Optimal Design of Permanent Magnet Arrangement in Synchronous Motors

A general pattern, which can include different types of permanent magnet (PM) arrangement in PM synchronous motors (PMSMs) is presented. By varying the geometric parameters of the general pattern, the template can automatically produce different types of PM arrangement in the rotor. By choosing the best arrangement of PMs using optimization method, one can obtain a better performance and lower manufacturing cost. Six of the most widely used conventional types of rotor structures can be obtained through the parameter variation of the general pattern. These types include five embedded PM types and a traditional surface-mounted PM type. The proposed approach combines optimization method embedded with finite element method (FEM) for solving the multi-objective optimization for the PM structures. To save computing load, this paper employs a strategy of sub-group optimization, which is on account of the impact levels of the design parameters on the objective functions, and a parallel computation, which is a valid method to shorten the computing time. As an application example, a PMSM is optimally designed. Its simulation results and prototype experiments are provided to showcase the effectiveness of the proposed method.