Analysis of Magnetic Forces in Axial-Flux Permanent-Magnet Motors with Rotor Eccentricity

Abstract

In this study, an analytical model is established to efficiently compute the magnetic field and unbalanced magnetic pull (UMP) in axial-flux permanent-magnet motors (AFPMMs). The effects of stator slotting, end effect, and rotor eccentricity on the magnetic field and forces were investigated. Static and dynamic eccentricities are analyzed and considered in the model. An effective function of the air gap permeance was introduced for effect of the stator slots to compute the flux density. A specific coefficient function is defined to calculate the end effect. A Fourier transform is used to compute the variations of the permanent-magnet remanence and the air gap permeance due to the slotted stator opposite to a slotless stator. The unbalanced magnetic forces were evaluated as a function of the air gap magnetic field using analytical equations. The proposed analytical method dramatically reduces the model size and computational time. It can be applied to the analysis of AFPMMs and is much faster than the three-dimensional finite element method (FEM). By comparing with the obtained using the FEM, the model results are validated.