Author: Jordan Kilmartin
Kilmartin, Jordan, 2016 Effects of the Pole-Slot Combination on a Surface Permanent Magnet Generator for Wind Applications, Flinders University, School of Computer Science, Engineering and Mathematics
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This paper discusses the design and analysis of a 1 kW, outer-rotor, surface permanent magnet
generator for household wind turbine applications. Five machine designs are presented with
differing pole numbers. The designs are studied in detail using finite element analysis. Analysis
includes the open circuit operation of the machine as well as loaded conditions. The loads
considered are a three-phase resistive load, a rectifier with resistive load, and a rectifier with a
battery load. The study measures generator characteristics such as flux density, back-emf,
cogging torque, ripple torque, output power, total harmonic distortion, and losses. The results of
the analysis are used to correlate the pole-slot combination and the output characteristics of the
permanent magnet generator. The analysis is performed using ANSYS RMXprt, ANSYS Maxwell
2D/3D, and ANSYS Simplorer. The final 18-slot, 20-pole design offers high efficiency with low
cogging torque. The machine can provide 1.4 kW to a 48V battery at the rated speed of 200 rpm.
As a standalone chapter, a Fisher & Paykel SmartDrive outer-rotor, direct-drive motor was
salvaged and converted into a generator. Preliminary analysis and testing are performed on the
converted motor. The experimental results in this section are limited.
Keywords: Pole-Slot Combination, PMG, Permanent Magnet Generator, Wind Turbine, SmartDrive, Radial-Flux, FEA, ANSYS Maxwell
Subject: Engineering thesis
Thesis type: Masters
Completed: 2016
School: School of Computer Science, Engineering and Mathematics
Supervisor: Amin Mahmoudi