An outer-rotor flux-switching permanent-magnet-machine with wedge-shaped magnets for in-wheel light traction

This paper proposes a novel outer-rotor flux-switching permanent-magnet (OR-FSPM) machine with specific wedge-shaped magnets for in-wheel light-weight traction applications. First, the geometric topology is introduced. Then, the combination principle of stator slots and rotor poles for OR-FSPM machines is investigated. Furthermore, to demonstrate the relationship between performance specifications (e.g., torque and speed) and key design parameters and dimensions (e.g., rotor outer diameter and stack length) of OR-FSPM machines at preliminary design stage, an analytical torque-sizing equation is proposed and verified by two-dimensional (2-D) finite-element analysis (FEA). Moreover, optimizations of key dimensions are conducted on an initially designed proof-of-principle three-phase 12-stator-slot/22-rotor-pole prototyped machine. Then, based on 2-D-FEA, a comprehensive comparison between a pair of OR-FSPM machines with rectangular- and wedge-shaped magnets and a surface-mounted permanent-magnet (SPM) machine is performed. The results indicate that the proposed OR-FSPM machine with wedge-shaped magnets exhibits better flux-weakening capability, higher efficiency, and wider speed range than the counterparts, especially for torque capability, where the proposed wedge-shaped magnets-based one could produce 40% and 61.5% more torque than the rectangular-shaped magnets-based machine and SPM machine, respectively, with the same rated current density (5 A/mm
²
). Finally, the predicted performance of the proposed OR-FSPM machine is verified by experiments on a prototyped machine.