Magnetic Field Prediction in Cubic Spoke-Type Permanent-Magnet Machine Considering Magnetic Saturation

In this article, a nonlinear semianalytical model (SAM) is presented to predict the magnetic field distribution (MFD) and electromagnetic performances (EPs) in the cubic spoke-type permanent magnet (PM) machine. To model the rectangular PMs, the rectangular PM is simplified as a combination of fan-shaped regions with different arc angles. Then, the MFD and EPs of the cubic spoke-type machines can be obtained by the harmonic modeling technique. Particularly, the saturation of the magnetic bridges is considered by the nonlinear iterative algorithm. The proposed nonlinear SAM is studied on a 12-slot/8-pole cubic PM prototype, and the nonlinear finite element model and experiment verify its correctness. The main contribution of this article is to present a general analytical modeling method for cubic spoke-type PM machines and consider the magnetic saturation of magnetic bridges.