Optimal Design of Segmental Rotor in Permanent Magnet Flux Switching Generator for Improving Cogging Torque

Optimal Design of Segmental Rotor in Permanent Magnet Flux Switching Generator for Improving Cogging Torque

In the current study, a new approach to the optimization of the segmental rotor method and the finite element method (FEM) to design a Permanent Magnet Flux Switching Generator (PMFSG) to be used in a low-power wind turbine has been proposed. The FEM-based segmental optimization does not require complex rhythms of algorithm and additional programming and also allows for simultaneous optimization of several parameters required in the optimal design. In the proposed method, the integrated rotor becomes a segmental rotor with three segments of the same size. The objective of the optimization is to improve the cogging torque in a way that the output power and voltage have the lowest drop possible, compared to the integrated rotor. Segmenting the rotor and selecting the best rotation angle of the first, second, and third segments of the rotor relative to each other lead to the optimization of the proposed generator. The finite element method has been employed for the generation of the datasets to design the Permanent Magnet Flux Switching Generator. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed segmental method has been confirmed through comparison with the base model and provision of the results. Therefore, the proposed optimization design can be adopted as a new method for the optimal design of PMFS machines and other types of PM machines used in renewable applications.