IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ENERGY CONVERSION, VOL. 25, NO.

2, JUNE 2010 293

Winding Configurations and Optimal Stator and

Rotor Pole Combination of Flux-Switching PM
Brushless AC Machines
J. T. Chen, Member, IEEE, and Z. Q. Zhu, Fellow, IEEE

Abstract—A simple analytical method is developed to compare

the combinations of stator and rotor pole numbers in flux-switching
permanent magnet (PM) machines in terms of back electromotive
force (EMF) and electromagnetic torque. The winding connections
and winding factors of machines having all poles and alternate
poles wound, and different numbers of phases, from two to six,
are determined by the coil-EMF vectors. Their differences from
analyzing the conventional fractional-slot PM machines with con-
centrated nonoverlapping windings are highlighted. The general
conditions are established for balanced symmetrical back-EMF
waveform. It shows that the optimized rotor pole number should
be close to the number of stator poles, whereas larger torque
can be obtained by the machine with relatively higher rotor pole
number. The analysis is validated by finite-element analyses and
experiment.
Fig. 1. 12/10 stator/rotor pole FSPM machines. (a) All poles wound.
Index Terms—Brushless, flux-switching, permanent magnet (b) Alternate poles wound.
(PM), winding configuration.

I. INTRODUCTION
ECENTLY, permanent magnet (PM) brushless machines
R with concentrated nonoverlapping windings have been ex-
tensively investigated due to shorter end winding, and conse-
quently, higher torque density and efficiency than those with
overlapping windings. As a special type of such machines, the
fractional-slot PM machines are widely employed in many ap-
plications [1]–[12] such as servo-, spindle- and traction-drive
systems. However, the rotor eddy current loss, particularly in
the rotor magnets, in the conventional fractional-slot PM ma-
chines is usually high [13], [14], and their torque density is
often limited by the temperature rise of magnets on the ro-
tor due to its relatively poor thermal condition. Hence, other
kinds of machines with nonoverlapping windings, viz., the dou-
bly salient [15], flux-reversal [16], and flux-switching [17]–[19]
PM machines, are being considered and under extensive inves-
tigation. Their rotors are salient and robust without windings or
PMs, and are identical to that of switched reluctance machines.
Consequently, they are very robust. As the magnets are on the
stator, the temperature rise of the magnets may be more easily
managed [19].
The stator of a flux-switching PM (FSPM) machine com-
prises laminated “U”-shaped segments between which are sand-
Manuscript received March 17, 2009; revised April 25, 2009; accepted August
10, 2009. Date of publication November 24, 2009; date of current version May
21, 2010. Paper no. TEC-00062-2009.
The authors are with the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering,
University of Sheffield, Sheffield S1 3JD, U.K. (e-mail: j.chen@sheffield.ac.uk;
z.q.zhu@sheffield.ac.uk).
Color versions of one or more of the figures in this paper are available online
at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TEC.2009.2032633
0885-8969/$26.00 © 2009 IEEE
wiched circumferentially magnetized magnets of alternate po-
larity, while the nonoverlapping coils are wounded on the stator
pole that consists of a pair of stator teeth and one PM (see Fig. 1).
Compared to the conventional fractional-slot PM machine, the
slot area of the FSPM machine is reduced due to the magnets
being on the stator, but the flux focusing is utilized, and high
electromagnetic performance can be achieved [19]. Hence, the
FSPM machine is desirable for applications that require high
torque density, high speed, and easy thermal management, such
as automotive, aerospace, and wind power generation.
Although the electromagnetic performance of the FSPM ma-
chines is analyzed, existing papers are restricted to FSPM ma-
chines with specific combination of stator and rotor pole num-
bers, viz., 12/10 stator/rotor poles [18], [19]. There is no general
method that has been established regarding the winding config-
uration and optimal stator and rotor pole combinations. In this
paper, a simple analytical model is first developed and validated
by finite-element (FE) analyses and experiment to compare the
combinations of stator and rotor pole numbers in FSPM ma-
chines in terms of back electromotive force (EMF) and electro-
magnetic torque. The phase winding connections and winding
factors of FSPM machines having all poles and alternate poles
wound (see Fig. 1), and different numbers of phases, from two
to six, are determined based on the coil-EMF vectors, which,
as will be shown in the paper, due to alternate PM polarities
in the stator in FSPM machines, is different from the analysis
of conventional fractional-slot PM machines [5]. Although the
back EMF of single coil is asymmetric, feasible stator and rotor
pole number combinations for balanced symmetrical multiphase
back-EMF waveforms are identified. Finally, both analytical and
FE analyses are validated experimentally on prototype FSPM

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 294 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ENERGY CONVERSION, VOL. 25, NO. 2, JUNE 2010

of magnets, and the slot openings are equal [19], and high-
order permeance harmonics are ignored, the permeances can be
simplified as
 
(5 − 2k) Nr π
Psr k = P0 + P1 cos Nr θ0sr + ,
2Ns
k = 1, 2, 3, 4 (7)
where θ0sr is the relative position between the stator and rotor.
Fig. 2. Permeances between stator individual tooth and rotor. The maximum flux linkage of coil A1 is obtained when a rotor
tooth is aligned with the d-axis, i.e., θ0sr = π/2Nr . If the PM
flux is ϕm , the peak open-circuit flux per phase is given by
machines having 12 stator poles and 10 and 14 rotor poles,
respectively. 2ϕm
ϕa = kw ka (8)
σ0
II. ANALYTICAL OPTIMIZATION OF COMBINATION OF STATOR ϕm = Bm (Ro − Ri ) la (9)
AND ROTOR POLE NUMBERS
where kw is the winding factor, σ0 is a leakage flux factor, Bm is
There are a lot of feasible combinations of stator and rotor the working flux density of magnets, Ro and Ri are the inner and
pole numbers in multiphase FSPM machines, viz., outer radii of the stator, la is the active length of the machine,
Ns = k1 m, k1 = 1, 2, . . . (1) and ka is a factor which will be detailed later. The torque can
be obtained by
Nr = Ns ± k2 , k2 = 1, 2, . . . (2)
3 2Bm (Ro − Ri ) la
where Ns and Nr are the number of stator and rotor poles, T = Na kw Iq Nr ka . (10)
2 σ0
respectively, and m is the number of phases. k1 is an integer
number when m is an even number, but k1 should be an even In the design, the stator tooth width, the magnet circumferen-
number when m is an odd number, since the number of stator tial thickness, and the stator slot opening are usually made to be
poles must be even, which is different from the conventional equal, and the rotor pole width should be greater than the stator
fractional-slot PM machines [12]. tooth width, while the split ratio of the stator bore diameter to
In order to obtain high torque density and high efficiency, the stator outer diameter can be optimized in order to maximize
the optimal combination of stator and rotor pole numbers must the torque density [19].
be determined. In FSPM machines, the reluctance torque is Hence, when the parameters of the stator are fixed, the torque
negligible [19]. Assuming sinusoidal flux linkage, back EMF, constant is proportional to Nr ka , viz.,
 
and current waveforms, the electromagnetic torque of an FSPM Psr 3 Psr 2
brushless ac machine is given by kT ∝ Nr ka = Nr − . (11)
Psr 3 + Psr 4 Psr 1 + Psr 2
3 3 In general, P0 ≈ P1 . Consequently, the factor ka can be ob-
T = Nr ψPM Iq = Nr Na ϕa Iq = kT Iq (3)
2 2 tained and is only dependent on the number of stator and rotor
where poles, i.e.,
3Nr Na ϕa  
kT = (4)
1 1 + sin (−1)i (Nr π/2Ns )
2 ka = (−1)i  .
and ψPM is the PM flux linkage, Iq is the q-axis current, Na is i=0 2 + 2 cos (Nr π/2Ns ) sin (−1)i (Nr π/Ns )
the number of turns per phase, ϕa is the peak value of the flux (12)
that links a coil, and kT is the torque constant. From (12), it can be seen that ka is only related to the num-
In order to obtain the torque, the permeance Psr between a ber of rotor poles Nr and the number of stator poles Ns . Since
single stator tooth and the complete rotor can be written as Nr ka is proportional to the back EMF, and consequently, the

torque constant kT , it can be used to compare the relative torque
Psr (θsr ) = P0 + Pv cos (Nr vθsr ) (5)
capability of alternate machine designs having different com-
v =1,3,5,...
binations of stator and rotor pole numbers. For example, the
where Pv is the magnitude of the vth permeance harmonic and magnitude variation of back EMF in one coil with the number
θsr is the angle between the stator tooth and a rotor tooth. of rotor pole in the 12-stator pole FSPM machine, whose ma-
Hence, the permeances between the individual stator tooth and jor design parameters are given in Appendix I (see Table I), is
the complete rotor, as illustrated in Fig. 2, can be obtained as predicted by the analytical method and is compared with that
predicted by 2-D FE analyses (see Fig. 3). It clearly shows the
Psr k = Psr (θsr k ) , k = 1, 2, 3, 4 (6)
variation trend of the torque capability with the number of ro-
where θsr k is the angle between the stator tooth and one of the tor poles. As can be seen from Fig. 3, the maximum torque
rotor teeth. When the width of the stator teeth, the thickness is obtained when the rotor pole number is close to the stator

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 CHEN AND ZHU: WINDING CONFIGURATIONS AND OPTIMAL STATOR AND ROTOR POLE COMBINATION
Fig. 3. Variation of peak back EMF in one coil with number of rotor teeth in
12-stator pole FSPM machine.
pole number, similar to the conventional fractional-slot PM ma-
chines [12].
The developed simple analytical model and (12) can be em-
ployed to analyze the FSPM machines having either all poles
wound or alternate poles wound (see Fig. 1).
III. COIL-EMF VECTORS AND CONNECTIONS
The coil connection in an FSPM machine can be determined
from the coil-EMF vectors. For example, as shown in Fig. 4(a),
for 12-stator pole machines with all and alternate poles wound,
Fig. 4(b) illustrates the stator coil positions in mechanical de-
grees. In order to obtain the coil-EMF vectors in electrical de-
grees, the electrical degrees αe between two vectors can be
derived from the mechanical degrees αm as
αe = Nr αm .
It should be noted that the rotor pole number in an FSPM ma-
chine is equivalent to the number of pole pairs of rotor magnets
in a conventional fractional-slot PM machine. The electrical fre-
quency f in the FSPM machines is proportional to the number
of rotor poles, viz.,
Nr nr
f=
60
where nr is the rotating speed of the rotor (revolution per
minute).
Hence, Figs. 5(a) and 6(a) show the corresponding coil-EMF
vectors in electrical degrees for 13- and 14-rotor pole machines
with all and alternate poles wound. Coils n and n are of oppo-
site polarity, accounting for alternate magnetization directions
in stator poles, for example, coils 1 and 2. However, for the
FSPM machines with alternate poles wound, the magnetization
direction is the same for all the coils, coil n will not appear in
the coil-EMF vectors [see Figs. 5(II-a) and 6(II-a)].
The methods for determining phase coils are different when
the number of phases is odd or 2 and even numbers excluding
2. They are described separately as follows.
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295
Fig. 4. 12-pole stator of FSPM machine. (a) Schematic of 12-stator poles and
coils. (b) Stator coils (mechanical degree).
A. Odd Number of Phases Including Two Phases
In order to obtain the highest winding factor, the coil vectors
or their opposite vectors for the same phase should be as close
as possible, i.e., with minimum phase angle difference. Hence,
the coils for one phase can be determined by drawing two oppo-
site sectors that contain 2π/m radians, viz., each of the sectors
(13) contains π/m radians. Figs. 5(a) and 6(a) show the sectors in
dash lines in three-phase, 12/13 and 12/14 stator/rotor pole ma-
chines with all and alternate poles wound. The coil-EMF vectors
within the sectors belong to the same phase, and the vectors in
the opposite sector should be connected with opposite polarity.
For other phases, two opposite sectors are rotated by 2nπ/m
(n = 1, 2, . . ., m−1) radians, and the corresponding phase coils
can also be determined [see Figs. 5(b) and 6(b)]. Similarly, the
EMF vectors and phase coils for the 12/10 and 12/11 stator/rotor
(14) pole FSPM machines can be obtained, and the only difference
in coil connections between 10- and 14-rotor pole machines or
between 11- and 13-rotor pole machines is the interchange of
phases B and C, which will be not shown here in order to avoid
duplication.
It should be mentioned that each coil-EMF vector has an op-
posite vector in the same phase for the 13- and 14-rotor pole ma-
chines with all poles wound and the 13-rotor pole machine with
alternate poles wound [see Fig. 5(II-a)], while it has no opposite
vector in the 14-rotor pole machine with alternate poles wound
[see Fig. 6(II-a)]. Since the back-EMF waveform of individual
coil exhibits even-order harmonics in the FSPM machines [20],
the even-order harmonics are cancelled in the resultant back
EMF of the vector and its opposite vector. Hence, the 14-rotor
pole machine with alternate poles wound exhibits asymmetric
 296
Fig. 5. 12/13 stator/rotor pole FSPM machine. (a) EMF vectors (electrical
degree) and sectors for determining phase coils (dash lines). (b) Phase coils.
(c) Illustration of coil connections.
back EMF waveform, while other machines present symmetrical
back EMF waveforms.
Similarly, the EMF vectors and phase coils of a two-phase,
8/7 stator/rotor pole and a two-phase, 20/19 stator/rotor pole
machines are illustrated in Fig. 7.
B. Even Number of Phases Excluding Two Phases
When the number of phases is even number excluding 2,
the foregoing two opposite sectors belong to different phases.
The phase coils can be determined by drawing one sector that
contains 2π/m radians. The sector for determining phase coils
of a four-phase, 16/15 stator/rotor pole and a six-phase, 24/23
stator/rotor pole FSPM machines are illustrated in Fig. 8. Again,
the coils for the other phases can be obtained by rotating the
sector by 2nπ/m (n = 1, 2, . . ., m−1) radians. Similarly, the
machines exhibit asymmetric phase back-EMF waveforms, viz.,
even-order harmonics. The symmetrical back EMF waveforms
can be obtained by doubling the number of stator and rotor poles,
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IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ENERGY CONVERSION, VOL. 25, NO. 2, JUNE 2010
Fig. 6. 12/14 stator/rotor pole FSPM machine. (a) EMF vectors (electrical
degree) and sectors for determining phase coils (dash lines). (b) Phase coils.
(c) Illustration of coil connections.
viz., the new phase A consists of phases A and C, as shown in
Fig. 8(a) for the four-phase machines.
IV. WINDING FACTORS
A. Distribution Factor
The calculation method for the distribution factor of FSPM
machine is detailed here. The distribution factor kd can be given
by [6]
sin(Qvα/2)
kd = (15)
Q sin(vα/2)
where Q is the number of least EMF vectors per phase, α is
the angle between two adjacent vectors, and v is the order of
harmonic.
This can also be employed to calculate the distribution factors
in FSPM machines. Hence, the distribution factor in FSPM
machine can be calculated if Q and α are obtained, which is
determined by the number of stator poles, rotor poles, phases,
 CHEN AND ZHU: WINDING CONFIGURATIONS AND OPTIMAL STATOR AND ROTOR POLE COMBINATION 297

Hence, as expected, some EMF harmonics will be reduced,

but the amplitude of fundamental EMF is slightly reduced in
the 12/11 and 12/13 stator/rotor pole machines. However, the
distribution factor is 1 for the 12/10 and 12/14 stator/rotor pole
machines.

B. Pitch Factor
In the FSPM machines, the single-coil back EMF is the vector
sum of two adjacent slot conductors, whose angular difference
θc can be obtained for the vth back-EMF harmonic as
 
 Nr 
θc = 2πv  − 1 . (17)
Ns
Furthermore, the coil pitch factor of the vth harmonic can be
calculated as follows:
  
θc Nr
kp = cos = cos πv −1 . (18)
2 Ns
Hence, the winding factor kw can be obtained by
kw = kd kp . (19)

Fig. 7. EMF and phase coil vectors ( electrical degree) of two- and five-phase
The winding factors of the FSPM machines with different
FSPM machines. (a) Two-phase, 8/7 stator/rotor poles (Q = 2 and α = 45◦ ). combination of stator pole and rotor pole numbers are calculated
(b) Five-phase, 20/19 stator/rotor poles (Q = 2 and α = 18◦ ). for machines having two- to six-phases, as listed in Appendix II.

V. CONDITIONS FOR SYMMETRICAL BACK-EMF WAVEFORM

It should be noted that for FSPM machines, the flux linkage
and back-EMF waveforms of a single coil may be asymmetric
(e.g., different in the positive and negative half cycles [19],
[20]), as mentioned earlier. However, symmetrical phase flux
linkage and back-EMF waveforms can be achieved by choosing
an appropriate combination of stator and rotor pole numbers,
according to the foregoing analysis. In this case, the number of
coils per phase should be even in order that the machine can be
designed such that phase winding comprises one or more pairs
of coils having a phase shift of 180 electrical degrees between
the coils.
The angular difference between two coils in any one phase
is given by 2πNr npp /Ns electrical degrees, where npp is the
number of stator pole-pitches between the two coils. Therefore,
in order to realize a phase shift of 180 electrical degrees between
the two coils, the following condition should be satisfied:
Nr
2π npp = (2k3 − 1) π (20)
Ns
where k3 is an integer. Equation (20) can be rewritten as
Fig. 8. EMF and phase coil vectors ( electrical degree) of four- and six-phase
FSPM machines. (a) Four-phase, 16/15 stator/rotor poles (Q = 4 and α = Nr 2k3 − 1 Nr odd numerator
22.5◦ ). (b) Six-phase, 24/23 stator/rotor poles (Q = 4 and α = 15◦ ).
= , i.e., = .
Ns 2npp Ns even denominator
(21)
and the foregoing coil connections. For example, in the 12/11
Hence, in order to obtain symmetrical phase back-EMF wave-
and 12/13 stator/rotor pole FSPM machines with all poles wound
forms, the number of stator poles and rotor poles must satisfy
[see Fig. 5(I-b)], Q = 2 and α = 30◦ , and their fundamental
distribution factor can be calculated by Ns
= even number (22)
HCF(Ns and Nr )
sin((2 × 30)/2)
kd = = 0.966. (16)
2sin(30/2) where HCF is the highest common factor.

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 298 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ENERGY CONVERSION, VOL. 25, NO. 2, JUNE 2010

In addition, when the number of phase m is odd or 2, the

two coils having a phase shift of 180 electrical degrees can be
connected in series and employed by the same phase to obtain
a symmetrical back-EMF waveform. However, when m is even
number excluding 2, the two coils having a phase shift of 180
electrical degrees may be employed by two different phases.
In this case, in order to obtain a symmetrical phase back-EMF
waveform, each phase must have a pair of such coils and both
Ns and Nr must be even numbers.
Therefore, the relationship between the stator and rotor pole
numbers for balanced symmetrical back-EMF waveforms in all-
poles-wound FSPM machines having any phase number m can
be deduced as follows.
When m is odd number or 2
Ns
= 2jm, j = 1, 2, 3, . . . . (23)
HCF(Ns and Nr )
When m is even number excluding 2, both Ns and Nr must be
even numbers, and
Ns /2
= jm, j = 1, 2, 3, . . . . (24)
HCF(Ns /2 and Nr /2)
For alternate-poles-wound FSPM machines, the relationship
between the stator and rotor pole numbers for symmetrical and
balanced back-EMF waveforms can be obtained as follows.
When m is odd number or 2 Fig. 9. Phase coils of 12-stator pole FSPM machines. (a) 13-rotor poles.
(b) 14-rotor poles.
Ns
= 4jm, j = 1, 2, 3, . . . . (25)
HCF(Ns and Nr )
When m is even number excluding 2
Ns /2
= 2jm, j = 1, 2, 3, . . . . (26)
HCF(Ns /2 and Nr /2)
Therefore, when the number of stator poles is 12, similar to
the cases of 10-rotor pole, 11-, 13-, and 14-rotor pole, all-poles-
wound machines also exhibit symmetrical and balanced three-
phase flux linkage and back-EMF waveforms. But in 12-stator
pole machines having alternate poles wound, three-phase flux
linkage and back-EMF waveforms with 10- and 14-rotor pole
will be asymmetric, while those with 11- and 13-rotor pole are
symmetrical. For example, Fig. 9 shows the open-circuit field
distributions and phase coils of the 13- and 14-rotor pole ma-
chines with all poles wound and alternate poles wound, whose
major design parameters are given in the Appendix I. There are
four coils for phase A, viz., 1, 2 , 7 , and 8 in the 13-rotor pole
machine and 1, 4, 7, and 10 in the 14-rotor pole machine with all
poles wound, according to the foregoing analysis of coil connec-
tion, and their back-EMF waveforms and spectra are obtained
by FE analyses and are shown in Figs. 10 and 11. Although, the
flux linkage and back-EMF waveforms of the coils 1 and 7 or 2
and 8 in the 13-rotor pole machine and the coils 1 and 4 or 7 and
10 in the 14-rotor pole machine are different due to the different
relative position (180 electrical degrees phase shift) between the
stator poles and rotor poles, the resultant waveforms are sym-
metrical. It can be seen from the spectra of back EMFs that the
back-EMF waveform of an individual coil is asymmetric in both
machines, i.e., with even-order harmonics. However, the even-
Fig. 10. Back-EMF of 12/13 stator/rotor pole FSPM machines, 400 r/min.
order harmonics in individual coils are cancelled in the resultant (a) Waveforms. (b) Spectra.

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 CHEN AND ZHU: WINDING CONFIGURATIONS AND OPTIMAL STATOR AND ROTOR POLE COMBINATION 299

Fig. 12. Comparison of phase back EMF waveforms of 12-stator pole FSPM
Fig. 11. Back EMF of 12/14 stator/rotor pole FSPM machines, 400 r/min. machines, 400 r/min. (a) All poles wound. (b) Alternate poles wound.
(a) Waveforms. (b) Spectra.

phase back EMF of all-poles-wound machines. In addition, both

all-poles-wound machines exhibit negligible fifth and seventh
harmonic back EMF, and consequently, negligible torque ripple
excepting cogging torque. The third harmonic back EMF exists
in the 13-rotor pole machine, but does not exist in the 14-rotor
pole machine due to the coil pitch factor of the third harmonic
that can be calculated as follows (18).
For the 10- and 14-rotor pole machines
θc 180◦
cos = cos = 0. (27)
2 2
For the 11- and 13-rotor pole machines
θc 90◦
cos = cos = 0.707. (28) Fig. 13. Torque–current density characteristic of 12-stator pole FSPM
2 2 machines.
Hence, the third harmonic back EMF is zero in the 10- and
14-rotor pole machines.
stator pole and 12-rotor pole machine with the same number of
However, for the machines with alternate poles wound, the
phase turns.
resultant back EMF is symmetrical in the 13-rotor pole ma-
chine and asymmetric in the 14-rotor pole machine (see Fig. 12),
VI. COMPARISON AND VALIDATION
which validates the conditions for symmetrical back-EMF wave-
form, viz., (25). It is worth to mention that 10- and 11-rotor pole The electromagnetic torque of the 10-, 11-, 13-, and 14-rotor
machines have the same results as the foregoing analyses of pole FSPM machines, whose main design parameters are given
14- and 13-rotor pole machines, respectively. For comparison, in Appendix I, having equal magnet width, slot opening, stator
Fig. 12 also shows the back-EMF waveforms of one-phase, 12- tooth width, and rotor pole width, are analyzed by the 2-D FE

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 300
Fig. 14. Photos of prototype 12/10- and 12/14 stator/rotor pole FSPM ma-
chines. (a) All poles wound 12-pole stator. (b) Alternate poles wound 12-pole
stator. (c) 10-pole rotor. (d) 14-pole rotor.
Fig. 15. Back EMF waveforms of 12/10 and 12/14 stator/rotor pole prototype
FSPM machines, 400 rpm. (a) All poles wound. (b) Alternate poles wound.
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IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ENERGY CONVERSION, VOL. 25, NO. 2, JUNE 2010
method and compared in Fig. 13. The 13- and 14-rotor pole
machines exhibit similar torque capability, both being larger
than those of the 10- and 11-rotor pole machines.
Further, the 12/10 and 12/14 stator/rotor pole machines with
all and alternate poles wound are built, as shown in Fig. 14. Their
back-EMF waveforms are measured and compared with those
predicted by FE analyses (see Fig. 15). As can be seen, both
all-poles-wound machines exhibit sinusoidal back-EMF wave-
forms. However, the back-EMF waveforms of the alternate-
poles-wound machines are asymmetric, which validates the
foregoing analyses. The measured back EMFs are smaller than
those predicted by 2-D FE analyses due to end-effect [21]. It
confirms that the 14-rotor pole machine exhibits much larger
back-EMF than that of the 10-rotor pole machine. Consequently,
it also exhibits larger torque. This further validates the analytical
results shown in Fig. 3.
VII. CONCLUSION
A simple analytical method is developed and validated by
the FE analyses and experiment to compare the combinations
of stator and rotor pole numbers in terms of back EMF and
electromagnetic torque. The winding connections and winding
factors of machines having all poles and alternate poles wound,
and different numbers of phases, from two to six, are determined
by the coil-EMF vectors. The general conditions are established
for balanced symmetrical back-EMF waveform. It shows that
the optimized rotor pole number should be close to the number of
stator pole, while larger torque can be obtained by the machine
with relatively higher rotor pole number.
APPENDIX I
The major design parameters of the prototype machine are
given in Table I.
TABLE I
MAJOR PARAMETERS OF THREE-PHASE, 12-STATOR POLE FSPM MACHINES
APPENDIX II
COMBINATIONS OF STATOR AND ROTOR POLE NUMBERS
AND WINDING FACTORS
For two- to six-phase FSPM machines with all poles wound
and alternate poles wound, the key combinations of stator and ro-
tor pole numbers are listed in Table II. All the machines present
high distribution factor that reduces with the increase of stator
pole numbers when the number of phases is even. However, the
pitch factor increases with the increase of the stator pole num-
bers. When the stator pole number ≥12, the machines exhibit
high pitch factor, and consequently, high winding factor, since
the distribution factor is high.
It should be noted that the machine having Nr = Ns ± 1
exhibits potential unbalanced magnetic force due to odd number
of rotor poles, which can be eliminated by employing Nr =
 CHEN AND ZHU: WINDING CONFIGURATIONS AND OPTIMAL STATOR AND ROTOR POLE COMBINATION 301

TABLE II
WINDING FACTORS OF KEY COMBINATIONS OF STATOR AND ROTOR POLE
NUMBERS IN MULTIPHASE FSPM MACHINES

Fig. 16. Duplex three-phase, 12-stator pole, and 13-rotor pole machine.

Ns ± 2. However, only when (23)–(26) are satisfied, the back-

EMF waveform will be symmetrical. The winding factor kw in
some machines can be increased by employing alternate poles
wound. In addition, the back-EMF waveforms and kw in some
six-phase machines can be improved by using duplex three-
phase, as shown in Fig. 16.

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Z. Q. Zhu (M’90–SM’00–F’09) received the B.Eng.
and the M.Sc. degrees in electrical and electronic
engineering from Zhejiang University, Hangzhou,
China, in 1982 and 1984, respectively, and the Ph.D.
degree in electrical and electronic engineering from
the University of Sheffield, Sheffield, U.K., in 1991.
From 1984 to 1988, he was a Lecturer in the
Department of Electrical Engineering, Zhejiang Uni-
versity. Since 1988, he has been with the Univer-
sity of Sheffield, where he was initially a Research
Associate and later became a Senior Research Offi-
cer/Senior Research Scientist. Since 2000, he has been a Professor of electrical
machines and control systems with the Department of Electronic and Electrical
Engineering, University of Sheffield, and is currently the Head of the Electrical
Machines and Drives Research Group. His research interests include design and
control of permanent magnet brushless machines and drives for applications
ranging from automotive and aerospace to renewable energy.

J. T. Chen (M’09) received the B.Eng. and the M.Sc.

degrees in electrical engineering from Huazhong Uni-
versity of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China, in
2001 and 2004, respectively. He is currently work-
ing toward the Ph.D. degree in the Department of
Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of
Sheffield, Sheffield, U.K., where he has been engaged
in the design and analysis of novel permanent magnet
brushless machines for automotive application.
From 2004 to 2006, he was an Engineer with Delta
Electronics Co., Ltd., Shanghai.

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