Characteristics Comparison of a Conventional and Modified Spoke-type Ferrite Magnet Motor for Traction Drives of Low-speed Electric Vehicles

Rare-earth magnets have been widely employed for traction drive motors of hybrid and electric vehicles (EVs) due to high energy density. Nevertheless, the magnets have critical problems such as unstable supply and high cost. Recently, in order to solve the problems, a variety of motors not using rare-earth materials have been reviewed such as an induction motor, a switched reluctance motor, and a spoke-type ferrite magnet motor (FMM). In this paper, a modified spoke-type FMM with a novel rotor configuration is presented for a traction motor of low-speed EVs. The characteristics of the modified spoke-type FMM are numerically compared with a conventional spoke-type FMM at the same design condition. Finally, the modified spoke-type FMM is fabricated and tested in order to verify its performance and feasibility.