IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON MAGNETICS, VOL. 40, NO.

4, JULY 2004

2023

Effect of Armature Reaction on the Performance of an Axial-Field Permanent-Magnet Brushless DC Motor Using FE Method
Parag R. Upadhyay, K. R. Rajagopal, Senior Member, IEEE, and B. P. Singh, Senior Member, IEEE
AbstractIn this paper, the results of a finite-element (FE) analysis carried out to study the effects of armature reaction on axialfield permanent-magnet (PM) brushless dc (BLDC) motor is presented. The results of the conventional and FE analyses carried out to calculate the self- and mutual inductances of the motor are also given. The FE method enables accurate analysis to get the effects of armature reaction, especially in PM motors. Analysis is carried out on a 3-hp, three-phase, 48-V, 16-pole, 800-r/min axial-flux PM brushless dc motor designed for the direct drive of an electric two wheeler. The slotless stator sandwiched by two disc rotors is the topology of the motor. The rated torque is 48.19 N m, and the peak torque required for acceleration of the vehicle is 80 N m. In the analysis, the stator coils of the motor are excited at no-load, full-load, and peak-load conditions, and the effects of these loadings on the developed torque as well as flux densities in different parts of the motor are observed. It is observed that the reduction in flux density is not linear with the armature current but increases drastically with the current. At peak load, the air-gap flux density is 0.087 T and the reduction in peak torque because or armature reaction is calculated as 2.8%. The coil inductance comprises the air-gap inductance and the end-turn inductance. Slot leakage inductance is not considered because of the slotless geometry of the stator. The equation used for the coil inductance is Lc = 2Ns(Lg + Le). Index TermsArmature reaction, axial-flux motor, electric motor, motor, permanent-magnet (PM) brushless dc (BLDC) motor.

Fig. 1. Designed axial-field PM BLDC motor.

I. INTRODUCTION

HE finite-element (FE) method enables accurate analysis to get the effects of armature reaction, especially in permanent-magnet (PM) motors. Analysis is carried out on a 3-hp, three-phase, 48-V, 16-pole, 800-r/min axial-flux PM brushless DC motor designed for the direct drive of an electric two-wheeler (Fig. 1). The slotless stator sandwiched by two disc rotors is the topology of the motor. The rated torque is 48.19 N m, and the peak torque required for acceleration of the vehicle is 80 N m. The advantages of this drive motor include high efficiency, high torque output, high power density, maintenance-free operation, high torque-to-weight ratio, etc.
Manuscript received October 15, 2003. P. R. Upadhyay is with the Department of Electrical Engineering, Nirma Institute of Technology, Ahmedabad 382481, India and also with the Electrical Engineering Department, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi 110016, India (e-mail: pru_nirma@yahoo.com). K. R. Rajagopal and B. P. Singh are with the Electrical Engineering Department, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi 110016, India (e-mail: kr_rajagopal@ieee.org; bpsingh@ee.iitd.ernet.in). Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TMAG.2004.830157

The aspect ratio of this motor is much suitable to use the motor in the wheel of a two-wheeler as the direct drive motor. In this paper, the motor has been designed for driving a twowheeler having a laden weight of 250 kg and maximum speed of 60 km/h. The vehicle has to be accelerated from 0 to 45 km/h in 9 s. The performance requirements for the motor have been calculated as follows: maximum speed: 800 r/min; maximum torque: 80 N m; rated torque (rms over a range): 48 N m; maximum power: 6 hp; continuous power: 3 hp. The detailed design is carried out to arrive at the dimensions of the direct drive motor. Initially, the design is carried out using conventional method. The results and dimensions are verified using FE analysis. Then the tuning of the design is carried out to get the optimum solution [1]. The designed data obtained are given in the Table I. II. ARMATURE REACTION The armature reaction refers to the magnetic field produced by currents in the stator coils and their interaction with the field flux. The magnetic field distribution at the air gap of the motor will be disturbed by the armature flux. If the system is linear,

0018-9464/04$20.00 2004 IEEE

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IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON MAGNETICS, VOL. 40, NO. 4, JULY 2004

TABLE I DIMENSIONS OF THE DESIGNED MOTOR

Fig. 3.

Flux density spectrum at no load.

Fig. 2. Two-dimensional model showing flux distribution in the air gap of the motor. Fig. 4. Flux density spectrum at rated load.

the analysis is not that complex. But the presence of saturation of the magnetic material used in the core will necessitate detailed nonlinear analysis for the motor. The FE analysis will be the ideal to carry out in this case and the flux in the air gap can be accurately calculated. This leads to deviation in the machine performance. The saturation in magnetic circuit increases the reluctance, which drives the permanent magnet to a lower PC. Finally the force and the torque produced by the motor are reduced. The armature reaction magnetic field also determines the movement of the magnet operating point under dynamic operating condition [2], [3]. The effect of armature reaction is to be observed for this motor for the following two reasons. 1) As the motor delivers peak torque of 80 N m for short duty, the reduction in air-gap flux density may takes place, which cause reduction in torque. 2) The MMF of the coil may lead to demagnetization of the permanent magnet. In the analysis, the stator coils of the motor are excited at no-load, full-load, and peak-load conditions. The effects of these loadings on the developed torque as well as flux densities in different parts of the motor are observed as shown in Figs. 25. The flux density in the air gap at full load due to armature reaction is 0.120 T as against the no-load value of 0.135 T.

Fig. 5. Flux density spectrum at peak load.

The reduction in air-gap flux density because of armature reaction is 0.5 mT/A from no load to full load and 1.5 mT/A from full load to peak load approximately. It can be observed that the reduction in flux density is not linear with the armature current but increases drastically with the current. At peak

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load, the air-gap flux density is 0.087 T and the reduction in peak torque because of armature reaction is calculated as 2.8%. This is the result of a large air gap and high-energy permanent magnet having low permeability and, hence, will effectively reduce the adverse effects of armature reaction. III. INDUCTANCE CALCULATION A. Self-Inductance The self-inductance of the stator winding is influenced by the two rotors and the two air gaps. The reluctance of the two air gaps are in series. The total inductance is the sum of the gap inductance, slot leakage inductance, and the end-turn inductance. The slot leakage inductance term disappears for slotless geometry. The magnet flux source does not appear in the circuit of inductance calculation. The air-gap inductance is not a function of position because the magnet recoil permeability is almost equal to relative permeability of the air. Rotor back iron and stator core reluctance can be neglected as they are very small compared to the air-gap reluctance. It is worth noting that the air-gap inductance is relatively small because of the low recoil permeability and large length of the permanent magnet with respect to the air gap. The value of end-turn leakage inductance is difficult to determine for an axial flux PM motor because the layout of the end-turn is subject to few restrictions and it is not possible to define a set magnetic field; hence, the end-turn inductance is approximated [4][6]. The equations for calculating the coil inductance are (1) (2) (3) where inductance per coil (H); gap inductance per coil side (H); end-turn inductance (H); number of turns per slot; mean coil pitch that has been calculated to be 24 mm from the approximated geometry of end-turn; length of coil along axial; width of coil; absolute permeability of the air. Using all above equations, the inductances are calculated which are given as follows: E E H H

The self-inductance is calculated as 7.64E-08 per turn. For the same geometry, the inductance can be calculated using the FE package. So as to have comparison, it is calculated by using the three-dimensional FE model by assigning air as the material instead of the permanent magnets. The value of self-inductance obtained from the FE package is 7.74E-08. The inductance for 18 turns of the coil works out to 25.1 H against 24.8 H obtained from the FE result. B. Mutual Inductance The mutual inductances between the phases of an axial flux PM motor are small compared to the self-inductance. The mutual inductance has also two components. The ratio of gap selfinductance and mutual inductance is three for the three-phase case. The determination of mutual inductance is straightforward but more cumbersome, and the FE results are giving accurate results, as compared to calculated results; the mutual inductance is obtained from the FE analysis and is found to be 8.7 H for 120 electrical displacement between the two phases of the motor. IV. CONCLUSION The armature reaction reduces the flux density in the air gap. The flux density in the air gap at full load due to armature reaction is 0.120 T as against the no-load value of 0.135 T. The reduction in the air gap flux density because of armature reaction is 0.5 mT/A from no load to full load and 1.5 mT/A from full load to peak load approximately. A large air gap and high-energy permanent magnet having low permeability such as samarium cobalt and neodymium-iron-boron will effectively reduce the adverse effects of armature reaction. The calculated coil inductance is 24.8 H against the FE analysis result of 25.1 H. The mutual inductance per phase is obtained using the FE analysis as 8.7 H for 120 electrical displacement between the two phases of the motor. REFERENCES
[1] P. R. Upadhyay, K. R. Rajagopal, and B. P. Singh, Computer aided design of an axial-field PM brushless DC motor for an electric vehicle, J. Appl. Phys., vol. 93, no. 10, pp. 86898691, May. [2] D. C. Hanselman, Brushless Permanent Magnet Design. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1994, ch. 6, pp. 137153. [3] D. Patterson and R. Spee, The design and development of axial flux permanent magnet brushless DC motor for wheel drive in a solar powered vehicle, IEEE Trans. Indus. Applicat., vol. 31, pp. 10541061, Sept./Oct. 1995. [4] T. J. E. Miller, M. I. Mcgilp, D. A. Staton, and J. J. Bremner, Calculation of inductance in permanent magnet DC motors, Proc. IEEEElect. Power Applicat., vol. 146, no. 2, pp. 129137, Mar. 1999. [5] L. Chang, An improved FE inductance calculation for electrical machines, IEEE Trans. Magn., vol. 32, pp. 32373245, July 1996. [6] W. S. Leung and J. Chan, A new design approach for axial field electrical machines, IEEE Trans. Power Applicat. Syst., vol. PAS-99, no. 4, pp. 16791685, July/Aug. 1980.