Optimal Rotor Design of Claw-Pole Alternator for Performance Improving

Abstract

Abstract: The subject of this paper is to optimize the design of conventional claw pole alternator for automotive industry, especially at idle speed.\xa0 Commonly, during idle speed, claw pole alternator isn’t able to sustain active electrical loads for a reasonable amount of time without excessive drain on the battery. Therefore, obtaining sufficient output power at idle speed is required.\xa0 The optimization process aims to improve alternator output power, at idle speed, for given stator dimensions and footprint. To derive the optimal rotor structure, cyclic coordinate method linked with magnetic equivalent circuit (MEC) model is used, including magnetic saturation effect and leakage flux. Optimization results, which provide the optimized rotor geometrical dimensions, are discussed. Performances regarding the optimized claw pole alternator are evaluated over the entire operating speed range of the vehicle.