Influence of design parameters on inductances of e-core axial field flux-switching permanent magnet machines

Purpose - Axial field flux-switching permanentmagnet machine (AFFSPMM) can be applied in the field of electric and hybrid electric vehicles because of short axial size, large torque density, and high-power density. The purpose of this paper is to improve the reliability of AFFSPMM itself, the design parameters have to be considered for attaining high self-inductances and reduced mutual-inductances. Design/methodology/approach - The original parameters of E-core AFFSPMM are designed with reference to a 600W prototype, on the basis of which the 3-D model of the original AFFSPMM is established, and the inductances are calculated by finite element method. The influence of these parameters on the inductances, including combinations of stator and rotor pole numbers, spilt ratio, stator side tooth width, magnet thickness, and rotor pole width etc., are respectively investigated and analyzed under the constant copper loss. Findings - The relationships of rotor pole numbers and inductances are deduced on the condition of the fixed stator poles. It is found that the rotor pole numbers has significant effects on the ratio of mutual-inductance to self-inductance, and the self-inductance is mainly affected by the rotor pole numbers, the split ratio, the stator tooth width, and the rotor pole width. The asymmetry of back-EMF can be largely reduced by optimizing the rotor tooth width. In this paper, the static characteristics are compared and analyzed for the original and optimal 6/14-pole AFFSPMM. Meanwhile, the open-circuit and short-circuit fault are investigated by transient analysis. The results show that the optimized E-core AFFSPMM has good fault tolerance. Originality/value - The research of inductance characteristics for E-core AFFSPMM is valuable to design the fault-tolerant machine, by which the cost of control and manufacture can be largely saved.