Flux switching motors for automotive applications

This paper presents a new class of brushless motor as an alternative to the permanent magnet brushed motor used in the automotive industry. The new flux switching motor is a very simple motor to manufacture and coupled with a power electronic controller requiring only two power semiconductor switches it has the potential to be extremely low cost in high volume applications. The design of the motor and its simulation using coupled circuit and time-stepping finite element analysis is presented. Tested performance has matched well with design targets and with simulation and is delivering performance comparable to a permanent magnet brushed motor. The new motor and drive are very robust, requiring only two power MOSFETs and a simple micro-controller to create an extremely low cost variable speed drive for automotive applications.