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Design of Axial-Flux Motor for Traction Application

Article  in  Journal of Electromagnetic Analysis and Applications · January 2009

DOI: 10.4236/jemaa.2009.12012

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J. Electromagnetic Analysis & Applications, 2009, 2: 73-83 1
doi:10.4236/jemaa.2009.12012 Published Online June 2009 (www.SciRP.org/journal/jemaa)

Design of Axial-Flux Motor for Traction

Application
Nadia Chaker, Ibrahim Ben Salah, Souhir Tounsi, Rafik Neji
Ecole Nationale d’Ingénieurs de Sfax (ENIS), BP. 1173, 3038 Sfax Tunisie, Laboratoire d’Electronique et des Technologies de
l’Information (LETI), Equipe Véhicule Electrique et Electronique de Puissance (VEEP), Tunisia.
Email: [email protected], [email protected]

Received February 9th, 2009; revised March 26th, 2009; accepted April 2nd, 2009.

ABSTRACT
This paper deals with the design of high power – low dimensions axial-flux permanent-magnet motor intended for trac-
tion application. First, two motor configurations are analytically designed and compared using finite element calcula-
tion. Then, the configuration yielding the best performances is integrated and modelled with the whole traction chain
under MATLAB/SIMULINK environment in order to demonstrate the motor operation on a large speed band.
Keywords: Axial-Flux Permanent-Magnet Motor, Design Criteria, Finite Elements, Traction Chain, Circulation Mission

1. Introduction
Nowadays, the use of internal combustion engines in boats and Aeolian alternators driving [6].
vehicles is one of the principal causes of several pollution This paper presents the design of a high power – low
problems as air and sound ones. Therefore, the electrical dimensions axial-flux permanent-magnet motor for a
vehicles constitute an excellent candidate to avoid these traction application. First, the design criteria of electrical
problems. However, since their appearance, the major parameters are highlighted for trapezoidal and sinusoidal
problems of this type of vehicles remain in high cost, motor configurations. Then, considering the vehicle
weak autonomy and over speed problems. For that, it
specification, the motor geometric parameters are ana-
becomes essential to give a particular care when choosing
the principal element of the electric traction chain which lytically determined for a comparison based on finite
is the electric motor. element calculation between both configurations per-
For electric traction applications, synchronous or asyn- formances. Finally, a traction chain integrating best con-
chronous motors [1] with radial or axial fluxes [2,3], can figuration is modelled under MATLAB/SIMULINK en-
be used. In order to increase the torque generation capabil- vironment in order to demonstrate the motor operation on
ity, these motors can be modulated. Moreover, the conse- a large speed band without weakening flux method.
quent progress of the permanent-magnet technology makes
permanent magnets synchronous motors more and more 2. Generalities about Axial-Flux Permanent-
utilized for variable speed and high performance systems. Magnet Motor
In [4], an effectiveness and mass comparison study
between radial and axial structures of a perma- Several axial-flux machine configurations exist depending
nent-magnet synchronous motor was presented. For a on the stator(s) position(s) with respect to the rotor(s)
constant power, it was demonstrated that the axial con- ones, as shown in Figure 1. We can find:
figuration with 4 pole pairs in rotor and 6 teeth in stator ● A structure with one rotor and one stator, Figure 1 (a).
has the best compromise effectiveness-mass. Thus, this ● A structure, in which the rotor is located between the
motor appears particularly interesting for electric vehicle
stators, Figure 1(b).
applications. In fact, the axial-flux permanent-magnet
● A structure, in which the stator is located between the
motor has many advantages [5] as: 1): high effectiveness
and high power factor, 2) high specific power, 3) no rotors, Figure 1(c).
● A multistage structure including several rotors and
ring-brushes and 4) possibility of modularity.
As an industrial application we can mention that stators Figure 1(d).
JEUMONT industry used the technology of axial flux In traction applications, more the motor has higher
structures to develop high power machines intended to torque generation capabilities more it is interesting. As

Copyright © 2009 SciRes JEMAA

74 Design of Axial-Flux Motor for Traction Application

(a) (b) (c) (d)

Figure 1. Permanent-magnet axial-flux machines configurations. Legend: (a): Single-rotor - single-stator structure; (b): Sin-
gle-rotor - two-stators structure; (c): Two-rotors - single-stator structure, called hereafter also as AFIPM machine (Ax-
ial-Flux Interior rotor Permanent-Magnet machine); (d): Multistage structure including two stator blocks and three rotor
blocks [2]

radial-flux motors, the axial-flux ones can be modulated of the motor associated to its inverter, the electrical pa-
which leads to the increase of their torque generation rameters are calculated for two configurations: the
capabilities [1,2,4]. In fact, the four configurations shown three-phase motor with trapezoidal back e.m.f wave form
in Figure 1 are used for traction applications. The torque and the three-phase motor with sinusoidal back e.m.f
generated with the fourth configuration, composed of wave form. Then, in order to define the structure of the
four modules (Figure 1(d)), is twice times greater than considered motor configurations, the geometrical pa-
the torque of the third and the second configurations rameters are analytically calculated, using the vehicle
which contain two modules, Figure 1(c) and Figure 1(b), specifications recapitulated in Table 1 (Appendix).
and four times than the first configuration developed During the design process it is required that: when the
torque (one module), Figure 1(a). vehicle reaches the maximum specified speed, the motor
It is to be signalled that configurations illustrated in is controlled with full wave form and develops the
Figure 1(b) and Figure 1(c) have the same torque genera- needed torque. At this operation point:
tion capabilities and the choice between both depends if ● The electromagnetic torque T
em, via the mechanical
the application needs an outer or inner rotor. transmission system (reducer and differential), is ex-
In the present paper, we have been interested in the in- pressed as the following:
tegration of the axial-flux technology for automotive Tem  Tdm Vb Vmax (1)
traction application as shown in Figure 2.
where Tdm is the starting torque expressed as:
3. Analytical Design of the Unit Motor – Inverter Rw
Tdm 
rd
  MvVb td   Mv g sin( )  .
In the present section, the single-rotor – single-stator
structure which is the simplest axial-flux permanent- ● The maximum value of the motor back e.m.f is:
magnet motor configuration [7] is considered, Figure 1(a).
At the beginning and in order to satisfy the design criteria

EC   N sph d dt   N sph  max d  d  EC  N sph  max  Dext

2
 Dint
2
 Be 4 (2)

Taking in account the vehicle specification mentioned It is to be signaled that, in coming EF study the last men-
in Table 1, the motor must develop a torque of Tem = tioned values of Tem and Ec will be used to verify the
40.625Nm with a maximum value of back e.m.f equal to calculated geometrical parameters of the obtained con-
Ec=138.462V. cept.

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e)

Figure 2. Integration of axial-flux motor in automotive traction chain. Legend: (a): a battery providing the input direct volt-
age of the inverter; (b): a conventional six-switch three-phase inverter insuring the generation of the three-phase voltage sup-
plying the motor armature; (c): a permanent-magnet axial-flux motor with sinusoidal back e.m.f used for the vehicle driving;
(d): a reducing system insuring the transmission of the motor mechanical energy to the vehicle wheels; (e): vehicle wheel

Copyright © 2009 SciRes JEMAA

 Design of Axial-Flux Motor for Traction Application 75

A conventional six-switch three-phase inverter is used Current Current level to be reached

to supply the motor armature. In order to recuperate en- Current
ergy during the deceleration phases, the inverter has re-
versible structure.
In what follows, we are involved in an analytic calcu- Times
lation of the input direct voltage of the inverter Udc, and
the maximum current intensity Iph feeding the motor tm
phases. tp
3.1 Design Criteria of Electrical Parameters for a
Trapezoidal Wave Form Motor Figure 5. Shape of the phase current of the motor

To supply this motor, currents in 120° electric crenels At the considered operation point, the electromagnetic
shape are considered. The motor power supply appears as torque of the motor is related to the phase current inten-
a succession of 60° electric sequences during which two
sity as follows [9]:
phases are simultaneously crossed by two opposite con-
stant currents as shown in Figure 4. Tem  2 EC I ph max  ke _ tra I ph (3)
Analysing Figure 4, one can notice that: 1): the motor
back e.m.f is trapezoidal and 2): the resulting torque is as with ke _ tra  2 EC max  Nsph  Dext
2
 Dint
2
 Be 2 is the elec-
a simple juxtaposition of the three phase’s constant
torques. However, in order to limit the torque ripple, it is tric constant of the motor.
required to guarantee the right duration for each operation Consequently, the phase current intensity is:
sequence and also an excellent form of the back e.m.f [8]. I ph  Tems Ke _ tra (4)
At the considered operation point, the electromagnetic
torque of the motor is related to the phase current inten- Figure 5 illustrates the crenel shape of the current
sity as follows [9]: feeding motor phases.
The current wave form shows two important parame-
ters [10]:
● The current maintaining time tp:
tp  1 3 2 pmax  (5)
where max is the maximum angular velocity of the mo-
tor.
● The current rising time tm:

Figure 3. Six-switch three-phase inverter

 
tm    L R  ln 1  2 RI ph Udc  Ke _ tra max   (6)

with R and L are the phase resistance and the phase in-
T1 T3 T5 ductance, respectively.
T6 T2 T4 T6
i1 The torque ripple factor r, is defined as [10]:
Iph

i2
r  tm tp (7)

For a fixed value of the ripple factor, the input direct

i3
voltage Udc can be obtained as follows:
B. e.m.fs (V)


Udc  2 RI ph 1  exp    2 r  3  p max L R   ke _ tra max
(8)
3.2 Design Criteria of Electrical Parameters for a
Tem
Electric angle Sinusoidal Wave Form Motor
0 60 120 180 240 300 360
The output voltages of the inverter applied to the armature
Figure 4. Power supplying of a trapezoidal wave form mo- of the sinusoidal back e.m.f configuration of the perma-
tor. Legend: T1, T2, T3, T4, T5 and T6: inverter switches;
nent-magnet axial-flux motor are illustrated in Figure 6.
i1, i2, i3: phases currents; motor back e.m.fs; Tem: electro-
magnetic torque The fundamental of the back e.m.f of the first phase is

Copyright © 2009 SciRes JEMAA

76 Design of Axial-Flux Motor for Traction Application

Uph with  Tb  is copper resistivity at the temperature Tb,

2Udc/3 Ntc is the total number of conductors,  is the current
Udc/3
t density and Lsp is the mean length of one turn.
● Phase inductance:
0 T/6 T/3 T/2

Lph  Lep  Lfp (15)

t
with Lep is the air-gap inductance and Lfp is the phase
leakage inductance through one slot.
3.3 Geometrical Parameters of the Motor
t
The considered permanent-magnet axial-flux motor is
composed of only one module containing two parts: one
stator and one rotor, as illustrated in Figure 1(a).
The stator yoke is laminated and made up of
Figure 6. Phases voltages shapes iron-silicium, Figure 1(a). It contains 12 identical slots
where the three phase winding is inserted. Totally, 6 coils
noted Uph11. It is expressed as the following [11]:
are used and each phase is obtained by putting in series
U ph11 (t )   2Udc   sin   2 T  t    (9) two appropriate coils, as shown in Figure 8. The stator
teeth are of two kinds: 1) 6 large teeth called principal
To guarantee operation regime under maximum torque, teeth, around which coils are winded, and 2) 6 small teeth
the motor piloting angle between the back e.m.f EC and located in between adjacent principal teeth, called in-
the phase current Iph is fixed equal to zero in the control serted teeth. The width of the inserted tooth is variable
system. At the maximum speed, the maximum value of depending on wished back e.m.f form.
the fundamental can be simply obtained from the Fresnel The rotor is an iron massive disc where eight samar-
diagram as: ium-cobalt permanent magnets, with a remanent polariza-
tion of 1.175T, are mounted on its surface and four pole
 RI  EC    Lmax I ph 
2 2
U ph11  ph (10) pairs are so obtained as shown in Figure 7(a) and (b).
Figure 9 shows the geometrical parameters necessary
where max is the maximum pulsation of motor voltage.
to define the structures of both configurations of the sur-
The input direct voltage Udc can so be calculated using
face-mounted axial-flux permanent-magnet motor. Be-
the following expression:
fore calculating these geometrical parameters, specific
coefficients have to be defined:
Udc   2   RI  EC    Lmax I ph 
2 2
(11)
ph ● L p   p : pitch in between poles.
At the considered operation point, the electromagnetic ●   L a LP : rotor occupancy rate by permanent mag-
torque developed by the considered configuration of the nets. This coefficient is equal to 1 when the mounted
motor is related to the phase current intensity as follows [9]: permanent magnets cover the whole surface of the rotor,
and is equal to 0.5 when permanent magnet surface is
Tem   3 2   EC I ph max   ke _ sin I ph (12)
equal to the air one in rotor.
ldla  Aptm La : report between angular width of a
with ke _ sin  3E 2  3Nsph  Dext  Be 8 is the elec-
● R
2
 Dint
2

principal tooth Aptm by the angular width of a magnet La,

tric constant of the motor.
Consequently, the phase current intensity is: Figure 7.
ndnp  N te p : report of the teeth number (Nte) by the
● R

I ph  Tems Ke _ sin (13)

number of pole pairs.
did  Aitm Aptm : report between the angular width of
● R
Furthermore and for both configurations of the motor:
the permanent-magnet axial-flux motor with trapezoidal an inserted tooth Aitm by the angular width of a principal
back e.m.f wave form and the permanent-magnet axial-flux tooth Aptm, Figure 7.
motor with sinusoidal back e.m.f wave form, the armature In coming finite elements study, the last defined coeffi-
parameters R and L are expressed as the following [12]: cients are taken same as ones used in [9] and [10]. These
● Phase resistance: coefficients are resumed in Table 2 (Appendix). In the
mentioned works, [9,10], it has been demonstrated that the
Rph   Tb  Ntc  Lsp 6 I ph (14) considered values guarantee the best wave forms of gene-

Copyright © 2009 SciRes JEMAA

 Design of Axial-Flux Motor for Traction Application 77

rated fluxes and discard leakage fluxes between perma-

nent magnets, for trapezoidal and sinusoidal motors.
Referring to [12], the motor geometrical parameters
are calculated by integrating the mentioned coefficient in
trigonometric formulas. The obtained geometrical pa-
rameters for both motor configurations are recapitulated
in Table 2 (Appendix).

4. Finite Elements Study

(a) Trapezoidal back e.m.f configuration In axial-flux motor, the magnetic phenomena are sym-
metrical according to the motor radial direction. Thus, the
finite elements study of the two motor configurations can
be simplified from 3D to 2D finite elements study which
is simpler and more speed from the point of view of cal-
culation time. The used software is MAXWELL 2D [13].
Figure 10 illustrates the finite elements study domain
of the trapezoidal configuration of the axial-flux motor.
In order to validate the analytical calculated parameters,
this study is intended to the computation of the generated
fluxes in the motor air-gap which yields the back e.m.fs
and the developed torque at load operation point. In the
first step, the geometrical parameters analytically calcu-
(b) Sinusoidal back e.m.f configuration lated in Subsection 2.3 are used to define the geometry
Figure 7. Structures of both configurations of the perma- used in the finite elements program. Then, in a second
nent-magnet axial-flux motor step and for different values of the rotor position, two
different finite elements calculations are processed:
● An investigation of the effect of only the permanent

1’ 2 2 3’ 3’ 1 1 2’ 2’ 3 3 1’
magnets: the machine is working as a generator at
no-load operation regime. The fluxes wave forms due to
the permanent magnets effect are so carried out. Conse-
quently, motor back e.m.fs wave forms and amplitudes
are deduced which characterise the electric/mechanic
Figure 8. Cylindrical cut plan of the stator of the axial-flux
motor
power transfer.
● A computation under load operation point: the cur-

rent feeding the motor armature is in phase with the back

North e.m.f obtained through the previous study. The so gener-
magnet South magnet ated flux is used to find out the machine torque.
Figure 11 shows the flux lines through the magnetic
Rotor disc Hr circuit of the sinusoidal wave form configuration of the
Hpm
axial-flux motor due to the effect of only the permanent
e magnets and Figure 12 shows the flux lines through the
Principal tooth
Hth magnetic circuit of the sinusoidal wave form configura-
tion of the axial-flux motor under load operation.
Hy Analyzing these figures, one can notice that leakage
Stator yoke
fluxes between permanent magnets do not exist and all
Inserted tooth generated fluxes are useful.
Ls
Slot 4.1 Finite Elements Study at Generation Mode

Figure 9. Geometrical parameters of the permanent-magnet For both configurations of the axial-flux motor, the con-
axial-flux motor. Legend: Hr: rotor disc thickness; Hpm: sidered operation point corresponds to the maximum
permanent magnet height; Hth: slot height; Hy: stator yoke speed of the vehicle (80km/h) which means an angular
thickness; e: air-gap thickness; Ls: slot width velocity equal to 341.88rad/s. For trapezoidal configura-

Copyright © 2009 SciRes JEMAA

78 Design of Axial-Flux Motor for Traction Application

Figure 10. Cylindrical cut plan of the trapezoidal wave form motor

Figure 11. Flux lines through the magnetic circuit of the sinusoidal wave form configuration of the axial-flux motor due to the
effect of only the permanent magnets

Figure 12. Flux lines through the magnetic circuit of the sinusoidal wave form configuration of the axial-flux motor under
load operation

Flux1_no-load Flux2_no-load Flux3_no-load Flux1_no-load Flux2_no-load Flux3_no-load

0,010 0,008
0,008
0,006
0,006
0,004
0,004
0,002 0,002
Flux (Wb)

Flux (Wb)

0,000 0,000
-0,002
-0,002
-0,004
-0,004
-0,006
-0,008 -0,006

-0,010 -0,008
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Angle (°) Angle (°)

(a) Trapeze case (b) Sine case

Figure 13. Fluxes generated in the air-gap of the machine for a generation regime at no-load operation and for a vehicle speed
of 80km/h

tion and sinusoidal one, the wave form of generated For each motor phase, the back e.m.f can be obtained
fluxes in the air-gap are illustrated respectively in Figure considering a perfect magnetic circuit and using the fol-
13(a) and (b) where rotor position is varied from 0° to 90°. lowing expression:

eC  t    N sph d ph dt   N sph  d dt   d ph d    N sph d ph d (16)

with  is the rotor position and  ph is the flux of the ated back e.m.fs are perfectly trapezoidal and in the case
considered phase. of the sinusoidal motor configuration the generated back
e.m.fs are also perfectly sinusoidal.
The differential d ph d can be obtained by a lin-
earization between two consecutive positions and the 4.2 Finite Elements Study under Load Operation
back e.m.f is so expressed as: In this section, the motor is considered under load opera-
eC 1    N sph  ph (1 )   ph ( 2 )  1   2  (17) tion regime. The motor armature is supplied by three
currents in phase with the back e.m.fs obtained at the
Figure 14 shows the wave form of the obtained back no-load operation of the generation regime. As illustrated
e.m.fs for both axial-flux motor configurations. in Figure 15(a) and (b), crenel shape currents with a maxi-
Analyzing those figures one can remark that in the case mum intensity Iph_trapeze = 50.154A are used for the trape-
of the trapezoidal configuration of the motor the gener- zoidal configuration, and sinusoidal shape currents with a

Copyright © 2009 SciRes JEMAA

 Design of Axial-Flux Motor for Traction Application 79

Back e.m.f 1_no-load Back e.m.f 2_no-load Back e.m.f 3_no-load Back e.m.f 1_no-load Back e.m.f 2_no-load Back e.m.f 3_no-load
200 200
150 150
100 100
Back e.m.f (V)

Back e.m.f (V)

50 50
0 0

-50 -50

-100 -100

-150 -150

-200 -200
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Angle (°) Angle (°)

(a) Trapeze case (b) Sine case

Figure 14. Wave form of the generated back e.m.f for a generation regime at no-load operation and for a vehicle speed of 80km/h

maximum intensity Iph_sine = 66.872A are used for the application. The whole traction chain is modelled in order
sinusoidal configuration. to investigate the motor behaviour vis-à-vis of a desired
Figure 15(c) and Figure 15(d) illustrate the wave form speed sequence and of the circulation mission of the Na-
of obtained fluxes in the motor air-gap for the maximum tional Institute of Research on Transports and their Secu-
vehicle speed (80 km/h), and different rotor positions rity (INRETS).
varying from 0° to 90°, respectively for trapezoidal and
Figure 16 shows the block diagram of the adopted
sinusoidal motors. Analysing these figures, one can notice
the appearance of flux distortion at the load operation re- control vector strategy of the motor implemented under
gime in respect with the no-load operation one. This dis- MATLAB/SIMULINK environment.
tortion is essentially due to the magnetic armature reaction. The synchronous permanent magnet machine can be
Considering Equation (16) and for a perfect magnet described in the d-q referential as follows [14]:
circuit, the back e.m.f of the motor can be calculated and
illustrated as shown in Figure 15(e) and (f) for trapezoi- Vd  Rid  Ld  did dt   e Lq iq
 (18)
Vq  Riq  Lq  diq dt   e Ld id  K e m
dal and sinusoidal configurations, respectively. Referring
to the aforementioned figures, one can remark the fol-
lowing: 1): for both configurations the analytical maxi- with e is the electric pulsation, Ld and Lq are respec-
mum value of the back e.m.f Ec = 138.462V is reached,
tively direct in squaring inductances.
2): the sinusoidal configuration generates a sinusoidal
back e.m.f without peaks which yields a torque wave The direct and in squaring components of the current
form with no peaks, Figure 15(h). However, the trape- can be deduced using:
zoidal configuration generates a trapezoidal distorted
 I d  Vd  e Lq iq  Ld S  R
back e.m.f containing several peaks giving a torque wave 
 (19)
form with several peaks too, Figure 15(g).  I q  Vq  e Ld id  K em  Lq S  R
Referring to Figure 15(g) and (h), both motors are able
to develop the requested torque. The ripple figuring in the with S is Laplace operator.
torques wave forms is due essentially to the motors cog- The developed electromagnetic torque is so expressed
ged structures which cause the appearance of a cogging
[15]:
torque. Considering the obtained torques wave forms,
vibration problems due to the torque ripple are sharper in Tem   3 2  K e I q  1 2  p  Ld  Lq  I d I q (20)
the case of trapezoidal motor than in the case of the si-
nusoidal one. For that, in coming study, only the features Considering the fundamental dynamic law describing
of the permanent-magnet axial-flux sinusoidal motor are the vehicle motion, the torque needed on wheels is:
investigated.
Tw  Tbr  Taero  Tg   M v Rw dV dt  Tr   M v Rw dV dt
5. Traction Chain Modelling (21)
The present section is devoted to the modelling of an with Tbr is the torque due to bearing resistance force, Taero
axial-flux motor with sinusoidal back e.m.f wave form is the torque due to aerodynamic load, Tg is the torque
associated to a six-switch three-phase inverter for traction due to gravity forces,  a coefficient related to the inertia

Copyright © 2009 SciRes JEMAA

80 Design of Axial-Flux Motor for Traction Application

Trapezoidal Sinusoidal
I1 I2 I3 I1 I2 I3

60 80

60
40
40
20
20

Current (A)
Current (A)

0 0

-20
-20
-40
-40
-60

-60 -80
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Angle (°) Angle (°)

(a) Three phase current (b) Three phase current

Flux1_load Flux2_load Flux3_load Flux1_load Flux2_load Flux3_load
0,010 0,008
0,008 0,006
0,006
0,004
0,004
0,002 0,002
Flux (Wb)

0,000 Flux (Wb) 0,000

-0,002 -0,002
-0,004
-0,004
-0,006
-0,008 -0,006

-0,010 -0,008
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Angle (°) Angle (°)

(c) Air-gap fluxes (d) Air-gap fluxes

Back e.m.f 1_load Back e.m.f 2_load Back e.m.f 3_load Back e.m.f 1_load Back e.m.f 2_load Back e.m.f 3_load
250 200
200 150
150
100
100
Back e.m .f (V)
Back e.m .f (V)

50 50

0 0
-50 -50
-100
-100
-150
-200 -150

-250 -200
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Angle (°) Angle (°)

(e) Back e.m.fs (f) Back e.m.fs

T_analytic T_load T_analytic T_load
70 50

60
40
50
Torque (N m )
Torque (Nm)

30
40

30 20

20
10
10

0 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 0 20 40 60 80 100
Angle (°) Angle (°)

(g) Electromagnetic torque (h) Electromagnetic torque

Figure 15. Load operation of trapezoidal and sinusoidal motor configurations

Copyright © 2009 SciRes JEMAA

 Design of Axial-Flux Motor for Traction Application 81

ref Iq Vq Va C1

PWM generation
+ PI + PI
- -

dq 2 abc

Inverter
Vb C2
PMSM
m
Id Vd Vc C3
0 + PI
-

--

abc 2 dq
Figure 16. Block diagram of the vector control strategy of the axial-flux motor

of turning parts (wheels, driving shaft and gearing system) At vehicle maximum speed (80km) and for the geo-
and Tr is the resistive torque. metrical parameters analytically calculated and validated
The control strategy block diagram, shown in Figure by the finite elements study, the direct voltage applied to
16, presents two regulation loops: the first loop is used the inverter Udc, the motor resistance R, the direct induc-
for speed regulation and the second one for current regu- tance of the motor Ld, the in squaring inductance of the
lation. The control vector strategy operates with only the motor Lq and the electric constant of the motor Ke are
in squaring component of the current. For that the direct analytically determined, Table 3 (Appendix). For the ob-
current is cancelled and its reference value is fixed to tained values and for a switching frequency fc = 3.3kHz,
zero. Consequently, referring to Equation (20), the de- the inverter provides three chopped and equilibrated
veloped electromagnetic torque is expressed as: voltages to supply motor armature, Figure 18.
Tem   3 2  K e I q (22) 5.1 Simulation Results
The Inverter switches are driven using PWM control 5.1.1 Speed Sequence
signals and the three voltages provided to supply the mo- The desired speed sequence, Figure 19, requires three
tor armature are: speed levels. Considering the parameters given by Table 3,
U ph1  U dc 3 2C1  C2  C3 

U ph 2  U dc 3 2C2  C1  C3  (23) triangular
 signal
U ph3  U dc 3 2C3  C2  C1 
with Uph1, Uph2, Uph3 are the three phase voltage provided C1 1
C1
by the inverter, and C1, C2, C3 are the command constants Sine Wave
Relay

for the inverter high transistors T1, T3 and T5, respectively.

The constants C1, C2 and C3 are generated using a
C2 2
PWM generation block, Figure 17, based on the com- Relay1
C2

parison between a triangular signal which frequency is Si ne Wave1

equal to the desired commutation frequency of the in-

verter switches and a sinusoidal one which pulsation C33
gives the desired motor speed. A transistor switched on Relay2
C3
Si ne Wave2
corresponds to C = 1, and a transistor switched off corre-
sponds to C = 0. Figure 17. Generation of the inverter command constants

Copyright © 2009 SciRes JEMAA

82 Design of Axial-Flux Motor for Traction Application

200
low a desired speed instruction. For the present study, let
150 us consider the INRETS circulation mission and investi-
100
gate the motor behaviour.
Figure 20(b) shows that the electric vehicle speed fol-
Chopped voltage (V)

50
lows to the required circulation mission with a little delay
0 as found in Subsection 5.1.1.
-50
6. Conclusions
-100

The present paper was devoted to the design of high

-150
power – low dimensions axial-flux permanent-magnet
-200
0 0.001 0.002 0.003 0.004 0.005 0.006 0.007 0.008 0.009 0.01
motor for electric vehicles. In a first step, the electrical
Time (s) and the geometrical parameters of the motor integrated in
the whole traction chain was analytically calculated con-
Figure 18. Motor phase chopped voltage provided at the
output of the inverter sidering the vehicle specifications. Then in a second step,
we have been interested in a finite elements study in or-
the motor speed carried out using the traction elaborated der to validate and complete the analytical obtained re-
traction chain model is illustrated in Figure 19. Analyzing sults. It has been found, that the built analytical model
this figure, one can notice that the vehicle speed reaches provides accurate values of electrical and geometrical
the wanted value in a relatively weak time. motor parameters. Furthermore, a comparison between
5.1.2 Circulation Mission the electromagnetic torque obtained by the trapezoidal
configuration and one developed by the sinusoidal con-
To validate the use of a motor for traction application, the
figuration was made using the finite elements study. The
INRETS tests the behaviour of such motor using the
speed instruction illustrated in Figure 20(a). Such speed high ripple noticed in the wave form of trapezoidal mo-
instruction is called circulation mission. It consists of a tor’s torque leads to discard this configuration and em-
normalised trial for vehicle motor tested for long dis- phasize the choice of sinusoidal configuration for traction
tances and variable speed under hard constraints. applications. Finally, the designed sinusoidal motor be-
In the last section, the designed motor was able to fol- haviour was investigated considering firstly a desired

80

70
Desired speed sequence
60
Vehicle speed (Km/h)

50

40

30

20 Electric vehicle response

10

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Time (s)
Figure 19. Desired speed sequence and motor speed carried out using the developed traction chain model

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 Design of Axial-Flux Motor for Traction Application 83

80 80

70
70

60
60

Vehicle speed (Km/h)

Vehicle Speed (Km/h)

50
50

40
40

30
30
20
20
10
10
0
0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
Time (s) Time (s)

(a) INRETS circulation mission (b) Electric vehicle response

Figure 20. INRETS circulation mission and electric vehicle response

speed instruction and next the INRETS circulation mis- tests, the motor was able to follow and to provide the
sion. For that, we have been involved in the modelling requested features which make the sinusoidal axial-flux
and implementation under matlab/simulink environment permanent-magnet motors serious competitors of con-
of such motor associated to six-switch three-phase in- ventional radial-flux permanent-magnet motors for
verter and integrated in the whole traction chain. For both automotive traction applications.

Appendix
Table 1. Motor specification
Parameter symbol value unit
Vehicle mass Mv 800 kg
Wheel ray Rw 0.26 m
Basic velocity Vb 30 km/h
Maximum speed of the vehicle Vmax 80 km/h
Pole pair number p 4
Stating time td 4 s
Coefficient related to the inertia if the turning parts  1
Switched frequency fc 3.33 kHz
Reduction report rd 4
Gravity g 9.81 N/kg
External diameter Dext 350 mm
Internal diameter Dint 150 mm

Table 2. Motor dimensioning

Designation Symbol Trapeze Sine
Report of the teeth number by the number of pole pairs Rndnp 1.5 1.5
Rotor occupancy rate by permanent magnets β 1 2/3
Report between angular width of a principal tooth by the angular width of a magnet Rldla 1 1
Report between the angular widths of an inserted tooth by the angular width of a principal toot. Rdid 0.2 0.2
Rotor disc thickness Hr 83.357 mm 55.611 mm
Permanent magnets height Hpm 6.873 mm 6.873 mm
Slots height Hth 69.671 mm 17.214 mm
Stator yoke thickness Hy 98.176 mm 65.498 mm
Slots mean angular width Asm 3° 12°
Slots width Ls 6.545 mm 26.132mm
Magnet mean angular width La 45° 30°
Principal tooth mean angular width Aptm 45° 30°
Inserted tooth mean angular width Aitm 9° 6°
Air-gap thickness e 2 mm 2 mm

Copyright © 2009 SciRes JEMAA

 84 Design of Axial-Flux Motor for Traction Application

Table 3. Electric parameters used for the simulation of the traction chain model
Parameter symbol value unit
Direct voltage Udc 291 V
Drag coefficient Cx 0.55
Frontal surface Sf 1.8 m²
Coefficient to bearing pneumatic resistance fr 0.01
Electric constant Ke 0.3
Phase resistance Rph 0.007 Ω
Direct inductance Ld 0.157 mH
In squaring inductance Lq 0.157 mH

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