Axial-Flux Wound-Excitation Eddy-Current Brakes: Analytical Study and Parametric Modeling

Analytical approaches could be very useful in the design and analysis of electromagnetic devices. This paper is concerned with the design and analysis of an axial-flux wound-excitation eddy-current brake, for which a subdomain-based analytical approach is developed, whereby performance characteristics and design considerations of the device are evaluated. The practical constraints of the proposed structure are discussed and 3-D finite-element analysis (FEA) is employed in the analyses as well as validation of the implemented model. Moreover, a parametric analysis is performed, which provides valuable information regarding the design of the device. In addition, the extracted closed-form expressions for the brake characteristics can be used in the design of the associated control systems. Finally, a prototype has been manufactured whose results agree well with those discussions issued from FEA as well as the proposed model.