Magnetic Gear Technologies: A Review

P.M. Tlali, R-J. Wang, S. Gerber

Abstract—This paper reviews the historic and current deve-

lopment of magnetic gear technologies. There has been con-
siderable amount of research and development activities on
magnetic gear technologies in recent years. However, it is still
not clear if this technology is ready for potential industry
applications. The purpose of this paper is to summarize
the historic and current development work of magnetic gear
technologies in an attempt to give readers some insight into the
advantages and disadvantages, challenges, opportunities and
technology readiness.
Index Terms—Magnetic gears, magnetic flux modulation,
permanent magnet, special electrical machines.

I. I NTRODUCTION
EARS and geared machines are widely used in a broad
G spectrum of industry, where the rotational speed of
an input source must be matched to the required rotational
speed of an output load. Mechanical gears are often em-
ployed for this purpose but they are subject to wear, can
overheat, are often damaged in an over-torque situation and
require periodic lubrication and maintenance.
In recent years, magnetic gears (MGs) are increasingly re-
ceiving attention from both research institutions and industry.
Fig. 2. Mechanical and magnetic gear topologies.
A publication histogram on magnetic gear technologies is
given in Fig. 1, where the number of publications including
journals, conferences and patents are summarized. It shows
II. E ARLY DEVELOPMENT OF MAGNETIC GEARS
the increasing research activity after 2000 and especially
in the past decade. It is envisaged that the continuous The first magnetic gear can be traced back to 1901 when
technological development of the magnetic gear will bring Armstrong designed an electromagnetic spur gear [1]. The
it closer to commercial applications. fundamental operating principle of this magnetic gear is very
The concept of an MG was conceived more than a century similar to that of conventional mechanical gears except that
ago. This paper intends to provide a summary and synthesis the force/torque transmission exerted by tooth meshing is
of the important historic work and to discuss the current replaced with the contactless magnetic interaction. Early
status and future development of MG technologies. In the magnetic gear development mainly focused on spur type
following sections, the research and development work done [1]–[8] and worm type [9], [10] topologies. Essentially, a
prior to and after 2000 is classified as early and recent work magnetic gear can be designed according to each available
respectively. topology of its mechanical counterpart. Fig. 2 illustrates
some corresponding gear topologies between mechanical and
80 magnetic gears.
70 There is little success during the early development of
Number of publications

60 MGs. For most early MG topologies, their torque densities

50 simply cannot compete with that of their mechanical coun-
40 terparts. Studies on the magnetic coupling indicated that a
30
higher torque transfer can only be realized when engaging
20
a large number of magnet poles [7], [8], [11], [12]. This
10
implies that the MGs derived from a simple analogy of
0
mechanical gears mostly lead to inferior designs.
A noteworthy concept of an MG [13] was introduced in
the late 1960s, which features three concentric parts, i.e. an
inner magnet rotor, an outer magnet rotor and a flux modu-
Fig. 1. The published work on magnetic gears (1900-2013).
lator between them. Further study on this new MG topology
was done by Laing [14], [15] and Ackermann et al [16], [17].
This work was supported in part by ABB Corporate Research, Sweden The former presented different shapes and arrangements of
and the National Research Foundation of South Africa the modulator while the latter proposed a simple modulator
The authors are with the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engi-
neering, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, 7600, South Africa (e-mail: structure with linking bridges. In addition, Ackermann et al
[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]) [16], [17] described the mathematic relations between the

978-1-4799-4389-0/14/$31.00 ©2014 IEEE 544

numbers of pole-pairs of the permanent magnet (PM) rotors transmission [23]. The gear ratio of a harmonic magnetic
and the modulator pieces. A unique advantage of this MG gear is given as [21]:
topology is that all PMs are involved in torque transmission, pw
resulting in a high torque density design. Gr = (−1)k+1 (4)
pl
where pl is the number of PM pole-pairs on the low-speed
III. R ECENT DEVELOPMENT OF MAGNETIC GEARS
rotor and pw is the number of sinusoidal cycles between the
The last decade has seen a renewed interest in MGs. low-speed rotor and stator. The number of PM pole-pairs on
This may be attributed to the availability of high energy the stator should be p ± pw for maximum torque transfer.
density PMs at a reasonable price and more importantly the The practical implementation of a harmonic MG is com-
new topologies that enable MGs to compete with traditional plicated by the need for a flexible PM low-speed rotor.
mechanical gears in terms of torque density. Alternative configurations were proposed such as the use of
a rigid and eccentrically rotating low-speed rotor [24], and
A. Torque Dense Magnetic Gear Topologies a dual stage arrangement [21], [23]. However, the structural
Among newly proposed MG topologies, the most sig- complexity of this type of MG remains a deterrent to further
nificant topologies are concentric, harmonic and planetary exploitation of this topology.
magnetic gears as shown in Fig. 3. Although the concentric Planetary MGs received some attention [25]–[28] and
their application in variable inertia devices was demonstrated
in [27]. Similar to their mechanical counterparts, the gear ra-
tio of planetary MGs with a stationary ring gear is governed
by:
ps
Gr = (5)
ps + pr
where pr and ps are the pole-pairs on the magnetic ring
gear and sun gear respectively. The pole-pair relationship
among ring gear, sun gear and planetary gear is given by
ps + 2pp = pr . The merits of planetary MGs include
Fig. 3. Concentric, harmonic and planetary magnetic gears.
the capability of three transmission modes, high gearing
ratios and high torque density. However, the mechanical
MG may find its root in an early patent by Martin [13],
configuration is also very complicated.
its high torque capability was first revealed by Atallah et al
in 2001 [18]. The basic operation principle of a concentric
MG is that the ferromagnetic pole-pieces interposed between B. State of the Art in Magnetic Gear Technologies
the inner and outer PM rotors modulate the magnetic field The torque densities of various developed MG tech-
such that each rotor “sees” a working space harmonic nologies are compared with that of mechanical gears in
corresponding to its own number of poles. The number Table I. It is clear that the torque dense MG topologies
of pole-pairs on the inner high-speed and outer low-speed promise to compete with mechanical gears. Among these
rotors, ph and pl , and the number of modulator segments, three MG topologies, the concentric MG is mechanically the
qm are related by [19]: least complex. Furthermore, its concentric geometry offers
qm = ph + pl (1) particular advantages in terms of machine-gear integration
options. This may explain why the concentric-type MG
With a stationary modulator, the gear ratio Gr is given by: has received the most attention and is the current focus of
pl qm − ph qm ωh research and development.
Gr = = = −1=− (2)
ph ph ph ωl
TABLE I
where ωh and ωl are the angular speed of the high-speed T ORQUE DENSITY OF DIFFERENT GEARS [29]
and low-speed rotors respectively. The minus sign signifies
that the two rotors rotate in an opposite direction. If the outer Gear Type Torque density (kNm/m3 )
rotor is held still, the gear ratio between the high speed rotor Mechanical spur gear [30] 100-200
and rotating modulator is [19]: Mechanical helical gear(3G) 50-150
qm ωh Magnetic worm gear [9] <2
Gr = = (3) Magnetic bevel gear <5
ph ωm
Magnetic spur gear 10-20
where both rotors rotate in the same direction and a slightly Magnetic harmonic gear(1G) 140-180
higher gear ratio can be realized. Magnetic harmonic gear(2G) 75
The harmonic magnetic gears share a similar operating Magnetic planetary gear [26] ≈100
principle as that of the mechanical harmonic gears. It was Concentric magnetic gear 70-150
first proposed in [20], while its fundamental theory was
clearly explained and demonstrated in [21]. The operation of
a magnetic harmonic gear relies on a mechanism to produce IV. C ONCENTRIC MAGNETIC GEAR
time-varying, sinusoidal variation of the air-gap between a
flexible low-speed PM rotor and a rigid PM stator [21], A. Design Variations of Concentric MGs
[22]. The distinct advantages associated with harmonic MGs Based on the same operational principle, concentric-type
are high gear ratios, high torque density and smooth torque MGs can also be designed for linear and disc type topologies.

545
A disc-type concentric MG was proposed in [31] as depicted the effect of the modulator thickness on the maximum torque
in Fig. 4a, which claimed a torque density over 70 kNm/m3 . of an MG [49]. Both 2D and 3D FE results confirm the
Disc-type MGs are well suited for applications where the existence of an optimum thickness corresponding to the stall
isolation of input and output shafts is crucial. Its low-speed torque of the MG. Despite the visible discrepancy, both 2D
rotor yoke is often made of electrical silicon steel tape and 3D results show the same tendency. While it may be
as it is prone to severe core loss [32]. The design of a subject to further proof and verification, it appears that 2D
linear concentric MG was presented in [33] (Fig. 4b). It FEM remains a viable tool in the design analysis of MGs,
has a tubular structure with outer and inner shorter movers especially when optimization is required.
separated by the ferromagnetic rings along the length of the
gear. Simulation studies showed that a high force density
can be achieved with this linear topology, which is however
sensitive to the axial length of the spacers between the
ferromagnetic rings [34], [35].

Fig. 5. The variation of stall torque with modulator thickness of a MG (2D

FE: dashed, 3D FE: solid) [49].

(a) (b)
Fig. 4. Concentric MG topologies: (a) disc-type, (b) linear type.
C. Design Aspects of the Flux Modulator
B. Design and Analysis Methods The flux modulator is the key to the operation of concen-
The design and analysis of MGs involves both electromag- tric type MGs. It operates as either a low-speed rotor (high
netic and mechanical analyses. The majority of the published torque) or the mechanical earth of an MG so that its me-
work is concerned with the electromagnetic design aspects. chanical integrity is a major concern. Different mechanical
Different design analysis approaches have been employed linkage options are evaluated in [43], which shows that the
such as: internally connected modulator has the least impact on the
• Field solution based analytical models [36]–[39] torque capability of an MG. This is in a good agreement with
• Reluctance network approaches [40], [41] [45], [47], which further reveals the benefits of thin internal
• Classical electric machine theory [42], [43] mechanical bridges such as loss reduction and suppression
• Numerical methods (Finite Element Method) of undesirable harmonics. Jian et al [50] proposed the use
While the analytical approaches are time efficient and of high temperature superconductor (HTS) materials for
can provide some physical insight into the electromagnetic modulator pole-pieces, which can significantly reduce the
solutions, the inherent limitations such as the inability to modulator thickness and also the end effects. The effect of
account for saturation and intricate geometries make them the stack length of the modulator has been investigated in
less favorable in the design and optimization of MGs. [47], [51], which show that maximum stall torque can be
Although the reluctance network approach is not widely obtained when the modulator has the same stack length as
used, it demonstrated the capability of modeling the end- that of both rotors.
field leakages of MGs [41]. Numerical methods such as FEM
account for material nonlinearity, give accurate magnetic
D. Design Aspects of Inner and Outer Rotors
field distribution inside the MGs, and have been extensively
applied in the design and analysis of MGs. The PMs on the inner rotor are subjected to large cen-
In the finite element (FE) analysis of electrical machines, trifugal forces during high-speed operation, thus methods
the standard practice is to apply 2D FE modeling and of securing PMs on the rotor need careful consideration.
make use of geometric symmetry to further reduce the Inner rotor designs with both interior [43] and spoke-type
complexity of the FE model. Usually concentric MGs do PM configurations [44] were considered. Both configurations
not exhibit periodic symmetry, thus requiring full FE models showed significant reduction of torque capability when com-
to be simulated. This will inevitably make 2D FE modeling pared with the surface-mounted PM configuration.
computationally expensive, let alone 3D FE modeling. Different magnet pole arrangements of the outer rotor
One common problem experienced by many researchers is have also been reported [46], [52]–[54] as illustrated in
that 2D FE analysis overestimates the performance of MGs Fig. 6. An interesting design is proposed in [46] as shown in
by a significant margin (up to 40%) [39], [44]–[47], while Fig. 6b, which reduces PM material by introducing salient
3D FE is shown to give accurate prediction [48]. This is leakage poles while still maintaining high torque density.
due to the fact that 2D FE models ignore the 3D end-effects Considering the current high PM cost, there were also
within a magnetic gear. The mechanism of these 3D end- attempts to use more affordable PMs such as ferrite magnets
effects within MGs are studied in [47], [49]. Fig. 5 shows [55].

546
 has been shown in [49] that aspect ratio has the greatest
impact on the end-effects of MGs and that a critical aspect
ratio exists, above which the 3D end-effects are significantly
reduced.
To avoid operating an MG close to its unstable region, the
rated torque of the MG should be less than its stall torque.
Fig. 6. Different magnet pole arrangements on the outer rotor, where (a) A load factor defined as the percentage of the MG’s stall
surface-mounted, (b) leakage pole [46], (c) flux concentration [54], (d) torque can be incorporated in the design procedure.
halbach array [53].

E. Cogging and Ripple Torque G. Operational Features and Possible Solutions

A detailed study on the cogging torque composition was The inherent overload protection characteristic of MGs
presented in [56]. Cogging torque reduction techniques such may present operating challenges for certain applications.
as step skew was evaluated in [48]. As an indication of the When subjected to an overload condition, pole-slipping
severity of cogging torque, the cogging torque factor fc first occurs in MGs that completely decouples the rotors; hence
introduced in [57] is often used in the design of MGs, which torque transmission is halted until the input side re-engages.
is defined as follows: As a remedy, automatic pole-slip detection is necessary for
2pq a quick recovery [63], [64], otherwise MGs need to be
fc = (6) designed with a larger safety factor.
LCM(p, q)
In addition, MGs are characterized by a lower torsional
where p is the number of pole-pairs on one of the PM stiffness coefficient than mechanical gears [64]–[68]. They
rotors, q represents the number of modulator pole-pieces, can suffer from undesired oscillations under rapid load
LCM stands for the least common multiple. For the lowest change, which implies that they are not suitable for servo
cogging torque, a unity cogging factor is preferred. Fig. 7 drive applications. Both passive and active methods have
illustrates the relationship between the gear ratio and key been proposed to address this issue. One passive oscillation
gear parameter combinations for p = 3. It can be observed suppression strategy is to add damper windings on the high
that the lowest cogging factor is associated with fractional speed rotor [66], [67], which can reduce the settling time
gear ratios, which is in good agreement with [58], [59]. by more than 80% [67]. The effectiveness of the damping is
clearly shown in Fig. 8. However, insertion of rotor damper
windings decreases the stall torque rating and efficiency of
MGs [66], [67]. Another approach to alleviate the oscil-
lations uses feedback control sensors to actively monitor
the position or speed of both rotors [63], [65]. Control
algorithms are applied to quickly stabilize the system after
any disturbance.

Fig. 7. The relationship between the gear ratio and key gear parameter
combinations (p = 3) [60].

F. Influence of MG Parameters on Torque Capability

The influence of design parameters (such as modulator Fig. 8. Transient performance of an MG: (a) without rotor damper windings
(b) with rotor damper windings [67].
geometry, pole counts of rotors, gear ratios and PM thick-
ness) on the peak torque capacity of MGs was investigated in
[61], which shows the necessity to conduct multi-parameter
based analysis as the single-parameter sweeping analysis has
H. Variable Gear Ratio Transmission
limited value. The studies reported in [61] (2D FE) and [49]
(3D FE) confirm that for an MG with fixed outer diameter, Similar to mechanical planetary gears, the gear ratio of
there exists an optimum gear ratio where torque capacity concentric MGs can be varied if the stationary element
reaches a maximum. is allowed to rotate. A compact magnetic continuously
To mitigate the end-effects of MGs, it was proposed in variable transmission (m-CVT) was described in [69], [70],
[44] that longer stack lengths should be used for MGs. which employs an inverse MG structure, i.e. with an outer
However, as explained in [62], severe deflection of the high-speed rotor. The speed/torque output is controlled by
modulator is likely to happen with long stack lengths. It regulating the high-speed rotor.

547
 (a) Coupled/decoupled inner-stator configuraton (b) Outer-stator configuraton (c) Wound modulator configuration.

Fig. 9. Topologies of magnetically geared machines.

V. M AGNETICALLY GEARED MACHINES Besides the radial configurations, such as those displayed
in Fig. 9, disc [60] and linear configurations can also be
Advances in magnetic gear technology led to the deve- realized.
lopment of a new class of electrical machine: magnetically
geared machines (MGMs). These machines house a mag- B. Design
netic gear integrated with a PM machine in the same volume.
In this way, the system torque density is increased beyond Magnetically geared machines contain two systems in a
what can be achieved with a cascaded configuration. single volume (the MG and the PM machine) of which the
torque/power capability can be maximized independently.
An optimal design of an MGM must ensure that the MG’s
A. Topologies torque capability is well matched with that of the PM
machine [82]. Ideally, this means the machine’s stator must
The concept of an integrated magnetically geared elec- be capable of converting all the input mechanical torque via
trical machine was first described by Venturini in 1993 the gear into electrical power for generator operation, or in
[71]. The two most prominent topologies of MGMs, shown the case of a motor, the gear must be able to transfer all the
in Fig. 9a and Fig. 9b, were proposed in [72], [73] and stator torque without slipping. It is sensible to have the stator
in [74]. The topology in Fig. 9a can be classified as an designed for a torque capacity slightly below the gear’s stall
MGM with an inner-stator whereas the one in Fig. 9b can torque since the machines rated operating torque must be
be classified as an MGM with an outer-stator. The inner- below the stall torque. In this regard, the stator load factor
stator topology can further be classified as either a coupled [83] defined below, is a useful concept.
or decoupled configuration, illustrated by the left and right
Ts0 Gr
halves in Fig. 9a respectively. Another possible topology γs = (7)
Tm 0
was presented in [75] where it is proposed that a winding
be placed between the modulator segments. This type of In (7), Ts0 is the rated stator torque and Tm0
is the modulator
topology, illustrated in Fig. 9c, can be referred to as a wound stall torque. The stator load factor is a measure of the balance
modulator magnetically geared machine. between the torque capacity of the PM machine and the MG
The inner-stator topology is perhaps the most natural way and forms part of the design specification as determined by
of integration, especially in the decoupled case since the the prospective application.
spaces occupied by the magnetic gear and electrical machine
are completely separate. The decoupled configuration will VI. V ERNIER - TYPE MACHINES
have superior flux-weakening capabilities compared to the Researchers have proposed other machine topologies de-
coupled configuration due to its higher inductance [76]. This rived from MGMs that do not feature a full magnetic
can be an important consideration for applications such as gear. The similarity between these machines and vernier
traction drives. On the other hand, the coupled configuration machines, such as the one shown in Fig. 10a, has been
generally has higher torque density because it does not re- described in [84]. In the machine proposed in [84]–[87] the
quire a thick high-speed rotor yoke. One major disadvantage high-speed PM rotor of the inner-stator MGM topology is
of the inner-stator topology is the high level of mechanical omitted (Fig. 10b). In this case the purpose is to inherit
complexity. The machine has four concentric components, the high torque density of MGMs while reducing the me-
three air-gaps and two rotors rotating at different angular chanical complexity. This topology allows greater freedom
velocities. Thus, the mechanical construction of this machine in the stator configuration compared to conventional vernier
is challenging. Despite the difficulties, several prototypes of machines, but it has an extra component which is expected to
inner-stator MGMs have been realized [77]–[79]. degrade performance. Alternatively, in [88], [89] the outer-
The outer-stator topology has reduced mechanical com- stator topology is modified by omitting the PMs on the
plexity compared to the inner-stator topology because the surface of the stator and choosing the number of stator slots
outer magnets are attached directly to the inner surface of so as to maintain the magnetic gearing action (Fig. 10c).
the stator. In this way, the number of air-gaps is reduced to This topology largely overcomes the problem of possible
two. It has been demonstrated that a torque density greater demagnetization.
than 60 kNm/m3 can be achieved [74], [80]. One study has An important motivation behind these machines is the
found that the outer-stator MGM does not perform as well reduced usage of magnets and mechanical complexity. How-
as the inner-stator topology in terms of torque density for a ever, the power factor, the torque density or both will be
small machine [81]. compromised compared to MGMs.

548
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[63] R. Montague et al., “Magnetic gear overload detection and remedial Pushman M. Tlali (M0 14) was born in Leribe, Lesotho in 1987. He
strategies for servo-drive systems,” in Int. Symp. Power Electron. received his BEng in Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Stellenbosch
Electr. Drives Automation & Motion (SPEEDAM), pp.523-528, 2010. University, South Africa in 2012. He is currently pursuing his MScEng
[64] ——, “Servo control of magnetic gears,” IEEE/ASME Trans. Mech., degree in the field of electrical machines. His research interests are in the
17(2):269-278, 2012. optimal design of magnetically geared electrical machines.
[65] ——, “Dual-observer-based position-servo control of a magnetic
gear,” IET Electric Power Appl., 5(9):708-714, 2011. Rong-Jie Wang (M0 00-SM0 08) received the PhD(Eng) degree from Stel-
[66] S. Pakdelian et al., “Damper windings for the magnetic gear,” in IEEE lenbosch University in 2003. He is currently an Associate Professor in the
Energy Conv. Congress & Expo. (ECCE), pp.3974-3981, 2011. Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering of Stellenbosch Uni-
[67] N. Frank et al., “A magnetic gear with passive transient suppression versity. His research interests are computer-aided design and optimization
capability,” in IEEE Electr. Ship Techn. Symp., pp.326-329, 2011. of electric machines, computational electromagnetics and thermal modeling
[68] ——, “Passive suppression of transient oscillations in the concentric of electric machines. He has published more than 50 journal and conference
planetary magnetic gear,” IEEE T-EC, 26(3):933-939, 2011. papers and was a co-author of the monograph Axial Flux Permanent Magnet
[69] J. Wang et al., “A magnetic continuously variable transmission de- Brushless Machines (2nd ed., Springer 2008).
vice,” IEEE T-MAG, 47(10):2815-2818, 2011.
[70] K. Atallah et al., “Design and operation of a magnetic continuously Stiaan Gerber (M0 13) was born in Bellville in South Africa on February
variable transmission,” in IEEE Int. Electr. Machines Drives Conf. 20, 1986. He received his BEng (cum laude) in the field of Electrical and
(IEMDC), pp.312-317, 2011. Electronic Engineering with Computer Science at Stellenbosch University
[71] M. Venturini, F. Leonardi, “High torque, low speed joint actuator in 2008 and his MScEng (cum laude) in 2011. He is currently studying
based on PM brushless motor and magnetic gearing,” in IEEE-IAS towards his PhD in the field of electrical machines, with specific focus
Annual Meeting, 1:37-42, 1993. on magnetically geared electrical machines. His main interests in the
[72] A. Razzell, J. Cullen, “Compact electrical machine,” US Pat. engineering field are electrical machine design, numerical optimization,
6 794 781B2, 2004. renewable energy power generation and finite element methods.

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