Development of a novel permanent magnet flux switching machine prototype for light weight electric vehicles

Increasing transportation efficiency is the best place to start efforts to reduce emission of carbon dioxide (CO₂), which is a primary culprit in global warming. This has gained an interest in electric vehicles (EVs) instead of conventional internal combustion engine from automakers, governments and customers to make it as more attractive research. Since electric motors are the core of EVs, it is a pressing need for researchers to develop advanced electric motors. As one of the candidates, flux switching machine (FSM) is introduced in order to cope with the requirement. This paper outlines an investigation and prototype development of a novel FSM employing alternate circumferential and radial flux (AlCiRaF) permanent magnet (PM) configurations. At first stage, the machine general construction, operating principle and design concept of proposed machine is portrayed. Subsequently, coil arrangement test, 3-phase flux linkage, back emf, cogging torque, output torque and power are analyzed by two-dimensional finite element analysis (2D-FEA) using JMAG solver while Solidwork software is utilized for the fabrication process. Accordingly, the simulated result shows that the proposed AlCiRaF PMFSM machine attains its highest output torque performances of 46.55 Nm and output power of 18.5kW at maximum Ja of 30Arms/mm², respectively suitable for light weight EV.