Design of Axial-flux Permanent-magnet Low-speed Machines and Performance Comparison between Radial-flux and Axial-flux Machines

Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Science (Technology) to be presented with due permission for public examination and criticism in the auditorium 1382 at Lappeenranta ABSTRACT Asko Parviainen This thesis presents an alternative approach to the analytical design of surface-mounted axial-flux permanent-magnet machines. Emphasis has been placed on the design of axial-flux machines with a one-rotor-two-stators configuration. The design model developed in this study incorporates facilities to include both the electromagnetic design and thermal design of the machine as well as to take into consideration the complexity of the permanent-magnet shapes, which is a typical requirement for the design of high-performance permanent-magnet motors. A prototype machine with rated 5 kW output power at 300 min-1 rotation speed has been designed and constructed for the purposes of ascertaining the results obtained from the analytical design model. A comparative study of low-speed axial-flux and low-speed radial-flux permanent-magnet machines is presented. The comparative study concentrates on 55 kW machines with rotation speeds 150 min-1 , 300 min-1 and 600 min-1 and is based on calculated designs. A novel comparison method is introduced. The method takes into account the mechanical constraints of the machine and enables comparison of the designed machines, with respect to the volume, efficiency and cost aspects of each machine. It is shown that an axial-flux permanent-magnet machine with one-rotor-two-stators configuration has generally a weaker efficiency than a radial-flux permanent-magnet machine if for all designs the same electric loading, air-gap flux density and current density have been applied. On the other hand, axial-flux machines are usually smaller in volume, especially when compared to radial-flux machines for which the length ratio (axial length of stator stack vs. air-gap diameter) is below 0.5. The comparison results show also that radial-flux machines with a low number of pole pairs, p < 4, outperform the corresponding axial-flux machines.