| PIs: Hong-Ki Hong, Shuhui Li and Tim Haskew, University of Alabama.
Project Description: Proposed are two motor design concepts to reduce motor cost and torque ripple, and to improve power efficiency. Price of RE (rare earth) minerals are not steady as the supply of them are not stable. Therefore, the supply of RE-based PMSM at a stable price is of concern. In addition, the Curie temperature of RE-based permanent magnets is about 580K, which is close to the required minimum temperature (475K) of motor operation. Furthermore, the RE-based PMSM shows a comparatively high-torque ripple and operates only in a single highest-efficiency region for all drive cycles. The objectives of this project are to design an RE-free PM based Spoke-type PMSM and an efficiency-shifting PMSM, and test their performances using an integrated lumped parameter magnetic circuit (LPMC) model with a Simulink-based full HEV/EV model. Success of this project will lead to a RE-free PMSM with low cost, low torque ripple, high temperature tolerance and high-power efficiency. |