Abstract
This paper investigates the application of anisotropic low-coercive force (LCF) magnets to a novel variable-flux spoke-type permanent magnet synchronous motor (VFS-PMSM) for electrical vehicles with a wide speed range. In the VFS-PMSM, flux is regulated by swiveling the magnetization of the anisotropic LCF magnets instead of directly magnetizing or demagnetizing them. The previously proposed VFS-PMSM uses only isotropic LCF magnets for easily swiveling the magnetic pole direction, resulting in lower torque density. The challenge thus lies in the feasibility to swivel the magnetic pole direction of the anisotropic LCF magnet, and the impact of the different magnetization strengths of the anisotropic magnets on the motor performance. This paper first studies the feasibility to swivel the magnetization direction of anisotropic LCF magnets through experiments. It is confirmed that the magnetization direction can be successfully swiveled by 90 degrees with a reduced external magnetizing field. Then, two VFS-PMSM topologies and various rotor configurations are compared in terms of key performance indices to determine critical sizing factors for performance enhancement. Finite element analysis is used for simulations. In comparison with the VFS-PMSM equipped with isotropic LCF magnets, the maximum torque of the proposed topology can be improved for the same flux adjustment ability. Alternatively, the flux adjustment ability can also be enhanced by 37.43% for the same maximum torque.