Calculation of PM Vernier Motors Using an Improved Air-Gap Permeance Function

This paper proposes a more convenient and more accurate air-gap permeance function for the calculation of the air-gap flux density of flux modulation machines with permanent magnets (PMs). First, we review the previous air-gap permeance obtained from the approximated linear model and explain the problem that the accuracy of calculation becomes worse as the magnet thickness becomes larger. To solve this problem, we introduce an equivalent model that reflects the actual cylindrical structure of the machine with slots and, then, derives the air-gap function that is easy to be converted into the Fourier series, and finally propose the new air-gap permeance function. Using the proposed permeance function, the working harmonic components in the air-gap flux density of the surface magnet vernier motor are easily predicted, and then additional characteristics as well as flux density are compared with the finite-element simulation results to check the validity of the proposed method.