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Most electrical machine design optimization processes do not include constraints imposed during manufacture. Ignoring cutting tolerance when optimizing a machine, for example, can result in a machine who’s performance is susceptible to manufacturing defects. Ideally, design of electrical machines for high-volume production should account for the impact of manufacturing tolerance, material variation and material processing. This ‘robust’ design ensures that models realistically predict achievable performance, thereby mitigating the risk of obsolescence during mass production. This paper introduces a procedure to address the influence of lamination punching in the robust design of electrical machines. A six-phase segmented switch reluctance motor is simulated with a multi-layer finite element model to account for the effects of punching on the magnetic characteristics of the electrical steel laminations. Additionally, to enhance the accuracy of finite element model, a geometry-dependent excitation and control circuit is integrated with the finite element model. The results demonstrate that the optimization model presented increases the likely torque output of a machine built with a normal distribution of manufacturing errors.

This paper showcases a systematic procedure to design the most efficient re design of a commercially available induction machine to be used as a traction motor in an Electric Freight Locomotive for the rail journey from Tehran to Mashhad. Using Taguchi optimization, copper and aluminium wound versions of the machine are optimized for an 1870-ton load locomotive with a peak power of 1203kW. The driving cycle is summarized using the K-means clustering method to obtain representative points. Full details of the drive cycle and guiding rail adhesion modelling are given and subsequently used in a sequential multi-physics and multi-operation mode robust procedure which optimizes the geometry and cooling parameters whilst taking manufacturing tolerances into account. The paper thus presents a thorough comparative study of aluminium-based and copper-based designs to meet a realistic Electric Freight Locomotive specification. Results indicated that the proposed approach is effective in optimum and robust design of conventional and aluminium induction machines and can be applied to other machine types operating on other rail journeys. Switching to aluminium is one way of improving the recyclability of motors, but in the scenario considered here, results in a 1.1% reduction in efficiency over the driving cycle.

Net zero and electrification targets are continuing to enforce a need for the development of high-performance electrical machines, increasingly based on the use of rare earth permanent magnets. Biased flux motors have the potential to overcome some of the disadvantages associated with more conventional electrical machines. Since their introduction, there has been a consistent trend towards new and improved topologies, all relying on the same principles of operation. In this paper, a new alternative operation is proposed where the magnetic flux density offset of each module is different. The resulting asymmetric biased excitations of the magnets leads to a flux concentration in the air gap. Placement of magnets in the slot-opening area is shown to produce a higher average torque at a higher power factor. It is mathematically shown that the conventional methods used to investigate the effect of each group of magnets separately cannot be used for the explanation of this operation principle. Therefore, it is necessary to simultaneously consider both groups of magnets in the magnetic equivalent circuit. Due to the use of magnets in these motors, thermal conditions are also investigated. Finally, a comprehensive comparison between several stator-situated-magnet motors is presented. The performance of the proposed motor is improved in terms of average torque, torque density, PM torque density, power factor, and overload capability. The torque density specifically has increased by 9%. Moreover, both motors have suitable thermal behaviour which confirms the validity of the demagnetization analysis.

In this paper, a sequential Taguchi method for design optimization of an induction motor (IM) for an electric vehicle (EV) is presented. First, a series of empirical and mathematical relationships is systematically applied to reduce the number of possible stator slot rotor bar (SSRB) combinations. Then, the admissible optimal combinations are investigated and compared using finite element (FE) simulation over the NEDC driving cycle, and the three best combinations are selected for further analysis. Each topology is optimized over the driving cycle using the k-means clustering method to calculate the representative working points over the NEDC, US06, WLTP Class 3, and EUDC driving cycles. Then, using the Design of Experiment (DOE)-based Taguchi method, a multi-objective optimization is carried out. Finally, the performance of the optimized machines in terms of robustness against manufacturing tolerances, magnetic flux density distribution, mechanical stress analysis, nominal envelope curve and efficiency map is carried out to select the best stator slot rotor bar combination. It is also found that the K-means clustering method is not completely robust for the design of electric machines for electric vehicle traction motors. The method focuses on regions with high-density working points, and it is possible to miss the compliant with the required envelope curve.

Finite element analysis of magnetic materials allows accurate prediction of losses and is crucial in the design of electromagnetic devices and products. Soft magnetic composites are an alternative to silicon steel laminations, yet the electromagnetic material properties are less well documented and include uncertainties which can lead to inaccurate iron and Joule loss computations. The microstructure of soft magnetic composites, which is based on ferromagnetic particles coated by inorganic resistive insulation, makes the process of iron loss prediction unique. Composite core materials require further attention by design engineers in terms of the effect of component size and pressing processes on core loss predictions, which for laminations uses the well-known Steinmetz law. This study accesses the existing soft magnetic composite core loss modelling trends using experimentally measured results. The challenges of estimating and using Steinmetz core loss coefficients via curve fitting approaches are discussed. The study indicates that soft magnetic composite components need to be treated differently to laminated iron cores. Modelling the composite materials in finite element software requires experimentally informed loss models to be able to accurately compute power losses under varying magnetic flux density and electrical frequency. An approach is suggested which can predict iron losses to within 7%, but is only validated for component cross sectional areas of 144 mm2 or less.

In this paper, two H-type flux switching permanent magnet linear generators with outer-translator and inner-translator configurations are discussed and compared to a more conventional flux switching topology. The stators consist of H-Type modules housing circumferential coils and are surrounded by two annular permanent magnets. In conventional flux switching machines, the windings are orientated perpendicular to the direction of motion and the conductors twist around the magnets. In H-type topologies, the orientation of the windings is in the same plain as the magnets and parallel to the direction of motion, resulting in an increase in flux linkage. The proposed topologies are designed for a low operating speed and a large magnetic gap, as found in wave energy converters. All topologies are optimized using the Taguchi optimization approach with the goals of reducing force ripple and increasing the average thrust force and efficiency. The 2D finite element method (FEM) is used in the optimization stage to calculate the optimized parameters of the presented generators, after which the optimized structures are simulated using 3D FEM, and the results are extracted. The results of the optimization show that the H-type topologies deliver a 20% higher shear stress whilst offering an easier to assemble structure.

3-dimensional (3D) flux machines accommodate many design and analysis challenges. Transverse flux machines (TFMs) are mostly useful for low speed, high torque applications but in this research a fault tolerant transverse flux alternator with segmented stator has been prototyped and several important design and manufacturing challenges have been thoroughly investigated as different scenarios. The proposed machine consists of axially separated, 4-single phase to achieve low speed power of 40 Watts at 400 revolutions/minute (rpm). In addition, the machine must achieve several high-speed specifications at 15,000 rpm. It is demonstrated that the proposed TFM could be an alternative to more conventional radial flux machines in aerospace as validated within the paper. However, the necessity of stator segmentation and the use of soft magnetic composites for the proposed 3D flux machine lead to many important design and optimization considerations. Therefore, this paper investigates the manufacturing and material uncertainties in a TFM for an aerospace application. The results indicate that transverse flux alternator might be an option as an aerospace alternator but the peak performance of the prototype machine is still far from the 3D models investigated using finite element electromagnetic simulations.

A linear engine generator with a compact double-acting free piston mechanism allows for full integration of the combustion engine and generator, which provides an alternative chemical-to-electrical energy converter with a higher volumetric power density for the electrification of automobiles, trains, and ships. This paper aims to analyse the performance of the integrated engine with alternative permanent magnet linear tubular electrical machine topologies using a coupled dynamic model in Siemens Simcenter software. Two types of alternative generator configurations are compared, namely long translator-short stator and short translator-long stator linear machines. The dynamic models of the linear engine and linear generator, validated with lab-scale prototypes, are applied to investigate the influence of alternative topologies of the generator on system performance. The coupled model will facilitate the early design phase and reveal the optimal match of the key parameters of the engine and generator. Then, experimental tests on an integrated compressor cylinder-generator prototype were successfully performed, and it is shown that this concept is feasible and electrical power and compressed working fluid, such as air, can be generated by this prototype.

One option for converting the energy in sea waves into renewable electricity is the development of floating wave energy converters coupled to electrical generators. For this to work, bespoke slow-speed electrical machines coupled to bidirectional power smoothing power electronic converters are required. This paper reports on the successful design and wave tank validation of an electric machine, power converter and fully controlled direct drive power take-off system coupled to two small scale heaving wave energy converters. The design, development and demonstration of linear generators and power converters is presented including some simulated and laboratory results. Demonstration of wave energy converters with pure electric drives, fully automated control, bidirectional power flow and active force management is almost unique and essential for future wave energy development. The results presented prove that direct-drive power take-off for wave energy devices is technically possible and can be used to implement an automated control system with bidirectional power flow in both resonant and non-resonant wave energy systems.