A Nine-Phase 18-Slot 14-Pole Interior Permanent Magnet Machine With Low Space Harmonics for Electric Vehicle Applications

One of the key challenges of utilizing concentrated winding in interior permanent magnet machines (IPMs) is the high rotor eddy current losses in both magnets and rotor iron due to the presence of a large number of lower and higher order space harmonics in the stator magnetomotive force (MMF). These MMF harmonics also result in other undesirable effects, such as localized core saturation, acoustic noise, and vibrations. This paper proposes a nine-phase 18-slot 14-pole IPM machine using the multiple three-phase winding sets to reduce MMF harmonics. All the subharmonics and some of the higher order harmonics are cancelled out, while the advantages of the concentrate windings are retained. The proposed machine exhibits a high efficiency over wide torque and speed ranges. A 10-kW machine prototype is built and tested in generator mode for the experimental validation. The experimental results indicate the effectiveness of the MMF harmonics cancellation in the proposed machine.