Available online at www.sciencedirect.
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Procedia Engineering 16 (2011) 108 – 118
International Workshop on Automobile, Power and Energy Engineering
Design and analysis of moving magnet synchronous surface
motor with linear halbach array
Xiaohong Hao Penghu Xing Lin Bai
School of Mechatronics Engineering, University of Electronics Science and Technology, Chengdu 610054,
China
Abstract
To solve the difficulty of lower speed and precision of conventional stage, a moving magnet type synchronous
surface motor (MMSSM) with slotless iron yoke and Halbach array is designed, where the stator and mover are
composed of four electromangetic coils and four Halbach arrays respectively. The magnetic field distributions are
derived analytically in terms of magnetic scalar potential with the method of separation of variables. On the basis of
the analytical field, the expressions of the flux linkage, back-electromotive force (EMF) and thrust force are acquired
and examined, the chief design parameters, such as air gap length, pole number, magnet thickness and coil thickness,
are optimized to maximize the thrust force of the MMSSM. A comparison between the results of the proposed
method and finite element analysis verifies the feasibility and credibility, which facilitates the characterization of
MMSSM and provides a basis for system dynamic modeling and simulation and servo control development.
© 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license.
Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of Society for Automobile, Power and Energy
Engineering
Keywords: Moving magnet; Surface motor; Linear Halbach array; Thrust force analysis.
1. Introduction
In many high technology fields, the requirement of two dimensional high precision positioning device is
increasing, such as integrated-circuit photolithography (stepper and repeat positioning), material science
(scanning tunneling microscopy), medicine and biology (cell biology research), and so on. Traditional two-
dimensional positioning devices use two stacked linear motors as actuator of high precision positioning system.
Thus, position precision and response speed of the positioning devices are limited. Moreover, it has
disadvantage of high manufacturing cost, complicated structure of controller and complexity of the calibration
test, etc. Therefore, the direct drive surface motor has been suggested to replace above method. Nowadays,
many types of surface motors have been proposed [1] [2] [3] [4]. According to their working principles, most
1877-7058 © 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license.
doi:10.1016/j.proeng.2011.08.1059
Xiaohong Hao et al. / Procedia Engineering 16 (2011) 108 – 118 109
of the planar motors can be classified into three types, i.e., variable reluctance planar motor, induction planar
motor and synchronous permanent magnet planar motor. Among them, synchronous surface motor attracted
more and more attention of the academic and industrial field. This is due to the fact that they have several
advantages: high force density, excellent servo characteristics and high efficient [5].
However, current synchronous surface motors have some shortcomings. First, they have slot or without iron
core, which produce an undesirable destabilizing tooth ripple cogging force [6] [7]. For the synchronous
surface motor without iron core, the magnetic circuit of the magnet array is open to the air gap and therefore
flux density in the air gap is decreased seriously [8]. Second, the moving parts consist of many electromagnet
windings and the stationery part is composed of permanent magnets array [9]. Thus, the moving cable not only
decreases the reliability, but also limits the mover’s movement.
In this paper, a moving magnet synchronous surface motor (MMSSM) with slotless stator iron core is
proposed. Its driving characteristics are predicted according to design parameters such as magnet thickness, air
gap length, coil thickness, and pole pairs. Thus, we can better understand the working principle of the MMSSM.
Furthermore, it can be used to develop controller of the MMSSM.
2. Structure of the MMSSM
2.1 Structure
Fig.1 shows the fundamental structure of the MMSSM. And its driving method is the same as in the case
of an ordinary three-phase synchronous permanent magnet rotary motor. The MMSSM contains machine
frame, stator iron core, X and Y thrust force windings, Halbach array and stage. X and Y thrust force
windings are concentrated full-pitch winding having three isolated phase sets. Two X thrust force
windings are used for driving in the X-direction and two Y thrust force windings for Y-direction. Four
linear Halbach array are attached under the stage. To prevent influences from friction, compressed air is
poured from the holes of the bottom of the stator iron core to keep a gap floating the mover (stage and
Halbach array). By switching off the current value in the three-phase windings appropriately, the mover
can move quickly in the plane surface.
(a) (b)
Fig.1 MMSSM with slotless iron core. (a) MMSSM, (b) Halbach array and stage
Compared to the conventional synchronous surface motor, the MMSSM has the following distinctive
features.
Firstly, the stator core is made of iron material, and there is no slot on the iron core. Thus, it eliminates
the tooth ripple cogging effect, and thereby improves the dynamic performance and servo characteristics.
110 Xiaohong Hao et al. / Procedia Engineering 16 (2011) 108 – 118
Secondly, Halbach array is used in the surface motor, thus, magnetic flux density exposed to coil
becomes denser than conventional magnetic array [10]. The more magnetic flux is exposed to the thrust force
winding, the more thrust force is produced by Lorentz force.
Finally, the surface motor is a moving magnet type. In the case of the moving magnet surface motor, the
moving part is the magnet and the stationary part is the windings. Consequently, the mover is free of the wire
and can rotate itself in addition to performing motions in two directions on the plane by means of the
appropriate excitation of the windings.
2.2 Permanent magnet material
The material of the permanent magnet is an important factor to the success of the proposed MMSSM.
These permanent magnets, such as AlNiCo magnets have low coercivity, Ferrite magnets have low remanence,
Samarium magnets are quite expensive at present. Advanced rare earth NdFeB magnets have high residual
strength which enhance the magnetic forces, and strong coercive force which lower a demagnetizing effect and
are very stable under higher working temperatures. Therefore, the NdFeB permanent magnet is deemed as the
best choice. In the design analyzed here, the NdFeB permanent manget have the following characteristics:
residual induction Br=1.24~1.26T; coercive force Hc=920~960 KA·m-1; maximum energy product
BHmax=295~303 KJ·m-3. These characteristics minimize the energy required and maximize the flux, and thus
high ratio of thrust force to permanent magnet volume may be achieved.
3. Magnetic field analysis
In order to design the MMSSM precisely, it is necessary to analyze magnetic field in the whole analysis
region including air gap and coil area. As one of the numerical methods in magnetic field analysis, the FEM is
known to allow an accurate analysis of electrical machines and can consider geometric details and the
nonlinearity of the magnetic material [19]. However, FEM requires long computation time particularly at the
initial design stage. Therefore, the analytic technique that solved the magnetic scalar potentials is used for the
calculation of magnetic field distribution.
3.1 Magnetic field by Halbach array
A: analys is model
Fig. 2 shows magnetic field analysis model by Halbach array. The motor is idealized as a 2-D structure.
And followings are assumed in order to solve the magnetic scalar potential equations.
1) The motor has the periodicity in the x direction.
2) The magnetization value of permanent magnet is constant.
3) The relative permeability of the iron core is infinity.
B: Magnetic Equations
The magnetic field distribution was obtained analytically by solving the equations of the magnetic scalar
potential.
1) In the air gap
The magnetic scalar potential M1 satisfies the following Laplace equation
w 2M1 w 2M1
0 (1)
wx 2 wz 2
Xiaohong Hao et al. / Procedia Engineering 16 (2011) 108 – 118 111
Let H1 and B1 denote the magnetic field strength and magnetic flux density in the air gap, respectively.
Then, the following equations are satisfied
H1 M1 (2)
B1 P0 H1 (3)
2) In the permanent magnets
The magnetic scalar potential M 2 in the permanent magnets satisfies the following equation
w 2M 2 w 2M 2 M
2 (4)
wx 2 wz Pm
Where P m is the relative recoil permeability of the permanent magnets and M is the remanent
magnetization.
For a permanent magnet having a linear demagnetization characteristic, P m is constant and the
magnetization M is related to the remanence Br by M Br P0 .
As M 0 in the magnet, the equation of M 2 can be deduced, i.e.,
w 2M 2 w 2M 2
2 0 (5)
wx 2 wz
Let H 2 and B2 denote the magnet field strength and magnet flux density in the permanent magnet,
respectively. Then, the following equations are satisfied
H 2 M2 (6)
B2 P0 ( P r H 2 M ) (7)
C: Boundary Condition
Equations (1) and (4) can be solved using the following boundary conditions.
H1 ( x, 0) |z 0 0
° H ( x, d g ) | 0
° 2 z d g
® (8)
° H 1 ( x, g ) | z g H 2 ( x, g ) | z g
°¯ B1 ( x, g ) B2 ( x, g )
D: solving equations
The magnetization layer of the Halbach array is of thickness d , and within this layer the magnet
array is represented by an infinite Fourier series in horizontal ( x -directed) and vertical ( z -directed)
magnetization components through terms M z x and M x x
n f
§ 2S n · n f
4 ª §Sn· §Sn· º § 2S n ·
M z ( x) M ¦ An cos ¨ x¸ M ¦ « sin ¨ ¸ cos ¨ ¸ cos S n » cos ¨ x¸ (9)
n 1 © O ¹ n 1 Sn ¬ © 2 ¹ © 4 ¹ ¼ © O ¹
n f
§ 2S n · n f
4 ª §Sn · §Sn · º § 2S n ·
M x ( x) M ¦ Bn sin ¨ x¸ M ¦ sin ¨ ¸ cos ¨ ¸ cos S n » sin ¨ x¸ (10)
n 1 © O ¹ n 1 S n ¬« © 2 ¹ © 4 ¹ ¼ © O ¹
Where O is the wavelength of the Halbach array. An is the nth harmonic amplitude of M z x , and Bn
is the nth harmonic amplitude of M x x . From (9) and (10), it follows that An Bn 0 for n 0, 2i ,
112 Xiaohong Hao et al. / Procedia Engineering 16 (2011) 108 – 118
An Bn for n 4i 1 .
By applying the above boundary conditions to the interfaces between different material regions, and
then the magnetic field strength and magnetic flux density in the air gap are given by
2S n 2S n
§ d · § 2S n ·
¦
z
H1x MAn ¨1 e O ¸e O sin ¨ x¸ (11)
n 1,5,9,13...(4 i 1)... © ¹ © O ¹
2S n 2S n
§ d · § 2S n ·
¦
z
H1z MAn ¨1 e O ¸e O cos ¨ x¸ (12)
n 1,5,9,13...(4 i 1)... © ¹ © O ¹
2S n
§ · 2SO n z § 2S n ·
¦
d
B1x P0 H1x P0 MAn ¨1 e O
¸e sin ¨ x¸ (13)
n 1,5,9,13...(4i 1)... © ¹ © O ¹
2S n
· 2SO n z §
§ 2S n ·
¦
d
B1z P0 H1z ¸e P0 MAn ¨1 e
cos ¨ x¸ O
(14)
n 1,5,9,13...(4 i 1)... © ¹ © O ¹
Where subscript x and z denote x -direction and z -direction, respectively. z is the distance from
winding surface to the Halbach array underside.
According to (14), the first harmonic of the magnetic flux density function Bz x is expressed as
follows:
2S 2S
§ d · z § 2S · § 2S ·
Bz x Br A1 ¨1 e O ¸ e O cos ¨ x¸ Bm cos ¨ x¸ (15)
© ¹ © O ¹ © O ¹
§2 2· §
2S
d ·
2S
z
Where Bm Br ¨¨ ¸¸ ¨ 1 e O
¸ O is the peak magnetic flux density.
e
© S ¹© ¹
According to the analysis as mentioned above, the magnetic field generated by Halbach array is obtained.
Z
Air gap
Magnet array d
Air gap FE region g
O X
Stator yoke
: Magnetization direction
Fig.2 Magnetic field analysis model by Halbach array
3.2 Magnetic field by stator winding current
The magnetic field analysis model by stator winding current is shown in Fig. 3. In contrast with the mover,
the stator is long enough to be assumed that it is infinitely long. Therefore, using the magnetic scalar potential
equation (16), the magnetic fields can be solved in similar way
w 2M w 2M
P0 J x (16)
wx 2 wz 2
Where J(x) is armature current density.
The magnetic field due to stator winding current is
Xiaohong Hao et al. / Procedia Engineering 16 (2011) 108 – 118 113
f § sinh nk h d · b (17)
Bz s P0 ¦ ¨¨1 sinh nkh
cosh nkz ¸ n cos nkx
¸ nk
n 1,3,.. © ¹
Where K is S
W
As mentioned above, total magnetic field is superposition of the field due to Halbach array and stator winding
current.
Z
Air gap
Winding h
X
Stator yoke O
FE region
Fig.3 Magnetic field analysis model by winding current
4. Back EMF and Thrust Force
The symbols used for calculation of the magnetic flux linkage are shown in Fig. 4. The reference
frame XYZ is fixed on the stator. Initially, one of coil of phase A x -winding are fixed on the position
xc , yc . The magnetic flux linkage of a winding can be derived by integrating three isolated areas of
rectangle area ABDEA , arc area BCDB , and arc area AEFA . And the equation for calculating the flux
linkage of phase A x -winding is expressed as follows:
§ 2S ·
I fa x I AD IBD I AE NN x ³ Bz x ds NN x ³ Bm cos ¨ x ¸ds (18)
s s
© O ¹
where N is turns of each coil, N x is the number of series turns phase A of x - winding. I AD , IBD , and
I AE are the fluxes through the faces ABDEA, BCDB, and AEFA, respectively.
xc
lx
yc
ly
§ 2S · NBm l y O §Sl · § 2S ·
IAD N³ 2
³ 2
Bm cos ¨ x ¸dxdy sin ¨ x ¸ cos ¨ xc ¸ (19)
© O ¹ S © O ¹ © O ¹
lx ly
xc yc
2 2
l y lx
xc
lx
yc § 2S x · NBm lx O §Sl · § 2S § l ··
IBD N³ 2
³ 2 2
Bm cos ¨ ¸dxdy sin ¨ x ¸ cos ¨ ¨ xc x ¸ ¸ (20)
© O ¹ S © 2O ¹ © O ©
lx ly
xc
2
yc
2
4 ¹¹
IAE IBD (21)
Consequently, the total magnetic flux linkage of phase A x -winding is expressed as follows
§ Bm l y O §Sl · § 2S xc · 2 Bm lx O §Sl · § 2S § lx · · ·
I fa x NN x ¨ sin ¨ x ¸ cos ¨ ¸ sin ¨ x ¸ cos ¨ ¨ xc 4 ¸ ¸ ¸ (22)
© S © O ¹ © O ¹ S © 2O ¹ © O © ¹¹¹
When the mover is moving along the x -direction, the magnetic field is moving whilst the stator is
static; hence, the distribution of the air gap magnetic field varies with the position of mover. So, the flux
coupled with each winding is variant with time. The back EMF of each phase can be written as
114 Xiaohong Hao et al. / Procedia Engineering 16 (2011) 108 – 118
dI dI dx dI
E v (23)
dt dx dt dx
Thus, back EMF is given by the product of velocity v and the rate of change in flux linkage with
respect to position. Hence, the back EMF of phase A , which results from relative motion between the
stator and mover, is obtained as
dI fa x dI fa x § S l · ª § 2S xc · § S lx · lx § 2S § lx · · º
Ea v 2 N s NBm sin ¨ x ¸ «sin ¨ ¸ cos ¨ 2O ¸ l sin ¨ O ¨ xc 4 ¸ ¸ » v
dt dx © 2O ¹ ¬« © O ¹ © ¹ y © © ¹ ¹ ¼»
(24)
where v is the motor velocity along the x -direction.
For the fully-pitch winding, the distribution of each phase of the three phase winding cover a third of
the pole pitch W . Then, the magnetic flux linkage of phase B and phase C are obtained from (22)
2 4
substituting xc with xc W and xc W respectively.
3 3
Consequently, the back EMF of phase B and C are obtained as
§ 2W ·
Eb Ea ¨ xc ¸ (25)
© 3 ¹
§ 4W ·
Ec Ea ¨ xc ¸ (26)
© 3 ¹
Where Eb and Ec are phase B and C back EMF, respectively.
The thrust force that is exerted on the mover in the surface motor, resulting from the interaction
between the winding current and the permanent magnet field, is given by
Ea § § 2W · § 4W · ·
F Ea I a Eb Ib Ec I c v ¨ I a I b ¨ xc ¸ I c ¨ xc ¸ ¸ (27)
v © © 3 ¹ © 3 ¹¹
Where I a , I b , and I c are current vectors of phase A, phase B, and phase C, respectively.
Y
C Lx/2
D B
Ly
X
(Xc, Yc)
Lx
A
E
Fig. 4 Winding shape and symbols for flux calculation of magnetic flux lingkage
5. Thrust force analysis according to design parameters
A: Thrust force analysis according to air gap length
Xiaohong Hao et al. / Procedia Engineering 16 (2011) 108 – 118 115
First, this paper examined the effect of air gap length on the thrust force for different pole numbers
with the magnet array size fixed. Fig. 5 shows thrust force curves acting on the mover along the air gap
length with pole numbers equal to 1, 2.5, 4 and 5.5. It can be seen that the more pole numbers increase,
the more variation of thrust force is greatly affected by air gap length. In case of air gap<0.4mm, 1 poles
is superior to the others for thrust characteristics according to air gap length, but if air gap length becomes
short, it is difficult to maintain fixed air gap. In case of air gap>0.63mm, 5.5 poles is superior to the
others for thrust characteristics according to air gap length, but air gap length is too long to produce high
thrust. Therefore, these analyses make us choose 2.5 poles for values of various air gap lengths, under
constraint condition fixed other parameters.
1. 1 pole
2. 2.5 poles 4
3. 4 poles 3
4. 5.5 poles
Thrust force (N)
Air gap length (mm)
Fig.5 Thrust force curves for different pole pairs
B: Thrust force analysis according to magnet thickness
Next, this paper examined the effect of magnet array thickness on the thrust force with the air gap
length fixed. Fig. 6(a) shows thrust force curves acting on the mover versus magnet array thickness for
different pole numbers. It can be discovered that thrust force increases with increasing poles numbers. In
case of pole numbers >2.5, the increasing rate slightly decreases. In additionally, It can also be observed
that for the different pole numbers, thrust force variation according to magnet array thickness, as the
value of magnet array thickness is 12mm or more, seldom change. So, for a fixed air gap length, magnet
array thickness can be chosen as 12mm.
This paper continued this investigation of magnet array thickness on the thrust force for different
pole pitch with the air gap length and pole numbers fixed. Fig. 6(b) shows thrust force variations acting
on the mover versus magnet array thickness for different values of pole pitch. It can be seen that the more
values of magnet array thickness increase, the more thrust force increases and the more values of pole
pitch increase, the more difference of thrust force variations are slowed down. In particular, it can be
observed that thrust variation according to magnet thickness in case of the value of pole pitch=8mm is
almost twice as much as that in case of the value of pole pitch=4mm, whereas thrust force variation
according to magnet array thickness in case of the value of pole pitch=8mm makes little difference that in
116 Xiaohong Hao et al. / Procedia Engineering 16 (2011) 108 – 118
case of the value of pole pitch=16mm. So, for a fixed air gap length, proper magnet pole pitch 8mm can
be determined from these results.
4
4
3
Thrust force (N)
Thrust force (N)
3
2 2
1. 1 pole
1 1. pole pitch=4mm
2. 2.5 poles
2. pole pitch=8mm
3. 4 poles 1
3. pole pitch=12mm
4. 5.5 poles
4. pole pitch=16mm
Magnet array thickness (mm) Magnet array thickness (mm)
(a) (b)
Fig. 6 Thrust force curves. (a) for different pole pairs, (b) for different pole pitch
C: Thrust force analysis according to winding thickness
Finally, this paper investigated the effect of the winding thickness on the thrust with the air gap
length and magnet array size fixed. Fig. 7(a) shows the variation of the current density in the stator
windings with the thickness of the windings under the constraint of constant ohmic power dissipation in
the stator windings. Plotted in Fig. 7(b) is the thrust force per current density in the windings, which is the
integral of the z -component of the no-load air gap magnetic flux density over the volume occupied by
the stator windings. The product of the Fig. 7(a) and (b), shown in Fig. 7(c), indicated that there is an
optimal thickness of stator windings (in this case 6mm) for highest motor thrust force.
6. Design results
The specification of the MMSSM from the design process is shown in Table I. And the result of thrust
force computation corresponding to a series of load current values are shown in F ig.8. It can be seen that the
thrust force ripple every 600 is generated. This is because of the mismatching of the current and the magnetic
field. And also the thrust force by FEM is somewhat less than that analytical method. The reason is that the
nonlinear characteristic of permeability in iron core is considered in the FEM. Maximum thrust force of above
30N is got while the excited current is 2A.
7. Conclusions
A moving magnet synchronous surface motor (MMSSM) with slotless iron core has been proposed. It has
higher force density compared to the coreless MMSSM. Two sets of windings for generating x -direction thrust
force and y -direction thrust force is perpendicularly fixed in the x -direction and y -direction of the stator iron
core, respectively.
For the MMSSM, magnetic field distribution has a very significant effect on the driving characteristic. By
using the method of separation of variables, Analytical solutions of magnetic field distribution are derived, and
the results are verified against the 2-D FEM.
Xiaohong Hao et al. / Procedia Engineering 16 (2011) 108 – 118 117
(a) (b)
(c)
Fig.7 Optimal thickness of windings for high thrust force
(a) Current density in windings under constant ohmic power dissipation, (b) Thrust force per ohmic
power dissipation, (c) Optimal thickness of stator windings.
The shape of coils and Halbach array has significant effect on the thrust force. This paper, therefore,
investigated the effect under constant MMF. And thrust force ripple taking into account driving manner is
also analyzed that is generated by mismatching the current and magnetic field. The design results are
useful in developing the control system of the MMSSM.
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Acknowledgements:
This work was supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(Grant
Number: ZYGX2009J080)
118 Xiaohong Hao et al. / Procedia Engineering 16 (2011) 108 – 118
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