Magnetic saturation and end effects in LSRMs modelling.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose a method to estimate the magnetic saturation and end effect of linear switched reluctance machines (LSRMs) with fully pitched winding configuration used in the wave energy conversion. Design/methodology/approach – The magnetic saturation and strong coupling make it very difficult to derive a comprehensive mathematical model for the behavior of the LSRMs. Meanwhile, the various end effects could not be comprehensively considered in the two-dimensional model which is widely studied. Therefore, the magnetic equivalent circuit model including the three-dimensional (3-D) effects is presented in this paper and 3-D finite element analysis (FEA) is used to validate the mathematical model. Findings – The results from 3-D FEA are in good agreement with the numerical simulation, which validates the accuracy of the magnetic equivalent circuit modeling method. Practical implications – This technique helps one to know the influence exerted by the magnet saturation and end effect of LSRMs and provides a powerful computer-aided analysis tool. Meanwhile, this modeling method supplies accurate values for the following study of reliable control algorithm. Originality/value – The paper presents a magnetic equivalent method to estimate the magnetic saturation and end effect of LSRMs with fully pitched winding configuration used in the wave energy conversion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]