Magnetic Equivalent Circuit Modeling and Design of Permanent Magnet Synchronous Machines with Distributed Windings in Axial–Radial Rotor Configuration

In order to increase the torque of the permanent magnet synchronous machine (PMSM), this paper proposes a novel strategy focusing on the new concept of an additional rotor—referred to as the axial rotor—to effectively utilize the space in PMSMs with distributed windings while preserving the conventional stator slot geometry and winding configuration. Unlike the main radial rotor, which employs radially magnetized permanent magnets (PMs), the proposed axial rotor-based technique uses axially magnetized PMs to highly enhance the magnetic field within the air gap, leading to increased torque output as well as well-suited for transportation applications for transportation sector applications. Moreover, this paper develops a magnetic equivalent circuit (MEC) model so as to facilitate faster design iterations and reduce computational effort as well. The accuracy of the proposed model is validated through Finite Element (FE) analysis and also the proposed design strategy is compared with other configurations. Experimental results further validate the effectiveness of the proposed structure.