Novel Fault-Tolerant Design of Axial Field Flux-Switching Permanent Magnet Machine

Axial field flux-switching permanent magnet machine (AFFSPMM) has significant advantages, such as the short axial size and high torque density. It is suitable for the direct drive in-wheel applications for the electric and hybrid electric vehicles. For improving the reliability, a novel fault-tolerant structure is applied in the AFFSPMM. The stator is composed of E-shaped laminated segments. The phase windings are physically isolated to each other by the middle teeth of E-shaped cores. The field windings wounded around the middle teeth are used to regulate air-gap flux in the proposed machine. The electromagnetic performances are investigated and analyzed by three-dimensional finite element method (FEM), including the inductance, the back-EMF, and the torque capability, etc. It is shown that the fault tolerance is improved in the novel AFFSPMM, and a wide speed range of operation can be attained by a small DC field current.