Embedded Stator End-Windings in Soft Magnetic Composite and Laminated Surface PM Machines

This paper compares the performance of a soft magnetic composite (SMC) surface PM machine with embedded (recessed) stator end-windings with a corresponding conventional laminated stator design with the same overall axial length. Potential advantages include higher power density and stator copper fill factor, and simplified manufacturing, while the disadvantages are associated with the poorer magnetic properties of SMC. The effect of embedding is studied analytically. Then a case study is performed with finite-element analysis comparisons of a prototype SMC design with embedded end-windings against the corresponding laminated design.