Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
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Nima Madani
Degree project in
Electrical Engineering
Master of Science
Stockholm, Sweden 2011
XR-EE-EME 2011:013
Design of a Permanent Magnet Synchronous
Generator for a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine
NIMA MADANI
XR-EE-EME 2011:013
Abstract
Dierent types of permanent magnet generators for wind power applica-
tion have been subject of research during last two decades. In this the-
sis dierent topologies of electrical generators have been investigated for
small scale vertical axis wind turbine application. A two stage induction
generator is proposed as a alternative solution with respect to the cost of
such a system. However, a biggest emphasis in the report has been put
on the design of Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator (PMSG)
suitable for a small scale Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT)The char-
acteristics of PMSG makes it highly compatible for variable speed Wind
Energy Conversion System (WECS) without any pitch mechanism.
Chapters 2 and 3 summarize a thorough literature survey on wind
energy systems and corresponding electrical machines. The principles
of wind aerodynamics is preceded by a review on wind turbine charac-
teristics and challenges with emphasis on VAWT s. Further dierent
topologies of electrical machines with focus on PMSG s including Per-
manent Magnet (PM) congurations, dierent windings and thermal
behavior is presented. In chapter 4 a brief review on an alternative
solution which includes an Induction Generator (IG) for xed speed
WECS is given.
Next, In chapters 5, 6 and 7, a PMSG is designed and the de-
sign is veried by means of Finite Element Method (FEM) analysis and
thermal modeling. Chapter 5 describes an analytical optimisation of a
longitudinal, inner rotor, radial ux, surface mounted PMSG with con-
centrated winding and natural air cooling system. Cost of active mate-
rial is chosen as the optimisation criterion. Concepts like "constraints",
"requirements", "parameters" (including material, geometry and wind-
ing) and procedure of the design are described here. In chapter 6, a
FEM model of the optimised machine is developed and the results are
illustrated. The iron losses, calculated in this chapter are utilised in
thermal analysis in chapter 7 . Thermal model developed is based on a
lumped parameter circuit . It ensures the safe thermal behavior of the
machine in nominal operation mode.
During past seven months I have had the most fascinating time working on this
thesis. So I would like to express my gratitude for the people who made this great
time.
This work has been possible by guidance of my examiner professor Chandur
Sadarangani throughout the entire work. His condence in me to tackle this task
is highly appreciated. Next appreciation goes to my supervisor Dr. Alija Cosic
who provided me with assistance whenever I needed it. I am grateful of his eort
towards guiding me along the way.
I also feel thankful of my friends and ocemates for their friendship. Shagh
Nategh and I spent a lot of time on our long discussions. Moreover, I had a nice
time with Sergio, Xiaohu, Roberto, Arif,... . EME sta are appreciated for their
help whenever I turned to them: including Peter Lnn, Eva Pettersson, Andreas
Krings, Naveed Malik, ....
I, additionally, would like to express my gratitude towards my parents and sib-
lings. Endless love of my father, who is my hero, and my mother made it possible
for me to bear the distance. I wish the best for my little sister and my brother in
their lives in return of their support during this period. I, moreover, had a great
time in Uppsala with my aunt and my cousins that I will never forget.
Stockholm
Midsummer 2011
Nima Madani
List of Symbols and Abbreviations
List of Symbols
T temperature C
airgap length m
e eective airgap length m
eciency %
m
wind velocity sec
tip speed ratio
r relative permeability of the magnet
kg
air mass density m3
cu copper resistivity .m
kg
F E steel sheet materials mass density m3
kg
P M PM materials mass density m3
1
classical loss coecient (conductivity) ( .m )
N
perm permissible strength of shaft material m2
N
yield yield strength of shaft material m2
s slot pitch m
rad
wind turbines rotor tip angular speed sec
rad
m mechanical angular speed of generators rotor sec
List of Abbreviations
AC Alternative Current
DC Direct Current
IG Induction Generator
PM Permanent Magnet
SG Synchronous Generator
Contents
1 Introduction 1
1.1 Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Objective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.3 Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
4 Induction Generator 43
4.1 Fixed Speed Induction Generator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
4.2 Selection of Induction Motor as Generator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
4.2.1 Temperature Rise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
4.2.2 Eciency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
4.2.3 Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
4.3 Two Step Fixed Speed Induction Generator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
4.4 Self Excited Induction Generator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Bibliography 79
List of Tables 82
List of Figures 83
Chapter 1
Introduction
1.1 Background
Energy demands of the modern society has made the way open to invest great
amount of technological eort and capital to renewable energies. Figure 1.1 shows
the amount of annual capital investment in new renewable energies (excluding large
scale hydro power, traditional biomass) between 2004 and 2009. The values include
energy converted into electricity and heat.
Wind energy is one of the renewable energies which has attracted a lot of in-
terest in recent years. By end of 2009, the capacity of wind energy power plants
has reached 158 gigga watts worldwide. The interest in producing electricity puts
certain demands on the electrical machines and drives. Mechanical energy from re-
Figure 1.1. Annual capital investment in new renewable energies between 2004 and
2009 in US Dollars [1].
1
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION
Figure 1.2. Renewable energy share of global energy consumption by 2008 [1].
newables injected to electrical machines is not controllable. This challenge has led
to many technological advancements in induction machines and permanent magnet
synchronous generators. The author, however,would like to emphasize that there is
a great room for growth in renewable energies 1 . So far wind energy contributes to
0.3 % of global energy consumption.
1.2 Objective
Main objective of this thesis is to design a suitable permanent magnet syn-
chronous generator working with a vertical axis wind turbine. Wind energy con-
version system consisting of above mentioned elements works on a variable speed
principle. In small scale wind turbines, blade pitch mechanism usually is not applied.
Instead, a power electronics converter compensate variation for the wind variation
and thus it contributes to high power coecient. The corresponding topology of
PMSG is a surface mounted machine with concentrated winding. This type of
winding suits for low speed applications since implementing high number of poles
is easy. The major benet of high pole numbers is eradication of gearboxes. Gear-
boxes result in lower availability of the entire system and they cause high amount of
non-user friendly audible noise. Reduction of magnetic noise by the machine is tar-
geted at the design stage. Additionally, the chosen topology can be easily scaled by
increasing the length of the machine. Of paramount, at the design stage, objective
function is to reduce manufacturing expenses and cost of active material.
1.3 Contents
This section describes the contents of each chapter.
1
see Figure 1.2.
2
1.3. CONTENTS
Chapter 3 reviews the principles of rotating electrical machines for wind speed
application. The emphasis is on PMSG.
Chapter 6 veries the optimised PMSG with the help of FEM analysis.
Chapter 8 clinches the work, conclusions and further suggested work are given
here.
3
Chapter 2
Wind energy systems have been subject of research for decades. They consist
of wind turbines and electrical generators. The rst section covers the basics of
VAWT . Initially in this section, aerodynamics of wind turbines are presented.
Subjects like control, dynamic vibration and noise emission in VAWT are covered.
Furthermore, a separate section is dedicated to a comparison between Horizontal
Axis Wind Turbines (HAWT) and VAWT .
The role of a wind energy system is to capture mechanical energy in the airow
and convert it to electrical energy. Usually it consists of a wind turbine rotor, for the
former purpose, and an electrical machine working as generator for the latter. The
variation in the wind speed is one of the factors that aects the specications of wind
energy systems. In other words design of the wind systems components demands
special consideration. The amount of accessible mechanical energy depends on the
size of the wind turbine and the wind regime of the site.
5
CHAPTER 2. WIND ENERGY SYSTEMS
the amount of extractable energy from an air stream is limited. It was shown that,
in a free air stream, the maximum energy is extracted if the wind speed is reduced
by three times far behind the turbine in comparison to in front of it. The maximum
extractable power becomes then, 16/27 of available wind power [2].
For steady state analysis of aerodynamic conversion, a power coecient diagram
is used. As mentioned, it is not possible to capture all the power in the air ow as
this would result in air standstill immediately after the wind turbine. Aerodynamic
eciency represents a ratio of captured power and available wind power. In wind
power terminology, it is more known as the power coecient. Betz factor is the
maximum value for the power coecient.
The power coecient Cp is a function of the tip speed ratio and the blade
pitch angle . Equation 2.3 above, is modied according to equation 2.4.
1
Pmech = Cp .Pwind = A Cp (, ) 3 (2.4)
2
where
r
= (2.5)
is the rotor tip angular speed and r is the rotor plane radius. Blade pitching
means that the rotor blades are rotated along their axis, in order to control the
amount of the absorbed power. 1 In wind turbines which are not equipped with
the control of the blade pitch, power coecient is merely function of the tip speed
ratio. Figure 2.1 shows a typical power coecient diagram. Power coecient is
maximum at the optimum tip speed ratio i.e. in order to capture the maximum
energy, the wind turbine rotor has to be run at this ratio. When the wind turbine
rotor is run at other tip speed ratios, eddies will develop at the blade tip. This
phenomenon reduces the captured energy and it is called stall. It explains the drop
of the power coecient at other tip speed ratios.
1
see section 2.4.2
6
2.2. WIND TURBINES
It can be observed from the power coecient diagram in Figure 2.1, that the
wind turbine is not self starting. For low values of the tip speed ratio, the value of
the power coecient is negative. Many lift based wind turbines require a minimum
tip speed ratio before they can start to absorb the power [4]. Accordingly, in order
to start up the wind turbine rotor, energy has to be supplied. There are dierent
ways to do so, one is to utilise an auxiliary self starting turbine like for example
Savonious wind turbine. Another is certain modication in the design of the wind
turbine. Furthermore, electrical starting of wind turbine is yet another possibility.
The generator is, then, fed by the grid for a short duration of time and works as
a motor in order to start the wind turbine. In this solution the wind power plant
cannot operate as a stand alone unit.
7
CHAPTER 2. WIND ENERGY SYSTEMS
y-axis in Cartesian coordinate system is dened as upwind region and the remaining
area is dened as the downwind region. The angle of attack is the relative angle
between the chord line of the blade cross section and the wind direction. This
angle, seen by the blades in the upwind region, is negative. Since the angle of
attack is negative, the lift force vectors produced on the blade section will point
inwards the rotor. The force can be decomposed into two dierent components, a
tangential and a normal. The former is along the tangent of the blade and the latter
is perpendicular to the blade.
Moreover, the lift force will be created in downwind region. Here the angle of
attack is positive, the consequent lift force vectors will point outwards the rotor.
Tangential lift forces, originated from upwind and downwind regions, contribute to
the torque production in the rotor. The normal forces lead to thrust along the wind
direction.
8
2.2. WIND TURBINES
9
CHAPTER 2. WIND ENERGY SYSTEMS
10
2.4. OPERATION SEQUENCE AND CONTROL
Cut in velocity CI which is the wind speed the wind turbine starts to deliver
output power. For instance, in VAWT s captured power for low wind speeds
is negative, and the cut in velocity has to be chosen at values greater than the
wind speed at which power coecient becomes positive.
11
CHAPTER 2. WIND ENERGY SYSTEMS
The rated wind velocity R is the wind speed at which the captured power
reaches the generator rated power.
The cut out velocity CO is the highest wind speed at which the wind energy
system is able to operate mechanically safe. Typically this is less than 25 m/s
.
As a result, operation sequence of a wind turbine is divided into, at least, four
regions.
Region 1, at which the wind speed is less than the cut in speed. In this region,
captured power does not suce to compensate the internal consumption and
losses. Hence the turbine is parked and is not run.
Region 2, at which the wind speed is between the cut in speed and the rated
speed. It is sometimes called sub-rated region and the wind turbine is con-
trolled using Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) in order to achieve the
optimum tip speed ratio. MPPT is introduced thoroughly in subsection 2.4.2
.
Region 3, at which the wind speed is between rated speed and cut out speed.
In this region, there are various control options, namely constant rotor speed,
constant rotor torque and constant rotor power. The rst two, comes with the
risk of torque and current overload and they need additional control measures
for overload protection. In the latter two, the speed does not reach to the
rated speed, therefore constant rotor power is proposed [9] .
Region 4, at which the wind speed exceeds the cut out speed and the wind
turbine is shut down.
2.4.2 Control
The purpose of the control is:
Limiting the torque and the power experienced by the drive train in order to
increase lifetime.
Maximising the energy yield for various conditions.
Drive train suers from fatigue caused by aerodynamic and structural loads. The
structural strength of the wind turbine can be maintained up to a certain wind
speed. In addition, another limiting factor is the rated power of the generator. The
rated power of the generator is reached at rated wind speed of the turbine.
Energy yield depends on the available wind power of the site as well as power
capture by the wind turbine. The energy available in the wind is uncontrollable
since it depends on the wind regime of the site. However, the power capture by the
wind turbine can be maximised by the control method.
There are four dierent ways to inuence the rotor captured power and the
turbine loads. They are:
12
2.4. OPERATION SEQUENCE AND CONTROL
Blade Pitching
In a conventional control method of HAWTs the pitch angle of the rotor blade
is changed mechanically. Blade pitching means that the blades are turned along
their longitudinal axis with the help of an active mechanical device. In this way,
the angle of attack and thereby also the absorbed power varies. The angle of attack
can be changed in two dierent ways either by decreasing or increasing it. Both
cases reduce the captured power, provided that the angle of attack is in a condition
where the power coecient is at the maximum. The former requires higher blade
pitching for the same dierence in the power coecient. Hence, the output power
is controlled more precisely.
Fixed-speed-xed-blade VAWTs suer from high demands on the self stall reg-
ulation property. Usually, small scale VAWT s are not equipped with the blade
pitching control for simplicity reasons. In xed blade VAWTs, at which the rotor
speed is kept constant, the more the wind speed increases, the larger the angle of
attack becomes. Thus the amount of stall will increase as well. In xed speed
wind systems, which are connected to the grid directly, the rotor speed is constant
and accordingly the self regulatory stall is always present. From the wind system
components point of view, there are several demand points which are listed below.
Aerodynamic load will be large. Therefore the stiness and mechanical strength
of the turbine has to be high.
Overload capacity of the generator has to be high.
Either the wind turbine rotor should have high starting torque or additional
measures for starting should be provided. This is because self starting by
means of pitching the blades is not provided.
13
CHAPTER 2. WIND ENERGY SYSTEMS
As a result, application of xed blade VAWTs with variable speed wind systems
rather than with the xed speed systems are proposed.
The VAWTs power coecients optimum is transferred to the lower tip speed
ratios compared to HAWTs, which according to E. Hau, is their major disadvantage.
As the speed of the VAWT is lower, in order to achieve the same power, VAWTs
require higher torque rate. This might increase the stiness requirements on VAWT
s [2] .
14
2.5. COMPARISON BETWEEN VAWTS AND HAWTS
is a benet.
15
CHAPTER 2. WIND ENERGY SYSTEMS
2.5.8 Noise
VAWTs have lower noise compared with that of HAWTs [3]. There are two dif-
ferent sources of noise; First is aerodynamic noise generated by the blades; Second,
16
2.6. VIBRATIONS IN WIND ENERGY SYSTEMS
the mechanical noise generated from the drive train. In general, VAWTs have lower
aerodynamic noise which is strongly related to the wind turbine rotor speed. In
wind systems with power control, rotor speeds are controlled by the optimum tip
speed ratio. HAWTs optimum tip speed ratio value is typically between 5 and 7
while it is 4 for VAWTs.
Damping constant.
Rotational stiness.
Depending on the number of degrees of freedom, the system has one or more eigen
frequencies. In a drive train modeled with one degree of freedom, value of damping
ratio is proportional to the damping constant and inversely proportional to the mass
moment of inertia and the eigen frequency. The damping ratio determines amount
of damping the system intrinsically has. When, in systems with low damping,
17
CHAPTER 2. WIND ENERGY SYSTEMS
18
Chapter 3
3.1.1 DC Generators
The application of DC generator in wind energy systems is not widely spread,
mostly because of the high maintenance requirement of brushes and commutator
and a need of a full scale inverter in order to get connected to the Alternative
Current (AC) grid.
Usually, DC generators are restricted to non-grid-connected wind energy systems
with small DC loads, i.e. battery chargers [2].
19
CHAPTER 3. ELECTRICAL MACHINES FOR WIND ENERGY SYSTEMS
Fixed Speed
Fixed speed wind energy systems including conventional Squirrel Cage / Short
Circuit Induction Generator (SCIG) and a gearbox have been in use for decades. A
big advantage is simplicity in operation and control of the system, however, there
are also some disadvantages. In general, the wind is gusty and turbulent particularly
in urban areas, which very often varies the speed of the rotor and as a result a lower
average eciency is gained. Normally, dynamic disturbances are unavoidable in
operation of the wind systems. They can occur in the turbine, e.g. variation in the
shaft power, and in the grid, e.g. short circuits. However, in xed speed systems
the damping is low. Disturbances from the turbine and the grid inuence each
other harshly. Inrush current is, furthermore, an issue in wind systems with large
induction machines. Figure 3.1 shows a block diagram of a typical xed speed wind
system including conventional SCIG gearbox and a transformer. A xed speed IG
solution including gearbox is suggested in chapter 4
Multi speed IG is suggested for improving the average eciency in areas with
gusty and turbulent winds. An electrical machine with usually two speed steps is
chosen. First step works in partial load conditions with low wind speeds while the
second works in full load conditions with high wind speeds. There are dierent
waysof such a system implementation. One solution, which also is the simplest one,
is to have one IG with two dierent windings and two dierent numbers of poles.
The second and more common solution is to utilise two induction machines. In
both implementations, it will be possible to improve the average eciency as well
as the average power factor. The latter solution has been used in Danish wind
systems during 80s and 90s [13]. Still, a complicated control system for switching
between the steps remains an issue. Furthermore, cost of two windings in the former
solution and cost of two IG s in the latter makes the multi speed wind systems more
expensive.
20
3.1. DIFFERENT TOPOLOGIES OF ELECTRICAL MACHINES
Figure 3.1. Block diagram of a xed speed wind energy system including a conven-
tional SCIG, a gearbox and a transformer [2].
Moreover, the most complex control, especially regarding converters in wind systems
are related to DFIG , which makes them essentially more economical for large wind
systems rather than small systems.
21
CHAPTER 3. ELECTRICAL MACHINES FOR WIND ENERGY SYSTEMS
22
3.1. DIFFERENT TOPOLOGIES OF ELECTRICAL MACHINES
conditions. Wide operational speed range, from zero to rated speed, is benecial
for control purposes.
Operational advantages of a SG with power electronics converters are numerous,
like for example voltage regulation which is handled by the grid-side-converter.
Another advantage is that dynamic disturbances of the grid and the wind turbine are
isolated from each other and SG is not at risk of losing synchronism. Furthermore,
starting and synchronising equipment is not needed as this is taken care of by power
electronics converter. The only advantage of IGs over SGs is that the converter is
not dimensioned for full power. However, with recent decrease in cost of power
electronic components, this is not of concern anymore.
23
CHAPTER 3. ELECTRICAL MACHINES FOR WIND ENERGY SYSTEMS
demagnetisation magnetic properties are completely lost and they require remag-
netisation which is a tedious task and in some cases impossible and a new rotor is
required. Thus a thermal study is suggested to guarantee that the magnet working
temperature is, in any conditions, preserved low. Additionally, the partial demag-
netisation is usually a case during a short circuit where some parts of the magnets
are exposed to high opposing magnetic elds.
In [16] it is shown that PMSG s are more suitable for gearless applications
compared to WRSG s. In comparison of PMSG and WRSG and varying the number
of poles, it can be shown that once the number of poles reaches high values, the rotor
yoke height of WRSG becomes thicker. Consequently, weight and size of WRSG
surpasses that of PMSG.
24
3.2. PM SYNCHRONOUS MACHINES
Figure 3.3. Cross sectional view in radial direction and in axial direction, respec-
tively, of a typical radial ux PMSG [21].
25
CHAPTER 3. ELECTRICAL MACHINES FOR WIND ENERGY SYSTEMS
Figure 3.4. Cross sectional view in radial direction and in axial direction, respec-
tively, of a typical axial ux PMSG [21].
the stator windings are located in the radial direction. A circumferentially laminated
stator is required for reduction of iron losses, which complicates manufacturing
process [23].
Scaling of axial ux machine is another drawback. Unlike radial ux machines,
any increase in length is accompanied by increase in airgap diameter. Hence, to
increase the power rating a new design and a new geometry is needed [24]. One
other way to increase the power rating is by increasing number of stators and rotors.
This, however, makes the machine costly.
26
3.2. PM SYNCHRONOUS MACHINES
more the major drawback with rotational ones is relatively dicult manufacturing
process. Yet another drawback is that, in rotating transverse PMSG, mechanical
construction is weak due to large number of parts.
The rotor surrounds the stator in outer rotor machines. In these machines, the
magnets are usually located on the inner circumference of the rotor. Accordingly,
for the same outer diameter of the machine, in the outer rotor machine the rotor has
higher radius compared with the stator and it can be equipped with higher number
of poles for the same pole pitch [21]. Another advantage is that the magnets are well
supported despite the centrifugal force. Furthermore a better cooling of magnets
is provided. Outer rotor machines are common for small HAWT turbines, where
sometimes the hub carrying the blades is directly xed to the rotor [25].
However, the inner rotor machines are a more common solution present on the
market today. In small machines, the main contributions to the losses are copper
losses and therefore the stator winding has the highest temperature rise in the active
material of the machine.
Hence, it is more benecial to put the stator winding, rather than the magnets,
closer to the housing, where the cooling properties are good. This causes less tem-
perature rise for the same amount of losses. Figure 3.6 shows an inner rotor PMSG
and an outer rotor PMSG .
27
CHAPTER 3. ELECTRICAL MACHINES FOR WIND ENERGY SYSTEMS
Figure 3.6. Inner rotor PMSG (left) and an outer rotor PMSG (right) [26].
3.3 PM Congurations
The PMSG can be divided into dierent topologies depending on the magnet
arrangement on the rotor. These are introduced below. However, it should be
mentioned that the rotor congurations are not restricted to the given examples,
e.g. in interior magnets various congurations are implementable.
28
3.3. PM CONFIGURATIONS
Figure 3.8. Two dierent inset magnet rotors for PMSGs [15].
29
CHAPTER 3. ELECTRICAL MACHINES FOR WIND ENERGY SYSTEMS
Figure 3.9. Six dierent buried magnet rotors for PMSGs [15].
airgap. Like inset magnet machines, the ux leakage is high which reduces the
power factor, the eciency and the inverter utilisation.
In [21] , F. Libert studies two dierent buried magnet topologies and concludes
that both gives rise to manufacturing problems. One is called V-shaped buried
magnet design and the other is called tangentially magnetised buried magnet design.
The author also mentions some saturation problems when the number of poles is
high. This is a common problem for the buried magnet topologies. If the number of
poles increases, the distance between magnets decreases (when rotor core diameter
is kept constant). Therefore, the narrow iron bridges get saturated more easily.
Figure 3.10 shows cross section of a pole pair of a V shaped buried magnet design
(left) and a tangentially buried magnet design (right).
3.4 Winding
The windings can be divided into overlapping and non-overlapping categories.
Over lapping windings can be wound either distributed or concentrated. Non over-
lapping windings can be wound solely in concentrated way. Figure 3.11.a) shows
a distributed overlapping winding with Qs = 24 and q = 2 for a four pole machine.
Figure 3.11.b) shows a concentrated overlapping winding with Qs = 12 and q = 1.
Figure 3.11.c) shows a double layer concentrated non-overlapping winding with
Qs = 6 and q = 0.5, which is the traditional concentrated winding. Figure 3.11.d)
30
3.4. WINDING
Figure 3.10. Cross section of a pole pair of a V shaped buried magnet design (left)
and a tangentially buried magnet design (right) [21].
shows a single layer concentrated non-overlapping winding with the same values of
Qs and q as Figure 3.11.c).
The term overlapping is usually omitted. For instance "overlapping distributed
winding" is almost always referred to as distributed winding. In this text, on
the other hand, "concentrated winding" stands for "double layer concentrated non-
overlapping winding".
31
CHAPTER 3. ELECTRICAL MACHINES FOR WIND ENERGY SYSTEMS
increases leakage inductance which in turn limits high currents in short circuit
conditions. In fact in faulty conditions, the excitation eld of WRSG is reduced
to protect the machine. However, excitation of PMSG is not controllable. Hence,
introduction of higher ux leakage may be an advantage. In addition, due to non-
overlapping property, coils are physically and thermally seperated in a better way
compared with distributed windings. This reduces the risk of phase to phase short
circuit in the event of damaged winding insulation. Furthermore, the torque ripple in
SMPMs with high pole numbers and concentrated windings is reduced [21]. Higher
ux weakening capability is another characteristics of concentrated winding.
32
3.4. WINDING
3
see section 3.5.4
33
CHAPTER 3. ELECTRICAL MACHINES FOR WIND ENERGY SYSTEMS
Lifetime
The lifetime of an electrical machine is also aected by the so called thermal
ageing, which inuences the insulation. One of the requirements on winding insu-
lation is to transfer the heat and to tolerate thermal stresses during normal and
34
3.5. THERMAL BEHAVIOUR
35
CHAPTER 3. ELECTRICAL MACHINES FOR WIND ENERGY SYSTEMS
Cooling system facilitates dissipation of the heat, which will reduce temperature
rise in the machine. Usually electrical machines are forced cooled by air or water. In
air cooled machines a fan forces the air along the airgap. In water cooled machines
the pump forces the water through tubes that are located in ducts. There are
dierent possibilities for putting the ducts inside the machine, they can be located
axially or spirally. Moreover, they can be located within the mantel (frame) or in
the stator core. Putting ducts in stator core provides better heat transfer, however,
it inuences the manufacturing process of the stator laminations.
Kylander has developed an analytical model for thermal analysis of induction
machines based on experimental results [31]. The model introduces thermal resis-
tances. Lindstrm has developed a thermal model for a PMSG [32].
36
3.5. THERMAL BEHAVIOUR
Conduction
Heat transfer through a substance is dened as conduction. The substance can
be in any state: gas, liquid or solid. To measure conductive property of a material
thermal conductivity is introduced. Usually the value of the thermal conductivity
of materials lies in the range between 0.026 W/m/K for air and 427 W/m/K for
silver [33]. Conduction is modeled by Fouriers law which also can be applied when
heat is generated inside the body. However, when the time variation of conduction
is considered, specic heat capacity of the body, which represents thermal capacity,
is also introduced. In steady state analysis, however, this is neglected.
In the eld of electrical machines, conduction is the most common form of heat
transfer in both steady state and transient conditions.
Convection
Heat transfer from a heat source by means of uid movement is dened as
convection. Fluid ow is caused by an external force either in natural or in forced
conditions. In the former, discrepancy in uid density creates the force; In the
latter the force is caused by a pump or a fan. To measure convective property of
a uid, heat transfer coecient is introduced. Average heat transfer coecient of
a uid lies in a range between 6 W/m2 /K for natural air convection and 120, 000
W/m2 /K for condensing of steam [33]. Estimation of this value is complicated, since
it depends on many variables like geometry of the surface, temperature dierence,
ow mechanical characteristics and physical characteristics of uid i.e. viscosity.
Convection is explained by Newtons law of cooling.
In the eld of electrical machines, convection is the second most common form
of the heat transfer in the steady state, but it does not play a remarkable role in
transient conditions.
Radiation
Heat transfer by means of radiation does not need any substance. Thermal
radiation is a function of couple of parameters as reectivity, temperature dierence,
emissivity and geometry. It is modeled by Stefan Boltzmans law. In electrical
machines the amount of radiation is negligible.
37
CHAPTER 3. ELECTRICAL MACHINES FOR WIND ENERGY SYSTEMS
The normal losses involve copper losses in stator windings, iron losses in stator
and mechanical losses such as friction. The iron and the copper losses are the biggest
contributors to the losses in PMSG . One advantage of PMSG over IG is elimination
of the copper losses in the rotor, namely slip loss [34] . Estimation of normal losses
is easy and the corresponding knowledge is well established. On the other hand
estimation of stray losses is complicated as they depend on many parameters. This
complication might lead to inaccuracy in the calculations of the thermal behaviour
of the machine. A thorough discussion of losses is presented in order to improve a
better perspective over variety of origins of losses.
38
3.5. THERMAL BEHAVIOUR
sinusoidal in dierent physical points and the magnetic properties of the material
are assumed to be uniform. However, in real machines these conditions are not
prevailing perfectly. A waveform of the magnetic ux density is non sinusoidal and
non uniform. Inuence of harmonics, which results in non sinusoidal magnetic ux
density, on the core losses will be introduced later in the text. Furthermore, the
magnetic property of material varies when it is subjected to mechanical stresses
during manufacturing e.g. punching.
There are various solutions available in order to reduce the core losses. Some
more common are laminated core with thin iron lamination, high resistivity and
alloyed contents like silicon. These measures reduce eddy current losses. Another
solution in order to reduce the iron losses is to reduce nominal frequency. However,
the frequency is proportional to the rotor speed and to the number of poles. As
the rotor speed is determined by the application, the frequency, therefore, cannot
be chosen arbitrarily. Furthermore, increasing the number of poles reduces the pole
pitch which in practice cannot be chosen too short.
Laminations are annealed after they are stamped or cut, in order to compensate
the manufacturing stresses. Variation of magnetic characteristics in cut edges is
then avoided.
Mechanical Losses
Mechanical losses are relatively small in comparison to other losses especially in
low speed applications. It encompasses two parts, namely windage and bearing.
Windage losses are caused by mechanical friction of air and rotor surface. It
depends on various parameters and phenomena and it is quite complicated to cal-
culate more accurately. For instance it depends on gas properties and the prevailing
gas ow characteristics. In electrical machines the gas ow is mostly turbulent in
high speed applications and it is laminar in low speed application. An experimental
equation in [35] gives a rough estimate of windage loss.
3 4
Pwindage = Cf m R L (3.1)
where is the mass density of the gas, m is the mechanical angular speed of
rotor and R and L are radius and length of the airgap cylinder respectively. Cf is
the friction coecient which is empirically determined.
Mechanical loss in the bearings depends on parameters like bearing type, lubrica-
tor physical characteristics, shaft mechanical load and rotor speed, where lubricator
characteristics are dependent on the temperature. An experimental equation in [35]
gives a rough estimate of bearing loss.
3
Pbearing = Cb Dm m (3.2)
39
CHAPTER 3. ELECTRICAL MACHINES FOR WIND ENERGY SYSTEMS
Stray Losses
Stray losses are divided into stray no-load losses and stray load losses. Generally,
the former is represented by permeance variation and the latter is represented by
leakage ux. Space harmonics origin is due to the non-sinusoidal distribution of
windings, saliency and slotting eect in an electrical machine. Time harmonics
are generated by power electronics converters operated with electrical machines.
High frequency of parasitic eects results in induction of eddy current in metal
parts. Active material of the machine like stator conductors, rotor core and rotor
permanent magnets are prone to stray losses.
In the following, stray losses are introduced based on the location of losses.
First AC winding losses are discussed, second stray losses in permanent magnets
are described and nally stray losses in rotor core are mentioned.
Stator Winding
Eddy currents are induced in the stator windings in the form of skin and proxim-
ity eects. If the source of varying applied eld is the winding itself, the phenomenon
is called skin eect. If the source of varying applied eld is an external origin like
rotor magnets, the phenomenon is called proximity eect. Eddy currents originat-
ing from skin and proximity eects in machines will give rise to non uniform current
density distribution within the conductor, i.e. less concentration in the centre and
more concentration on the circumference. As a consequence, eective cross section
area for the current will be lower compared with the available cross section. This
leads to higher AC resistance and higher losses.
Permanent Magnets
Eddy currents losses can be induced in permanent magnets in certain conditions.
As mentioned, certain slot pole number combinations in concentrated winding de-
sign will result in space harmonics. This inuence is more pronounced in high speed
machines with high frequency. F. Sahin in [35] suggests an analytical estimation
of eddy current losses in permanent magnets. In order to reduce these losses a
proposed solution is magnet segmentation. In general no load stray losses caused
by permeance variation can be reduced by increasing the airgap length or by using
magnetic wedges.
Rotor Iron
Eddy currents losses can be induced in rotor core in certain conditions. In ab-
sence of parasitic eects, the magnetic ux density in the rotor iron is constant.
Harmonics, e.g. created by the slotting eect, distort magnetic ux in the rotor.
However, in SMPM machines, eective airgap is large and these losses are insigni-
cant [12]. Again these losses are more pronounced in high frequency machines, but
40
3.5. THERMAL BEHAVIOUR
41
Chapter 4
Induction Generator
43
CHAPTER 4. INDUCTION GENERATOR
Figure 4.1. Time variation of market share of yearly installed power of xed speed
WECS (including induction generator, capacitor banks, soft starter and output trans-
former) [37].
WECS is to be veried.
One possible topology for xed speed WECS is an induction generator connected
to the line where the load is located in between. The grid maintains the voltage
and the frequency and provides the machine with magnetizing current which is
associated with reactive power consumption. As a result, the machine is capable
of production of active power. The power produced by the generator may exceed
the power consumption by the load and the remaining power can be injected to the
grid. However, there should be an agreement between the grid operator and the
owner of the generator how to regulate the injected power [36].
44
4.3. TWO STEP FIXED SPEED INDUCTION GENERATOR
4.2.2 Eciency
Eciency of the induction motor working as generator is lower for the same slip.
Therefore, it is recommended that high eciency induction motors are chosen for
generator applications. In order to increase the eciency of the induction machine,
thinner iron lamination together with the lower loss density material can be used
and also copper with high conductivity properties in windings.
4.2.3 Size
It is suggested that the power rating of the induction machine should be around
25 % higher compared with the power rating of the wind turbine. Eciency of
an induction machine is maximum at the rated slip. For a small scale induction
machine this can be around 80 % . Therefore the size of the induction motor should
be selected in such a way that at full load, the machine works at 80 % of its rating
[38]. This ensures that the temperature rise, while working either as a motor or as a
generator is the same. For instance, if a 12 kW induction generator is to be used, size
of the induction machine is 15 kW . One should consider that in motor operation
mode, the hot spot is in the stator winding, since the power losses in the stator
winding are the major fraction of the losses in the machine. In generator operation
mode, the corresponding power loss has to be provided from the shaft power and
later on delivered to the stator winding via the rotor and the airgap. This causes
some additional copper losses in the rotor and therefore further temperature rise in
the rotor [38]. Hence, for the same temperature rise in the machine, the induction
generator has to be derated.
45
CHAPTER 4. INDUCTION GENERATOR
the tip speed ratio will vary quite often. This means that the power coecient
deviates from its optimum value. The choice of the wind speed corresponding to
the optimum tip speed ratio inuences selection of gear ratio and vice versa. If a
low gear ratio is selected, the rated wind speed is at a high wind speed and for low
wind speeds the power coecient is low. On the contrary, if a high value for gear
ratio is chosen, the machine rotates slowly and the rated wind speed is at a low
wind speed and then power coecient drops for high wind speeds [39] .
The concept of two step induction machine aims to have high value of power
coecient for both low and high wind speeds. With a two step induction generator,
it is possible to adapt the rotation speed of the system to the prevailing wind speed
for the same gear ratio. Therefore, the variation of the tip speed ratio is halved.
Two step induction generators with two dierent windings have two dierent pole
numbers. The low speed step works at low wind speeds while the high speed step
is at high wind speeds.
The list of functions that have to be provided in a multiple step WECS is:
Overload protection.
High torque peaks with machines designed for low rated slip and high losses
with machines designed for high rated slip.
46
4.4. SELF EXCITED INDUCTION GENERATOR
produced active power is very low, around 0.03 p.u. . The power factor, therefore,
is very low and varies between 0.043 and 0.67. The eciency is very poor and varies
between 20% and 40% .
For the case study above, it is obvious that the power factor is too low at low
load conditions. Thus, the power factor correction in some way is required. A
brief discussion on this solution, which sometimes is entitled self excited induction
generator, is presented below. However, in order to minimise the cost of the system,
the nal solution with a two step induction generator proposed in this report does
not include a capacitor bank.
Requirements on self excited induction generator for application as wind gener-
ator are:
High eciency.
Figure 4.2 shows the operating zones of the induction machine optimised for work-
ing either as a generator or as a motor. Induction generator works in both saturated
and unsaturated operating zone. On the other hand the motor works only in unsat-
uration mode. The diagram is drawn with magnetizing reactance on the horizontal
axis and the ratio of back Electro-Motive Force (EMF) and frequency on vertical
axis.
47
Chapter 5
This chapter treats analytical design of a longitudinal, inner rotor, radial ux,
surface mounted PMSG with concentrated winding. Selection of the machine topol-
ogy is supported by the discussion in chapter 3. Initially, design requirements and
constraints are presented in section 5.1. The selection of design parameters is de-
scribed in section 5.2 and then the design procedure is followed. In the last section,
the design objectives are discussed .
Rated power Pn 12 kW
Rated speed nr 100 rpm
Base speed nn 90 rpm
Airgap length 1.5 mm
Cooling system - Natural air convection
Cogging torque - around 1%
Outer diameter Dy <2m
Lifetime - 100, 000 hours
Eciency around 94 %
Minimum shaft diameter Di,min > 0.1269 m
49
CHAPTER 5. ANALYTICAL DESIGN OF PMSG
is
Pn 12kw
Tn = 2nn = 290rpm = 1273N m (5.1)
60 60
1
The bending moment acting on the shaft is chosen to be 10 of the rated torque.
1273 N m
Therefore Mbend = 10 = 127.3 N m There are two dierent values for mini-
mum shaft diameter which should both be met; one for normal conditions and the
other for failure conditions. The minimum shaft diameter in normal conditions is
32 2
Di,min,normal = 3
Mbend + 0.75(mech knormal Tn )2 (5.2)
perm
mech
Table 5.2 shows the parameters used in equations 5.2 and 5.3 1 . Consequently,
Di,min,normal = 0.1269 m and Di,min,f ailure = 0.1123 m
5.2.1 Material
Active material of the machine includes permanent magnet, steel sheet for the
rotor and stator laminations and copper for windings. Suitable materials are chosen
to provide sucient electromagnetic performance and average cost.
1
For a better introduction of these parameters, see section 7.1.1 in [15]
50
5.2. DESIGN PARAMETERS
Permanent Magnet
VACODYM 655 AP by Vacuumschmelze GmbH is chosen as the permanent
magnet material. The characteristics of this material are given in Table 5.3. The
vendor produces VACODYM 2 series as well as VACOMAX 3 series. The coice
of VACODYM is because of its high energy density. VACODYM is produced in
dierent shapes and they are classied in three main categories:
HR (High Remanence)
TP (Transverse Pressed)
AP (Axial Pressed)
VACODYM AP series was chosen since it can have arc segment shape. Figure 5.1
shows magnetic characteristics of VACODYM 655 AP.
Iron
M400 50A by Surahammar Bruk AB is chosen as steel material for stator and
rotor laminations. Selection of this material is fullled as a trade o between cost
and electromagnetic performance. Table 5.4 shows the characteristics of M400
50A. Detailed datasheet is given in appendix A . Figure 5.2 shows the magnetic
characteristics of M400 50A.
5.2.2 Geometry
Table 5.5 shows the design parameters corresponding to the geometry. These
are called independent geometry parameters, since their values are independently
chosen from other geometry parameters. Figure 5.3 shows typical geometry of the
machine. Some of the independent geometry parameters can be seen in Figure 5.3.
The geometry variables determined by optimisation are the six rst independent
geometry parameters. The rest of the independent geometry parameters are selected
by the designer and selection criterion of the important ones is described in the
present chapter.
2
NdFeB base
3
cobalt base
51
CHAPTER 5. ANALYTICAL DESIGN OF PMSG
thickness 0.5 mm
Mass density F E 7700 kg/m3
5.2.3 Temperature
Insulation class E is selected for the insulation material. Table 5.6 shows the
nominal temperatures.
52
5.2. DESIGN PARAMETERS
1.5
Flux density (T)
0.5
0
0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000
Magnetic field in [A/m]
53
CHAPTER 5. ANALYTICAL DESIGN OF PMSG
Figure 5.3. Typical geometry of an inner rotor surface mounted PMSG [21].
54
5.3. DESIGN PROCEDURE
Figure 5.4 shows the owchart followed for optimisation of PMSG. In the rst
step, design requirements and constraints are introduced. In the next step, de-
sign parameters like characteristics of chosen material, winding parameters, etc are
introduced. In this step, still the design variables are not assigned any value.
Magnetic design is the rst step after assigning the values to the airgap diameter
55
CHAPTER 5. ANALYTICAL DESIGN OF PMSG
eciency
weight/size
cost
4
see Table 6.1 and Table 6.2 in [42] for more information
56
5.4. DESIGN OBJECTIVE
D/B b 0.3 T 0.4 T 0.5 T 0.6 T 0.7 T 0.8 T 0.9 T 1.0 T 1.1 T 1.2 T
0.245 m N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
0.440 m 3.1 3.8 4.4 4.9 5.2 5.4 N/A N/A N/A N/A
0.635 m N/A N/A N/A N/A 11.6 12.0 12.1 11.9 N/A N/A
0.830 m N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 21.4 21.1 20.2 18.8
1.025 m N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 31.5 29.3
1.220 m N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 42.2
1.415 m N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
1.610 m N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
1.805 m N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
2.000 m N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
The criterion torque per unit length has been used in the design of PMSG for this
purpose5 . Here it is assumed that other specications like weight, size and cost will
be minimised. Various machines are investigated with respect to the fundamental
airgap ux density and the airgap diameter. Due to the violation of the restrictions
mentioned in Table 5.8 some combinations in the design are, therefore, excluded.
On the other hand, cost of active material, including permanent magnet, iron
and copper, is also one of the criteria in the current application. Considering cost
coecient of active material 6 as
cF E = 1 Euro/kg
ccu = 8 Euro/kg
cP M = 220 Euro/kg
The cost of active material for the machines shown in Table 5.9 is calculated and
given in Table 5.10.
The optimised machine for the highest torque per unit length is the one with
airgap diameter of 1.22 m and airgap ux density of 1.2 T . However this machine
is 12 times as expensive as the optimised machine for the lowest cost of active
material which has airgap diameter of 0.635 m and airgap ux density of 0.7 T . In
the following chapter results of simulation in a FEM software for the latter machine
are presented. 7
5
see Table 5.9
6
The given values are typical.
7
Usually a second run of optimisation is suggested. In the second run the optimised machine is
found for airgap diameters between 0.4400 m and 0.8300 m and airgap ux densities between 0.6
T and 0.8 T . The second run of optimisation led into a machine with total cost of active material
of 1.04 kEuro which is only 20 Euro cheaper than the chosen machine. This disregarded machine
had airgap diameters of 0.635 m and airgap ux density of 0.66 T .
57
CHAPTER 5. ANALYTICAL DESIGN OF PMSG
D/B b 0.3 T 0.4 T 0.5 T 0.6 T 0.7 T 0.8 T 0.9 T 1.0 T 1.1 T 1.2 T
0.245 m N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
0.440 m 1.46 1.23 1.14 1.15 1.26 1.50 N/A N/A N/A N/A
0.635 m N/A N/A N/A N/A 1.06 1.18 1.46 2.11 N/A N/A
0.830 m N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 1.29 1.74 3.14 18.45
1.025 m N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 2.69 15.16
1.220 m N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 12.98
1.415 m N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
1.610 m N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
1.805 m N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
2.000 m N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
58
Chapter 6
This chapter presents the FEM model of the optimised machine in Chapter 5.
The software used in the current work is Flux2D 10.4.1. In the rst section, some
assumptions in the process of developing the FEM model are described. Further
electromagnetic characteristics of the optimised machine are given in section 6.2.
Last section shows the iron losses of the optimised machine. These iron losses are
used in thermal analysis in Chapter 7 .
1
Electriux is a trademark by Cedrat.
2
see Figure 6.3.
59
CHAPTER 6. FEM SIMULATION OF PMSG
In Figure 6.3 Y-connection for the machine windings and the current sources is
presumed. The current sources, with sinusoidal currents, model the electrical system
connected to the machine. 4
60
6.2. RESULTS OF FEM SIMULATIONS
Figure 6.2. Representation of the machine geometry in Flux2D with the mesh
elements.
Figure 6.3. The electric equivalent circuit applied to the FEM model.
61
CHAPTER 6. FEM SIMULATION OF PMSG
Figure 6.4. Iso value lines of the ux and color shade of the ux density at t =
1.25 103 sec at no load operation mode.
62
6.2. RESULTS OF FEM SIMULATIONS
200
250
100 200
Voltage (V)
Voltage (V)
0 150
100 100
50
200
0
0 0.005 0.01 0.015 0.02 0 5 10 15
time (sec) Harmonic orders
Figure 6.5. Induced phase voltage (phase A) a) Time variation of induced voltage
(left) b)Harmonic spectrum of induced voltage (right).
Figure 6.6 illustrates distribution of the iso value lines of ux and the color shade
of ux density at t = 1.25 103 sec at full load.
Figure 6.7a) shows no load airgap ux density at t = 1.25 103 sec and
Figure 6.8 shows its harmonics spectrum. As can be seen from the gure, the
no load airgap ux density spectrum shows very low harmonic contents. This is
strongly dependent on the pole and slot number combination5 . The peak value of
the fundamental no load airgap ux density is 0.74 T which is 4 % lower compared
to the expected value (0.77 T )6 . The sags in the waveform that can be observed
from Figure 6.7a) represents the permeance variation caused by the slot openings.
Their presence reduces the fundamental value. The order of harmonics with highest
peak value are the 5th and the 7th. Figure 6.7b) shows the airgap ux density at
nominal load. The peak fundamental value of the airgap ux density at nominal
load is 0.72 T . It can be noted from Figure 6.7b) , that there are some spikes,
these indicate a presence of the armature reaction caused by the currents in the
windings.
Figure 6.9 shows the torque of the optimised machine at DC current. The
torque is maximum at = 7 mech. .
Figure 6.10 shows the cogging torque. 7 The peak to peak value of the torque
in Figure 6.10 is the absolute value of the cogging torque for the total machine
which is 17.5 N m . Figure 6.11 shows the torque at nominal load. The peak to
peak value of the torque in the bottom of Figure 6.11 is the absolute value of the
torque ripple for the total machine which is 56 N m . The mean value of the torque
is 1193 N m and it is 6 % lower compared with expected value (1273 N m ). The
5
see section 3.4.2.
6
After optimisation, the magnet thickness was increased a bit in order to ensure the mechanical
rigidity. Therefore, analytical value of the airgap ux density increased.
7
250 points is used in simulation of Figures 6.10 and 6.11 .
63
CHAPTER 6. FEM SIMULATION OF PMSG
Figure 6.6. Iso value lines of the ux and color shade of the ux density at t =
1.25 103 sec at full load operation mode.
64
6.2. RESULTS OF FEM SIMULATIONS
1 1
0.5 0.5
Airgap flux density (T)
0.5 0.5
1 1
0 10 20 30 40 0 10 20 30 40
Position (mechanical degree) Position (mechanical degree)
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.2
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Harmonic orders
1000
Torque (Nm)
500
500
1000
1500
2 4 6 8 10
Position (mechanical degree)
65
CHAPTER 6. FEM SIMULATION OF PMSG
Torque (Nm) 5
10
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Position (mechanical degree)
1000
500
0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
Position (mechanical degree)
Torque of the machine (partial scale)
1220
Torque (Nm)
1200
1180
1160
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
Position (mechanical degree)
Figure 6.11. The total torque of the machine at nominal load (Full scale at the top
and partial scale at the bottom).
amount of the cogging torque is 1.5 % and the amount of torque ripple is 4.7 % .
66
6.3. IRON LOSSES
4
x 10
4
Iron Loss Density
Density (w/m/m/m)
Fitted Curve
3
Power Loss
0
0 0.5 1 1.5
Applied Flux Density (T)
Figure 6.12. Fitted curve for iron loss density of M400 50A.
Table 6.2. Iron losses in rotor and stator of the optimised machine calculated in
FEM simulations.
where kh and kexcess are hysteresis and excess loss coecients, dF E is the steel sheet
thickness and is the steel sheet conductivity. Table 6.1 shows the loss coecients
considered in FEM simulations.
The rst three parameters are calculated based on the curve tting for given
iron loss density in the iron material datasheet 9 . Figure 6.12 shows the tted curve
for iron loss density of M400 50A.
By introducing the loss coecients to FEM models, the iron losses in stator and
rotor are calculated at no load and at nominal load conditions. These values, which
are later used in thermal analysis, are shown in Table 6.2 .
9
see appendix A
67
Chapter 7
Node 0: coolant.
Node 1: frame.
Consequently, the model used in this chapter diers from the model in [32] in
these regards:
69
CHAPTER 7. THERMAL MODELING OF PMSG
The rotor losses (iron losses and windage losses) and relevant thermal resis-
tivities are neglected.
The losses and thermal resistivity of magnets and bearings are neglected.
Thermal capacitances of dierent materials are neglected. In other words a
steady state analysis is performed.
The ambient temperature is assumed to be 20 C .
Considered losses of the machine in the thermal analysis are given in Table 7.1.
The value of iron losses in the stator is calculated in section 6.3 by means of
simulation in Flux2D. Total copper losses at nominal load is
Pcu = 3Rcu I 2 (7.1)
I = 31.14/ 2 = 22.02 A (7.2)
70
7.1. THERMAL MODEL
where
cu ((pL + (D + hss )kcoil )n2s q)
Rcu = (7.3)
Acu
1 The resistivity of copper varies with temperature.
Since the temperature of winding is not known, the expected value could be used.
Considering class E , the hot spot temperature is expected to be lower than 70 C .
Then cu = 2.4 108 m
The coil side copper losses and the end winding copper losses are distinguished
by
lF E
Pcucs = Pcu (7.5)
lav
lF E
Pcuew = (1 )Pcu (7.6)
lav
The resistances in Figure 7.1 represents thermal resistivities according to:
Rth2 : Thermal resistance between the frame and the stator yoke.
Rth3 : Thermal resistance between the stator yoke and the stator teeth.
Rth4 : Thermal resistance between the stator teeth and the coil sides.
Rth5 : Thermal resistance between the coil sides and the end winding.
They are calculated based on equivalent conductive and convective thermal resis-
tances. They are in turn calculated based on geometry and thermal characteristics
of the machine. A Matlab code is developed in this regard and the results from
this code are presented here. Table 7.2 shows the values of thermal resistances in
Figure 7.1.
1
For introduction of symbols see "list of symbols and abbreviations".
71
CHAPTER 7. THERMAL MODELING OF PMSG
2
For suggestions on future work, see chapter 8
72
Chapter 8
8.1 Conclusions
In this work, a surface mounted, radial ux, inner rotor, longitudinal PMSG
with concentrated winding and natural air cooling is optimised with respect to the
cost of active material. Active material includes iron, copper and PM material.
Selection of topology is based on easy manufacturing process. For instance, to scale
up the machine for three times higher torque rating, the length of the machine can
be increased by three times and a new design can be avoided. The optimisation
objective function is set to minimise the cost of active material. Total active weight
of the machine is limited to approximately 110 kg. From the requirements, the
size limit on outer diameter of the machine is met by far. The shaft diameter is
higher than the minimum permitted value 1 which represents mechanical continuous
operation despite the high torque density. A FEM model is developed in Flux2D
and the performance is veried. Results from FEM analysis show low harmonic
contents in the induced voltage and the airgap ux density. Also by employing
a concentrated winding a high winding factor of 0.945 is achieved. The torque
ripple and the cogging torque are very low (respectively 4.7 % and 1.5 %) and the
cogging torque agrees very closely with corresponding constraint (around 1 %). The
eciency is 93.4 % at nominal load (magneto-static analysis) and it agrees with the
value required by the application(94 %). The machine enjoys from low temperature
rise which serves the purpose of very long lifetime well.
3D FEM analysis: The simulation software in this task has been Flux2D. In
two dimension simulations, eect of end windings on electromagnetic analysis
1
see Table 5.1
73
CHAPTER 8. CONCLUSIONS AND FURTHER WORK
Time harmonics: In the electrical modeling of FEM analysis, the load con-
nected to the machine terminals are modeled by sinusoidal current sources.
However, the machine is connected to the load/grid via converters. This
means that time harmonics will be injected into the machine. Therefore, it
is suggested that in the electrical modeling of FEM analysis, current sources
including harmonics are introduced.
Control method: Control method of the optimised machine is left out of the
scope of the present work. However, it will be tremendous to investigate
an appropriate control method. The decision, rst, can be made between
the methods which either include or exclude wind speed measurement2 . The
chosen control method can, moreover, inuence time harmonics introduced in
the previous item.
Flux weakening capability: In the present work, base speed of the machine is
assumed to be very close to the maximum permitted speed. Thus, a "constant
power speed range" is not aimed at this work. However, it would be interesting
to consider the eld weakening capability at the design stage. This requires a
more accurate model of wind turbine torque speed diagram. When it comes
to control of the machine, it is suggested that the torque trajectory of the
wind turbine and the generator intersect each other in generators base speed.
In other words, the wind turbine and the generator should have the same size.
2
For a brief introduction of control methods, see section 2.4.2
3
which is supposedly less than nominal speed
74
8.2. FURTHER WORK
1. Investigation for cost reduction: The present model of the machine ad-
dresses eciency as high as 94 % and very low temperature rise. If
these outstanding qualities are conrmed by measurements results, they
open the way for making some more compromise between cost and per-
formance. For instance, one possibility can be to replace copper with
aluminum in the same design. This results in lighter weight and lower
cost of the machine. On the other hand, it will decrease the eciency
and will increase temperature rise. The tradeo can be fullled, if the
advantages outweigh the disadvantages.
2. Control method implementation: The feasibility of a control method can
be veried by means of testing the prototype together with a controller.
75
Appendix A
77
APPENDIX A. DATASHEET OF M400 50A BY SURAHAMMAR BRUK AB
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thesis, Uppsala Univ., Sweden, 2008.
[4] J. Kjellin. Experimental vertical axis wind turbine system. PhD thesis, Uppsala
Univ., Sweden, 2010.
[5] P. Deglair. Analytical aerodynamic simulation tools for vertical axis wind tur-
bines. PhD thesis, Uppsala Univ., Sweden, 2010.
[7] E. Muljadi D.S. Zinger. Annulaized wind energy improvement using variable
speeds. In IEEE trans. Industry applications, volume 33, pages 14441447,
1997.
[9] M. Andriollo et al. Control strategies for a vawt driven pm synchronous gen-
erator. In SPEEDAM, pages 804 809, 2008.
[10] D. E. Berg S. Johnson, C.P. van Dam. Active load control techniques for wind
turbines. In Sandia National Laboratories tech. report, 2008.
[12] M. Wing J. F. Gieras. Permanent magnet motor technology: design and appli-
cations. Marcel Dekker Inc, Basel, Switzerland, 2 edition, 2002.
79
BIBLIOGRAPHY
[14] K.A. Nigim G.A. Smith. Wind energy recovery by a static schrebius induction
generator. In IEE proc.-C Generation, transmission and Distribution, volume
128, 1981.
[16] M.R.J. Dubois. Optimised permanent magnet generator topologies for direct
driven wind turbines. PhD thesis, Delft Univ. of Tech., The Netherlands, 2004.
[23] D. Hanselman. Brushless permanent magnet motor design. US: The Writers
Collective, 2 edition, 2003.
[24] A. Grauers. Design of direct driven permanent magnet generators for wind
turbines. PhD thesis, Chalmers Univ. of Tech., Sweden, 1996.
80
[27] A. M. El-Refaie. Fractional slot concentrated windings synchronous permanent
magnet machines: opportunities and challenges. In IEEE trans. on Industrial
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[29] N. Bainchi et al. Design considerations on fractional slot fault tolerant syn-
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[31] G. Kylander. Thermal modelling of small cage induction motors. PhD thesis,
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[35] F. Sahin. Design and development of a high speed axial ux permanent magnet
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81
[41] V. Kinnares B. Sawetsakulanond. Design, analysis, and construction of a small
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List of Tables
82
List of Figures
List of Figures
1.1 Annual capital investment in new renewable energies between 2004 and
2009 in US Dollars [1]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Renewable energy share of global energy consumption by 2008 [1]. . . . 2
3.1 Block diagram of a xed speed wind energy system including a conven-
tional SCIG, a gearbox and a transformer [2]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
3.2 Block diagram of a typical DFIG including a transformer [2]. . . . . . . 22
3.3 Cross sectional view in radial direction and in axial direction, respec-
tively, of a typical radial ux PMSG [21]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
3.4 Cross sectional view in radial direction and in axial direction, respec-
tively, of a typical axial ux PMSG [21]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
3.5 Fraction of a typical transversal ux PMSG [22]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
3.6 Inner rotor PMSG (left) and an outer rotor PMSG (right) [26]. . . . . . 28
3.7 A surface mounted rotor for a PMSG [15]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
3.8 Two dierent inset magnet rotors for PMSGs [15]. . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
3.9 Six dierent buried magnet rotors for PMSGs [15]. . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
3.10 Cross section of a pole pair of a V shaped buried magnet design (left)
and a tangentially buried magnet design (right) [21]. . . . . . . . . . . . 31
3.11 Windings in low speed PMSG a) distributed overlapping winding. b)
concentrated overlapping winding. c) double layer concentrated non-
overlapping winding. d) single layer concentrated non-overlapping wind-
ing [27]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
3.12 A typical magnet characteristics curve [20]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
4.1 Time variation of market share of yearly installed power of xed speed
WECS (including induction generator, capacitor banks, soft starter and
output transformer) [37]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
4.2 The operating zones of induction machine [41]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
83
List of Figures
84