Compact permanent-magnet generator for hybrid vehicle applications

In hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) drivetrains an electrical generator is coupled onto the shaft of an internal-combustion engine (ICE) in order to process either the entire or a given fraction of the traction power required by the vehicle wheels. As such an ICE-driven generator is being confined within the vehicle hood and is exposed to heating resulting from ICE operation, high compactness, totally enclosed construction, and suitable machine cooling arrangement become challenging targets the generator design must deal with. Due to unique characteristics such as higher torque per volume and higher efficiency compared to other machine topologies, the axial-field permanent-magnet machine topology was selected for a 15-kW-at-4500-r/min-rated generator prototype that would be utilized in a demonstrator of an HEV drive train. This paper describes the original solutions adopted for the design of such an HEV generator and reports experimental results taken from the prototype machine.