Design and prototyping of the novel axial flux-switching permanent-magnet motor

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to propose a novel axial field flux-switching machine with sandwiched permanent magnets. It is one of the most efficient machines which is appropriate for high-torque and low-speed direct-drive applications. The proposed model is equipped with an advanced phase-group concentrated-coil winding to obtain a unity displacement winding factor. Two configurations of the proposed motors with 6-stator-slot (S)/10-rotor-pole (P) and 12S/19P are investigated. These two structures are compared with optimized a conventional axial-field flux-switching permanent-magnet (CAFFSPM) machine. Unity displacement winding factor increases the back-EMF and electromagnetic torque. Moreover, the prototype 12S/19P motor is built to verify the design. Design/methodology/approachThe torque equation is obtained and the dimensions of the two proposed motors are determined. Some specific design issues, including the stator/rotor pole sandwiching pole angle, the stator tooth angle and the rotor pole angle have been optimized to minimize the cogging torque while maintaining the high torque density by means of response surface methodology (RSM) and 3-D finite element model of the machine. FindingsTo improve the performance, especially at high torque density, low cogging torque and high level of fault-tolerant capability, the 12S/19P axial field flux-switching sandwiched permanent-magnet (AFFSSPM) motor is proposed. Based on the optimized design, a prototype of the 12S/19P AFFSSPM motor is fabricated and tested. It is found that the experimental results validate the 3-D finite element method (FEM) simulation results. Originality/valueThe AFFSSPM motor is one of the most efficient motors, but the 12S/19P AFFSSPM motor with sandwiched permanent magnet and unity displacement winding factor has not been specially reported to date. Thus, in this paper, the authors report on optimal design of a novel axial flux-switching sandwiched permanent-magnet machine for electric vehicles and fabricate a prototype of the 12S/19P AFFSSPM motor.