Noninvasive detection of unevenly magnetized permanent magnet of a brushless dc motor by characterizing back electromotive force

Uneven magnetization of permanent magnets (PMs) is one of the major sources of unbalanced magnetic force and torque ripple, which excite a brushless dc (BLDC) motor. This paper investigates the frequency contents of the back electromotive force (BEMF) due to the unevenly magnetized PMs in a BLDC motor. The magnetic field of a BLDC motor is solved by using the finite element method, and the BEMF is calculated by differentiating the flux linkage with respect to time. The characteristics of BEMF are investigated by using the spectral analysis. Magnetic flux density of the ideally magnetized PMs has the harmonics of the pole-pair number, but unevenly magnetized PMs generate the additional harmonics. This research shows numerically and experimentally that the frequency components of the BEMF are determined by the least common multiple between the frequency contents of magnetic flux density from the PMs and the slot number per phase. It also shows that the magnetized status of the PMs of a BLDC can be noninvasively identified by monitoring the frequencies and the amplitudes of BEMF. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [DOI: 10.1063/1.3068546]