Electron. Syst. Appl., Dec. 2015, pp. 1–6.
with conventional one-layer structure, the novel two-layer [20] W. Fei, W. Liang, and P. C. K. Luk, “Influence of magnet layer number
structure can reduce harmonic content, improve torque output on electromagnetic performance of ferrite interior permanent magnet
synchronous machine,” in Proc. Int. Conf. Electr. Mach. Syst., Oct. 2014,
and achieve lower losses and higher efficiency. Furthermore, a pp. 1–7.
prototype machine with two-layer configuration and six rotor [21] W. Fei, P. C. K. Luk, D. M. Miao, and J. X. Shen, “Investigation
poles is built and tested. The experimental results confirm the of torque characteristics in a novel permanent magnet flux switching
machine with an outer-rotor configuration,” IEEE Trans. Magn., vol. 50,
predictions from FEA models and validate the performance. no. 4, pp. 1–10, Apr. 2014.
[22] D. M. Ionel, D. C. Jackson, G. Starr, and A. P. Turner, “Permanent
R EFERENCES magnet brushless motors for industrial variable speed drives,” in Proc.
[1] J. R. Hendershot and T. J. E. Miller, Design of Brushless Permanent- Int. Conf. Power Electron. Mach. Drives, Jun. 2002, pp. 650–654.
Magnet Machines. Motor Design Books, LLC, 2010. [23] I. C. Chabu, V. C. Silva, S. I. Nabeta, M. A. M. Afonso, and J. R.
[2] K. T. Chau, C. C. Chan, and C. Liu, “Overview of permanent-magnet Cardoso, “Axial flux concentration technique applied to the design of
brushless drives for electric and hybrid electric vehicles,” IEEE Trans. permanent magnet motors: theoretical aspects and their numerical and
Ind. Electron., vol. 55, no. 6, pp. 2246–2257, Jun. 2008. experimental validation,” in Proc. IEEE Int. Conf. Electr. Mach. Drives,
[3] Z. Q. Zhu and D. Howe, “Electrical machines and drives for electric, May 2005, pp. 1988–1994.
hybrid, and fuel cell vehicles,” Proc. IEEE, vol. 95, no. 4, pp. 746–765, [24] X. Jannot, J. C. Vannier, C. Marchand, M. Gabsi, J. Saint-Michel, and
Apr. 2007. D. Sadarnac, “Multiphysic modeling of a high-speed interior permanent-
[4] N. Hashemnia and B. Asaei, “Comparative study of using different magnet synchronous machine for a multiobjective optimal design,” IEEE
electric motors in the electric vehicles,” in Proc. Int. Conf. Elect. Mach., Trans. Energy Convers., vol. 26, no. 2, pp. 457–467, Jun. 2011.
Sep. 2008, pp. 1–5. [25] Q. Li, T. Fan, and X. Wen, “Characterization of iron loss for integral-
[5] M. A. Rahman, “History of interior permanent magnet motors [history],” slot interior permanent magnet synchronous machine during flux weak-
IEEE Ind. Appl. Mag., vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 10–15, Jan. 2013. ening,” IEEE Trans. Magn., vol. 53, no. 5, pp. 1–8, May 2017.
[6] S. Javadi and M. Mirsalim, “Design and analysis of 42-V coreless axial-
flux permanent-magnet generators for automotive applications,” IEEE
Trans. Magn., vol. 46, no. 4, pp. 1015–1023, Apr. 2010.