Analysis of the Yokeless And Segmented Armature

Machine
T.J. Woolmer, M.D. McCulloch
Oxford University, Engineering Department
Parks Road, Oxford, UK
OXI 3PJ
Abstract-This paper presents a new type of axial flux motor, the densities and efficiencies that their radial flux counterparts [2].
Yokeless And Segmented Armature (YASA) topology. The YASA Furthermore, the AFPM machine typically has a large aspect
motor has no stator yoke, a high fill factor and short end ratio which makes them of suitable dimensions for packaging
windings which all increase torque density and efficiency of the in, or close to, each ofthe vehicle wheels. However, axial flux
machine. Thus, the topology is highly suited for high machines appear in the literature in many different topological
performance applications. The LIFEcar project is aimed at
prdcigte
producing oldsfrs
the world's ydoe sotscr
first hydrogen an the
sports car, and th first
is forms, see Fig. 1 for two examples, as discussed by Aydin [3].
Thsidutoanmeofifrntlxpthpin,culd
YASA motors have been developed specifically for the vehicle.
The stator segments have been made using powdered iron
th different fluxations,
with differentwindig andmagnet configurations.
material which enables the machine to be run up to 300Hz. The
iron in the stator of the YASA motor is dramatically reduced
when compared to other axial flux motors, typically by 50%,
causing an overall increase in torque density of around 20%. A
detailed Finite Element analysis (FEA) analysis of the YASA
machine is presented and it is shown that the motor has a peak
efficiency of over 95%.
I. INTRODUCTION
The Yokeless And Segmented Armature (YASA) topology
is a new type of axial flux motor that shows a step change
improvement in torque density and efficiency when compared (a) (b)
to other axial flux motors. The topology is based around a
series of magnetically separated segments that form the stator Fig. 1. (a) Internal rotor Axial Flux machine (b) Torus Axial Flux machine.
of the machine. The novel motor design is made possible by
using powdered iron materials [1] that enable complex A study undertaken by Huang [4] compares the
magnetic parts to be manufactured easily. performance of two of the best performing axial flux
The motors have been developed for the LIFEcar project machines, the NS Torus-S (lap) and the NN Torus-S topology.
whose aim is to produce the world's first hydrogen sports car. Huang observes that the NS Torus-S (lap) topology, Fig. 2(a)
The specific goals of the project are to create a "fun to drive" has a short stator yoke, increasing power density and reducing
vehicle without compromising on efficiency. The specification losses. However, a lap winding must be used for torque to be
for the LIFEcar project is four 300V drives that produce a generated. Thus, the machine suffers from a poor fill factor
peak torque of 360Nm and a top rotational speed of 1200 rpm. and long end-windings which increases the outer diameter of
A 3:1 gearbox is being used on the output of each motor, so the machine resulting in reduced power density and increased
the peak toque and speed demand of the motors is 120Nm and losses.
3600rpm. These specifications have been chosen to enable the On the other hand, the NN Torus-S topology, Fig. 2(b)
vehicle to have impressive acceleration and regenerative requires a large stator yoke to handle the flux from both rotors
breaking capabilities. which increases losses and reduces power density. However, a
This paper begins with an overview of axial flux machines. back-to-back winding with high fill factor can be employed.
The YASA topology is then presented and its design applied This greatly reduces the protrusion of the end windings which
to the LIFEcar project. The LIFEcar YASA motor is then increases the power density and efficiency of the NN Torus-S
analysed using FEA to gain an accurate understanding of the type machine.
electromagnet losses in the machine.
II. AXIAL FLUX MACHINES
It is recognised in the literature that Axial Flux Permanent
Magnet (AFPM) machines usually have higher torque

1 -4244-0743-5/07/$20.OO ©2007 IEEE 704

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3 parts: 2 shoes and central bar. The parts were bonded 1.6 _
together and wound to create the stator segments shown in 14 Aig9at
Fig. 4. 1.2
The static design of the LIFEcar motor was undertaken
using firstly sizing equations, and then refined using static -0.8
FEA. The FEA showed that an outer diameter of 204mm was 0.6
required to give 120Nm of torque. Kr (the ratio of outer to 04
inner diameter) has been chosen as 2/3 [6] so the inner 02
diameter is 136mm. The 10 pole 12 tooth configuration was 00 60 120 180 240 300 36'0
chosen to optimise weight and performance [6]. The electrical Mechanicaldegrees
machine parameters are shown in Table 1. 2(5
Fig. 5 shows the flux densities within the motor during no Stator Batpekcrorent
load and peak load conditions. The no load air gap flux 2
density is just over 1T, which has been achieved by using 15
large NdFeB magnets. The motor bars have been designed to
carry a no load flux of 1.5T, as shown in Fig. 4b. At peak load
the flux density within the bars increases to 1.8T, but stays
within the 2T saturation limit of the SMC material. 0V5
SulfaceContuis:BMOD I ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~~~~0
60 ~ ~~
120 Mehniadere 240 300 360

(b)
2 OOOGOOF,000 Fig. 6. Flux densities within the YASA motor (a) air gap (b) in the stator bars
at peak load and no load

Machine
1B.k 05° Losses -Static Analysis
^ iMachine losses complex function of speed and
................ ii

are a
|,..._....X torque. Electromagnetic losses occur in two ways: magnetic
..hysteresis and 12R losses. The 12R can be broken down into
r.CBEMO003F-COO ;o - ~ r-r r~n ~ iEtwo distinct groups, losses in the motor coils and induced eddy
........... SS n~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~........

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lllllllll
from
l- the estimated
mseasurTed coil resistance and hthe torque-current
resitaneof phsRf analysis.~ acieat5o
1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~profile
[jOOE: ofthe motor from the static

WO MH fromlll g tis 0.054Q. Using the estimated current densities required to

achieve different values for torque, the copper losses for three
4 268740E-03

(a) torque conditions are given in Table 1.-

Su- contur:
... BMhOD ]
TABLE II
2;OOOOOOE-000 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~OPPER
LOSSES
Torque (Nm) Total Current (A) Loss (W)
10 13.6 10.0
1 ~~~500000E,000 ~~~~~~~40 54.4 159.9
50 1 Y '< 1120 163.3 1439.4

|.O tZO O-0 0 a

magnetic hysteresis
;The
static analysis
losses
can also be used to calculate the
using a combination of simulation
03nGE]51 W~ 0 D results and information about the materials from the
5A00000E ~~~~~~~~001 ~~manufacturer. Te hsteresis losses in te stator are directly
proportional to the speed of the motor and weakly coupled to
motor toque. The loss data for Somaloy 3P, Fig. 7(a), has been
extrapolated using the least squares method so that the
(b) hysteresis loss can be accurately predicted for the shoes and
Fig. 5. Flux densities within the YASA: (a) under no load, (b) at peak load bar in the machine under different loading conditions.-

706
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0.3

0.25 600000

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oI 0150E,0
0 0.15

'0.05

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2

Induction (T)
(a .............

350

ON.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~b
300 Fig. 8. Flux density distribution at the centre of the bars at (a) half load and
250-
12ON,, ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(b)
load peak
200

15 C. Rotor Eddy Currents

2 ioo
50
0 50 00 10
Motor Speed (RPM)
(b)
Fig. 7. (a) Loss in Somaloy 3P/kg at I Hz as a function of flux density, (b)
Hysteresis losses in the stator iron
Fig. 7(b) shows the sensitivity of the SMC hysteresis losses
to motor load and speed. As the loading of the motor is
increased, the armature current increases the peak flux in the
stator iron, as shown in Fig. 8. This means that the peak
loading condition will have a 4000 increase in hysteresis losses
compared to the no load condition. However, the peak loading
conditions only last for 5-lOs so the extra heat produced from
the additional hysteresis loss will not be significant.
The rotor eddy currents are caused by the interaction
~~~~~~~~~~~~~between
the stationary field of the stator and the movement of
~~~~~~~~~~~the
rotor through that field. NdFeB magnets have a
conductivity of approximately 16000[tQm, approximately 10
00 50 30 50 times less than mild steel, which can lead to a significant
heating affect of the magnets. Reducing this heating affect is
important, not only because the magnets have a maximum
working temperature of 1 80TC, but also because the energy
product of the magnets is significantly reduced as their
temperature is increased.
The LIFEcar machine has been designed to reduce eddy
current losses by segmenting the NdFeB magnets into four
sections. The losses of the rotors as a function of speed and
torque are shown in Fig. 9.
250 0N
----40 Nm
200 120 Nm

o 150
0- 10

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.....................500 1000.500.2 00.250.300.350

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...................Fi. 9.FEA otorlosss asa fuctio of peedand orqu

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IN

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 120 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
.00 / / = / The authors would like to thank H6ganas for their support
on this project and the DTI for their generous funding.
80
E / / / REFERENCES
60 [1] hto accessed February 07
0 95%
40 94% [2] K. Akatsu et al, "A comparison between Axial and Radial flux-motors PM
92% motors by Optimum Design Method from the required output NT
20 0 9%characteristics", Int. Conf Electrical Machines, ppl6ll1-1618, 2004
0 [3] M. Aydin, S. Huang and T.A. Lipo, "Axial Flux Permanent Magnet Disc
0 400 800 1200 1600 2000
Speed (RPM)MahnsA
2400 2800 3200 3600 May .'004,
In Conf Record of SPEEDAM, pp. 61-71, My
Machines: AReview", In>Ol.,p.
Fig. 10. Efficiency map ofthe YASA motor [4] S. Huang, M.
Aydin, and T.A. Lipo, "TORUS Concept Machines: Pre-
Prototyping Assessment for Two Major Topologies". Int. Conf Rec. IEEE
IAS Annual Meeting, Chicago, pp. 1619-1625, Oct. 2001.
V. CONCLUSIONS
The YASA motor presented in this paper has a higher [5] F. Magnussen, P. Thelin and C. Sadarangani, "Design of Compact
other axial flux machines, typically by
torque density than ther in the s ator is
reduced ly d Permanent Magnet Machines
Vehicle Symposium 20 (EVS), for a Novel
Long Beach,HEV 2003. Electric
NovemberSystem",
USA,Propulsion
200%. Furthermore, the iron in the stator is reduced by around
50°0. The motor has been derived from the NS Torus-S [6] Woolmer, T, and M. McCulloch, "Axial flux Permanent Magnet
topology by removing the stator yoke, enlarging the pitch of Machines: A new topology for high performance applications", Hybrid
the teeth and wrapping a winding around each of the Conference, Warwick, UK December 2006.-
individual teeth. [7] htt:H vXe c accessed February 07
Finite Element analysis has been used to accurately
calculate the machine losses for the LIFEcar YASA machine
and an efficiency map has been derived. The YASA machine
is shown to have a peak efficiency of 96% and a wide range of
operating conditions where the efficiency >9400.

708