Torque ripple reduction of axial flux permanent magnet synchronous machine with segmented and laminated stator

Torque ripple is the parasitic element that causes mechanical vibration, acoustic noise and even latent operational failure in permanent magnet (PM) machines. Consequently, considerable design efforts should be made to minimize torque ripple of the machines for high performance applications. In this paper, one cost effective torque ripple reduction technique is proposed and investigated for an axial flux permanent magnet synchronous machine with segmented and laminated stator. Brief quasi-three-dimensional (quasi-3-D) analytical model and comprehensive 3-D finite element analysis (FEA) are carried out to detect the optimal magnet span angle and the results from 3-D FEA have revealed that torque ripple can be significantly reduced by the proposed technique with no compromise on performance and cost.