Analysis and Design Optimization of a Coaxial Surface-Mounted Permanent-Magnet Magnetic Gear

• Main Authors: Xiaoxu Zhang, Xiao Liu, Chao Wang, Zhe Chen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2014-12-01
• Series: Energies
• Subjects: analytical calculation; design optimization; magnetic gear; material cost; particle swarm optimization (PSO); torque capability
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/7/12/8535

This paper presents the analysis and design optimization of a coaxial surface-mounted permanent-magnet magnetic gear. The magnetic field distribution in the coaxial magnetic gear is calculated analytically in the polar coordinate system and then validated by the finite element method (FEM). The analytical field solution allows the prediction of the magnetic torque, which is formulated as a function of design parameters. The impacts of key design parameters on the torque capability are then studied and some significant observations are summarized. Furthermore, the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm is employed to optimize the studied magnetic gear. Given that the torque capability and material cost conflict with each other, both of them are set as the optimization objectives in this paper. Different weight factors may be chosen for the two objectives so that more attention can be placed on one or another. The results shows that the highest torque density of 157 kNm/m3 is achieved with the consideration focusing on the torque capability only, then the highest torque per permanent magnet (PM) consumption could be improved to 145 Nm/kg by taking the material cost into account. By synthesizing the torque capability and material cost, a 124 kNm/m3 of torque density and a 128 Nm/kg of torque per PM consumption could be achieved simultaneously by the optimal design.