W. N. Fu

A dynamic core loss model for soft ferromagnetic and power ferrite materials in transient finite element analysis

A dynamic core loss model is proposed to estimate core loss in both soft ferromagnetic and power ferrite materials with arbitrary flux waveforms. The required parameters are the standard core loss coefficients that are either directly provided by manufacturers or extracted from the loss curve associated with sinusoidal excitation. The model is applied to calculating core loss in both two-dimensional and three-dimensional transient finite element analysis, and the results are compared with measured data.

Relay Effect of Wireless Power Transfer Using Strongly Coupled Magnetic Resonances

Wireless power transfer using strongly coupled electromagnetic resonators is a recently explored technology. Although this technology is able to transmit electrical energy over a much longer distance than traditional near field methods, in some applications, its effective distance is still insufficient. In this paper, we investigate a relay effect to extend the energy transfer distance. Theoretical analysis is performed based on a set of coupled-mode equations. Experiments are conducted to confirm the theoretical results and demonstrate the effectiveness of the relay approach. Our results show that the efficiency of power transfer can be improved significantly using one or more relay resonators. This approach significantly improves the performance of the present two-resonator system and allows a curved path in space to be defined for wireless power transfer using smaller resonators.

Modeling of solid conductors in two-dimensional transient finite-element analysis and its application to electric machines

We present an approach for directly coupling transient magnetic fields and electric circuits. The circuit can contain arbitrarily connected solid conductors located in the magnetic field region. A systematic procedure suitable for both nodal method and loop method is used to couple fields and circuits. The structures of the system equations of the two methods are analogous. The formulations allow the equations in stranded windings and solid conductors to be unified and the coefficient matrix of the system equations to be symmetrical. In order to reduce the solution domain, the periodic boundary conditions are still applicable when the solid conductors are involved. Our approach has been applied to the simulation of electric machines. We give four examples: 1) calculation of the input phase current and output torque when a single-phase induction motor with shaded rings is in locked-rotor operation; 2) simulation of the sudden short circuit of a synchronous generator with starting cage; 3) study of the phase current waveform of an induction motor when the rotor bars are broken; and 4) investigation of the parasitic capacitive impact of the surge voltage on a winding due to drive switching and cable ring.

Numerical modeling of magnetic devices

We present a general approach to directly couple finite-element models with arbitrary electric circuits for application to electromagnetic devices. We describe both two-dimensional (2-D) and three-dimensional (3-D) transient finite-element models, with emphasis on 3-D using a T-/spl Omega/ formulation. For 3-D transient and circuit coupling, the derivation of the induced voltage is an integral part of the coupling approach, and the induced voltage links the magnetic field and the electrical circuit together. The system of electric circuits is created automatically. Then graph theory is used to deduce the circuit by tree/cotree and loop analysis. The resulting field equations and circuit equations are coupled together and solved simultaneously at each time step in the time domain. We give three examples of applications: a brushless dc motor drive, a permanent-magnet synchronous motor drive, and a three-phase power transformer with rectifier and load circuit.

Quantitative Comparison of Novel Vernier Permanent Magnet Machines

In this paper, a novel direct-drive double rotor Vernier panent magnet (DR-VPM) machine is proposed and analyzed. The key of the design is to incorporate two concentric rotors and the Vernier structure within one permanent magnet (PM) machine, while keeping the machine volume and slot number unchanged. The main merits of this proposed machine are its compact structure, improved torque density, reduced stator end winding length, and reduced copper loss. The operating principle of the machine is discussed and its steady and transient performances are analyzed using circuit-field-motion coupled time-stepping finite element method (CFM-TS-FEM). A dual-excitation PM Vernier (DE-VPM) machine and a single outer rotor PM Vernier (SR-VPM) machine are designed and compared with this proposed Vernier PM machine using CFM-TS-FEM. Comparison results as reported are used to confirm and validate the advantageous performance of the proposed machine.

A general cosimulation approach for coupled field-circuit problems

An indirect procedure to couple transient finite-element simulation with circuit simulation is proposed. The procedure is based on extracting lumped parameters from the field simulation and Norton equivalents from the circuit simulation. This approach provides more stability and accuracy because both winding currents and terminal voltages across coupling branches are free to change. It is also more flexible since the finite-element equations and the circuit equations are solved separately and allows complicated system level simulation

Design and Comparison of Vernier Permanent Magnet Machines

Vernier permanent magnet (VPM) machines can be utilized for direct drive applications by virtue of their high torque density and high efficiency. The purpose of this paper is to develop a general design guideline for split-slot low-speed VPM machines, generalize the operation principle, and illustrate the relationship among the numbers of the stator slots, coil poles, permanent magnet (PM) pole pairs, thereby laying a solid foundation for the design of various kinds of VPM machines. Depending on the PM locations, three newly designed VPM machines are reported in this paper and they are referred to as 1) rotor-PM Vernier machine, 2) stator-tooth-PM Vernier machine, and 3) stator-yoke-PM Vernier machine. The back-electromotive force (back-EMF) waveforms, static torque, and air-gap field distribution are predicted using time-stepping finite element method (TS-FEM). The performances of the proposed VPM machines are compared and reported.

A comprehensive approach to the solution of direct-coupled multislice model of skewed rotor induction motors using time-stepping eddy-current finite element method

Normally a complicated three-dimensional (3-D) approach is needed to study the field pattern of induction machines with skewed rotor bars. In this paper, a time-stepping two-dimensional (2-D) eddy-current finite element method, based on multislice technique, is described to study the steady-state operation and the starting process of skewed rotor induction machines. The fields of the multislices are being solved en bloc simultaneously, and thus, the effects of the eddy current and saturation can be taken into account directly. New forms of the governing equations for the multislice model are derived, which allow the meshes of multislices to be taken as one 2-D mesh so that the algorithm is very similar to that of general 2-D problems. Special techniques required for the mesh generation in the multislice model and the salient structures of the software are also described. The results obtained by using the program being developed have very good correlation with test data.

Quantitative Design and Analysis of Relay Resonators in Wireless Power Transfer System

Wireless power transfer systems are finding increasing applications which can enhance the living standard of the general public. Typical examples are wireless charging of mobile phone batteries and car batteries. Thanks to the advent of power electronics in the past few decades, some wireless charging systems are now emerging in the commercial sector. However, the transfer efficiency and transfer distance of these chargers are limiting the technology to a few specific applications only. In order to increase the transfer distance, some researchers have successfully proposed to use relay coils to improve their wireless power transfer efficiency. In this paper, the role of relay resonator is examined critically. The reported findings indicate that it is not always desirable to have relay coils in wireless charger as the relay resonator may increase, or sometimes reduce, the overall power transfer efficiency. The findings also reveal that there is an optimal position for the designer to locate the relay resonator to maximize the power transfer efficiency.

Optimization of Permanent Magnet Surface Shapes of Electric Motors for Minimization of Cogging Torque Using FEM

A novel algorithm which minimizes the cogging torque of surface-mounted permanent magnet (SPM) brushless motors by optimizing the surface profile of PM is presented. An efficient strategy for using finite element method (FEM) is proposed to calculate the cogging torque of PM motors with different PM shape designs. Compared with the use of general FEM, the computing time with this proposed method is significantly reduced, which is only 0.017% of that required by the former. Because of the considerable reduction of computing time in the magnetic field analysis of PM motors, it becomes feasible to use genetic algorithm (GA) to optimize the PM shape in order to realize cogging torque minimization. A numerical experiment is used to validate the proposed method.