Optimal Rotor Design of IPM Motor for Improving Torque Performance Considering Thermal Demagnetization of Magnet

This paper proposes a new design technique for improving torque performance of interior permanent magnet (IPM) motors with consideration of the thermal characteristic of magnet. To verify the driving performance of IPM motor at operating temperature, a magnetic-thermal coupled analysis was performed with a heat source, such as iron loss and copper loss, and the thermal characteristics of permanent magnet (PM) is considered to define the magnetic property. The optimization problem is formulated to minimize the harmonics of magnetic flux, which cause iron loss, as well as to maximize the output torque for satisfying the design target. To obtain an optimal rotor shape of the IPM motor, which is composed of both PM and ferromagnetic material, a multi-phase level set model is employed for representing the precise boundaries of the magnetic materials. A design example of a motor with Nd-Fe-B magnet, which has a tendency to be demagnetized at high temperature, is provided to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method.