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Optimal design of an interior permanent magnet synchronous motor for

electrical vehicle applications

Conference Paper · October 2013

DOI: 10.1109/ICEMS.2013.6754411

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Yuchao Zhang J. X. Shen

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 2013 International Conference on Electrical Machines and Systems, Oct. 26-29, 2013, Busan, Korea

Optimal Design of an Interior Permanent Magnet

Synchronous Motor for Electrical Vehicle
Applications
Y. Zhang, J. X. Shen*, and P. Li
Department of Electrical Engineering, Zhejiang University, China
E-mail: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

Abstract — Interior permanent synchronous motor (IPMSM) slots, as shown in Fig. 3, are investigated during the optimal
is a desirable solution for electrical vehicle (EV) traction design, by examining the cogging torque.
applications due to its high power density and high efficiency. In In Fig. 3, h represents the distance between the two
this paper, an IPMSM with V-shaped magnets on the rotor is
magnets of a neighboring pair of poles. By adjusting the value
investigated. The shape of slots which contain the magnets is
optimized in order to reduce the cogging torque and to maximize of h from 1mm to 9.88mm, the cogging torque associated with
the output torque per ampere. The torque and its ripple are also the two slot types is listed in Tables II and III. It can be seen
analyzed. Both theoretical analysis and finite element analysis that, with the same value of h, the slot type-2 configuration
(FEA) are made to verify the optimization. which is shown in Fig. 3(b) exhibits much less cogging torque,
Keywords — Interior permanent magnet synchronous motor, and hence it is applied in the design hereafter.
optimal design, V-shaped slot, torque ripple
TABLE I
I. INTRODUCTION BASIC MOTOR PARAMETERS
Rated power 20kW
Electrical vehicles (EV) have gained more and more
Rated speed 2000r/min
research and development interests [1][2], whilst permanent Winding connection Y connection
magnet (PM) machines have been widely used in EV traction Rated voltage per phase 85V
systems due to their high power density and efficiency [3]. For Stator core outer diameter 148mm
Number of stator slots 48
example, Toyota has put forwards the warmly welcome Prius
Length of motor core 88mm
EV with PM motors [4][5]. Moreover, research on EV-applied Air gap length 0.7mm
PM machines has been globally reported [6]. Number of poles 8
In this paper, an interior permanent magnet synchronous
motor (IPMSM) with V-shaped magnets on the rotor, which is
proposed for EV applications, is investigated. Mainly, the
shape of slots which contains the magnets is optimized in
order to reduce the cogging torque and to maximize the output
torque per ampere. Furthermore, the average value and ripple
of the electromagnetic torque are analyzed so as to reveal the
influence of the design parameters.

II. PRELIMINARY DESIGN OF MOTOR

An outstanding characteristic of the permanent magnet
motor is its variety rotor forms, which can be classified as Fig. 1. Flux lines
surface-mounted, interior and claw pole magnets [7].
Considering the improvement of air gap field and torque per
ampere, an IPMSM with 20kW rated power is designed for the
EV applications. Speed control is easy to implement for the
IPMSM, since a large speed range can be achieved with
appropriate field weaken [8][9]. Parameters of the
preliminarily designed IPMSM are listed in Table I. Flux lines
and field contour under no load condition is shown in Fig. 1
and Fig. 2. High energy sintered NdFeB permanent magnets
with grade of N40UH are used in the motor to improve the
power density. V-shaped slots are made on the rotor iron core
so as to contain the permanent magnets. Two shapes of the Fig. 2. Field contour

978-1-4799-1447-0/13/$31.00 ©2013 IEEE

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 TABLE IV
SPECTRUM OF AIR GAP FIELD UNDER NO LOAD CONDITION WITH DIFFERENT
VALUES OF h
Magnets Harmonic Harmonic Harmonic
distance (mm) order amplitude (T) content (%)
1 0.9656 88.22
3 0.2962 8.30
5 0.1185 1.33
h=1
7 0.0349 0.12
(a) slot type-1 (b) slot type-2 9 0.0024
Fig. 3. Rotor configurations with different slot shapes
11 0.0704 0.47
1 0.9732 89.35
TABLE II
3 0.2862 7.73
COGGING TORQUE (PEAK-TO-PEAK) WITH DIFFERENT VALUES OF h
5 0.0969 0.89
(SLOT TYPE-1) h=2
h (mm) 1 2 3 4 5 7 0.0102 0
Cogging torque (Nm) 39.8 40.8 38.3 33.5 26.8 9 0.0234 0.05
h (mm) 6 7 8 9 9.88 11 0.0861 0.70
Cogging torque (Nm) 18.1 7.8 15.1 26.9 38.6 1 0.9800 90.34
3 0.2739 7.06
TABLE III 5 0.0719 0.49
h=3
COGGING TORQUE (PEAK-TO-PEAK) WITH DIFFERENT VALUES OF h 7 0.0173 0.03
(SLOT TYPE-2) 9 0.0448 0.19
h (mm) 1 2 3 4 5 11 0.1001 0.94
Cogging torque (Nm) 5.8 3.8 3.3 4.0 6.4 1 0.9852 91.22
h (mm) 6 7 8 9 9.88 3 0.2572 6.22
Cogging torque (Nm) 7.3 9.2 12.9 14.9 12.8 5 0.0416 0.16
h=4
7 0.0476 0.21
III. OPTIMIZATION OF ROTOR SLOT POSITION 9 0.0655 0.40
11 0.1105 1.15
The distance (h) between the two magnets of a neighboring
1 0.9824 91.98
pair of poles can also be optimized. By adjusting h from 1mm 3 0.2324 5.15
to 9.88mm and meanwhile keeping the same width of the 5 0.0047 0
magnets, which means that the bottom angle of the V-shaped h=5
7 0.0791 0.60
slots varies, the back-EMF is examined with FEA at the rated 9 0.0818 0.64
motor speed, as shown in Fig. 4. Note, 133.3Hz is the 11 0.1142 1.24
fundamental frequency. It can be learned that the fundamental 1 0.9974 92.18
3 0.2164 4.34
back-EMF is the dominant part in the spectrum, which
5 0.0273 0.07
increases slightly with the magnets distance (h), and the third h=6
7 0.1074 1.07
order harmonic declines with the increasing value of h. 9 0.0954 0.84
The spectrum of air gap field under no load condition with 11 0.1159 1.24
different values of h is listed in Table IV. It can be seen that 1 1.0034 92.33
the fundamental increases slightly with the magnets distance h, 3 0.1944 3.47
which shows a similar trend to the Back-EMF. Therefore, it 5 0.0601 0.33
h=7
7 0.1284 1.51
can be concluded that, on the purpose of increasing the
9 0.0980 0.88
fundamental component of the air gap field and back-EMF, 11 0.1074 1.06
the distance (h) between the magnets of neighboring poles 1 1.0090 92.29
should be enlarged properly. 3 0.1689 2.59
5 0.0939 0.80
h=8
90 7 0.1460 1.93
80 9 0.0951 0.82
11 0.0949 0.82
70 133.3Hz 1 1.0122 92.04
60
Back-EMF (V)

3 0.1382 1.72
50 400.0Hz 5 0.1297 1.51
h=9
40 7 0.1581 2.25
666.7Hz 9 0.0838 0.63
30
11 0.0768 0.53
20 933.3Hz 1 1.0164 91.65
10 3 0.1143 1.16
0 5 0.1566 2.18
h=9.88
7 0.1642 2.39
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
9.88

Distance between neighboring magnets (mm) 9 0.0711 0.45

Fig. 4. Spectrum of back-EMF with different distance (h) between magnets 11 0.0600 0.32

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 IV. ANALYSIS OF TORQUE VALUE AND TORQUE RIPPLE The electromagnetic torque of the IPMSM can be written
The IPMSM phasor diagram under the d-q reference frame as:
is shown in Fig. 5. Ψf is the PM-excited flux linkage vector; E
is the vector of back EMF due to Ψf ; I represents the phase Te=1.5p*(Ψf *iq +(Ld-Lq)*id*iq) (1)
current; α is the internal power factor angle which is between
the vectors E and I. For the surface-mounted permanent
magnet (SPM) motor, the α is often set as 0, for the purpose of where p is the number of pole pairs; Ψf is the PM-excited flux
maximizing the torque per ampere. However, for the designed linkage; Ld and Lq are the d-axis and q-axis inductances,
IPMSM which needs high power density, α should be larger respectively; id and iq are the d-axis and q-axis currents,
than 0 as shown in Fig. 5, which means that I leads E. This respectively.
will utilize the reluctance torque, and enhance the torque per Ideally, Ld, Lq and Ψf are constant. At steady state, if the
ampere as well as the motor torque density. α should be motor is fed with 3-phase symmetric armature currents, id and
dynamically tuned according to the motor load or current. iq are also constant. Thus, the electromagnetic torque should
In FEA, the IPMSM is excited with the rated current (IN) be stable, with no torque ripple. However, it is not the case in
and the two times rated current (2*IN), respectively, to find out most practical IPMSMs. For the IPMSM designed in this
the optimal value of α for the maximum torque with different paper, the motor is fed with the rated current and twice rated
h values. The results are shown in Table V. current, respectively. The peak-to-peak value of the torque
Moreover, the maximum torque with the optimal α is ripple with different h is shown in Fig. 7. Clearly, the torque
shown in Fig.6. While increasing the value of h, the reluctance ripple becomes much severer under over-load condition, and it
on the q-axis declines, but the reluctance on the d-axis remains is much bigger than the cogging torque. Moreover the value of
almost constant, thus, the saliency becomes more significant. h also affects the torque ripple.
In result, the proportion of the reluctance torque increases in The torque ripple is caused by the following factors: (i)
the whole torque. Especially, when the h value is above 5mm, The armature winding self- and mutual- inductances do not
the curve is much steeper, which means that the motor torque vary sinusoidally with the rotor position. Clearly, the air gap
increases more rapidly with the rise of h. Therefore, from the permeance changes with the rotor position, however, it is not
point of view of increasing the electromagnetic torque, the easy to make the distribution of air gap permeance a sine-
distance between magnets (h) should be enlarged properly so wave. Therefore, the inductances contain not only the 0-order
that the reluctance torque the IPMSM can be utilized. It is also and 2nd-order components, but also higher-order components.
observed from Fig. 6 that when the armature current is double This makes the Ld and Lq actually unconstant. Then, from (1),
the rated value, the electromagnetic torque is not simply 2 it can be concluded that the electromagnetic torque varies. (ii)
times higher, due to the effect of magnetic saturation. Magnetic saturation causes distortion to both the winding
inductances and the PM-excited flux linkage. In other words,
TABLE V the flux linkage Ψf in (1) is not a constant either. When the
OPTIMAL α TO MAXIMIZE TORQUE WITH DIFFERENT h motor is fed with the two times rated current, the magnetic
h (mm) 1 2 3 4 5
saturation becomes much severer, hence, the torque ripple
α with IN 20° 20° 20° 20° 30°
α with 2*IN
becomes more significant accordingly. However, for the EV-
30° 30° 40° 40° 40°
h (mm) 6 7 8 9 9.88 used IPMSM, high torque density is always an important
α with IN 30° 30° 30° 30° 30° design target, therefore, magnetic saturation is unavoidable.
α with 2*IN 40° 40° 40° 40° 40° Hence, appropriate control strategy is desirable to reduce the
q-axis torque ripple.
Nevertheless, it is always preferable to optimize the motor
I parameters. Regarding the distance (h) between the magnets of
E
α neighboring pole pairs, it can be seen from Fig. 6 and Fig. 7
Ψf d-axis
that around 9mm is a good solution for the studied IPMSM.
Fig. 5. Phasor diagram of IPMSM
350 120
2*IN
2*IN
300 100
IN
IN
Torque ripple (Nm)

250 80
Torque (Nm)

200 2*IN
2*IN 60
150 IN
IN
40
100
20
50

0 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
9.88
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
9.88

Distance between neighboring magnets (mm) Distance between neighboring magnets (mm)
Fig. 6. Maximum torque with different distance (h) between magnets Fig. 7. Torque ripple with different distance (h) between magnets

984
 V. CONCLUSION [2] C. C. Chan, Alian Bouscayrol, Keyu Chen, “Electrical and Fuel-Cell
Vehicles Architectures and Modeling,” IEEE transactions on vehicular
In this paper, optimal design of an IPMSM for EV technology, Vol.59, No.2, pp. 704-718, 2007.
applications is presented. Firstly, two types of V-shaped slots [3] Renyuan Tang, Zhao Qing, Zhou Ting, “Rare earth permanent magnet
electrical machines stepping a new period of rapid development,”
on the rotor which contain the magnet bars are comparatively Journal of Shenyang University of Technology, Vol.33, No.1, pp.1-8,
examined, by considering their influence on the cogging 2011.
torque amplitude. Secondly, after choosing the appropriate [4] J. S. Hsu, C. W. Ayers, C. L. Comer, “Report on toyota/prius motor
design and manufacturing assessment,” ORNL/Tm-2004/137, UT-
rotor slot type, the distance between the magnets of
Battelle, LLC, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee,
neighboring pole pairs is investigated, indicating that this July, 2004.
distance not only affects the reluctance torque of the IPMSM, [5] Mitch Olszewski. Oak Ridge “National Laboratory Annual Progress
but also changes the torque ripple. Regarding the studied report for the Power Electronics and Electric Machinery Program and
Electric Machinery Program,” ORNL/TM-2010/204, UT-Battelle. LLC,
IPMSM, a large distance is preferable for both enhancing the Oak Ridge National library, Oka Ridge Tennessee, October, 2010.
average electromagnetic torque and reducing the torque ripple. [6] Wenlong Qu, Quanshi Chen, “Implementation of the SHEV control
system on minibus,” IEEE transactions on vehicular technology, Vol.35,
No.1, pp.371-379, 2008.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT [7] R. Y. Tang, “Modern permanent magnet machines-theory and design,”
This work was supported by the National Basic Research Program of Machine Press, Beijing, 1997.
China (2013CB035604 and 2011CB707204) and the Natural Science [8] Thomas M. Johns, “Flux-weakening regime operation of an interior
Foundation of China (NSFC 51077116). permanent magnet synchronous motor drive,” IEEE Transactions on
Industry Applications, Vol. 23, No.4, pp.681-689, 1987.
[9] T. M. Johns, G. B. Kliman, T. W. Neumann, “Interior permanent magnet
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