PROCEEDINGS

OF THE INSTITUTION OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS

Power

Principles of a permanent-magnet axial-field d.c. machine

P. Campbell, B.Sc, M.A.

Indexing terms: D.C. machines, Machine theory, Magnetic-field effects

Abstract
The theory of a permanent-magnet d.c. machine that has an axial field and a disc-shaped armature is
discussed. Consideration is given to the effect that the distribution of magnetic field in the airgap will
have on the generation of e.m.f. The machine parameters in the angular and radial directions are related
to this distribution, so that a pole shape may be chosen that maximises the output power.

List of principal symbols The axial-field motor described here is one that has been
developed for a few years, without having any special theory
e
ij = e.m.f..in conductor element derived for it. The ..basis of the theory not only aids the fur-
ej = e.m.f. in conductor at angular position/ ther development of the machine, but reminds us of the par-
ij = subscripts describing radial and angular positions ticular nature of conventional theory. The advantages that
/ = length of active conductor this motor offers as an automobile-radiator cooling-fan motor
p = number of poles and as an electric-vehicle traction motor have recently been
rt = radius corresponding to i described.1'2
v = linear velocity of conductor at its average radius
Ac = specific electric loading 2 Topology of the axial-field motor
Bm = specific magnet loading
The machine described in this paper has become
Bij = flux density at a point i, j known as the d.c. disc-armature motor. It was chosen to be
Bj = flux density at angular position/ a permanent-magnet machine because this field system, un-
E — total armature e.m.f. like that of electromagnets, requires no power input once the
Ec = average conductor e.m.f. poles have been fully magnetised. This leads to a greater over-
H = magnetising force all machine efficiency for any given power rating. This ad-
Hx = magnetising force in axial direction vantage is increased further by eliminating any iron from the
/ = armature current armature, thus making the associated eddy-current and
Ic = conductor current hysteresis losses insignificant. A stationary flux-return circuit
M — intrinsic magnetisation on the remote side of the armature is therefore required if
Ms = pole strength on magnet face this gain is to be realised. This is very difficult to achieve, in
P = moment of flux density all but the smallest motors, unless an axial-field.arrangement
Pj = moment of flux density at angular position / is adopted.
/?i/?2= inner and outer radii of active length of conductors The machine now has a very large airgap, comprising the
Z = total number of armature conductors armature thickness and running clearance on either side of
a = pole arc it. The armature coils are therefore located towards the mid-
4> = total flux per pole dle of this airgap, and each is aircored. This means that
<hj = flux at point ij armature-reaction effects are negligible in such a machine.
i// = magnetic potential In an axial-field system, the active conductors run radially
CJ = conductor angular velocity from the axis of the machine. The coils are connected as a
1 Introduction double-layer winding (Fig. 1) and the complete armature is
Faraday's disc was an axial-field electrical machine, therefore disc shaped. This assembly is made possible by
and yet multipolar machines of this type are not the most bending the ends of the coils up, so that they no longer lie
commonly used today. Although they are still comparatively in the plane of the disc. One side of each coil is longer than
rare, there are a number of recent advances, particularly in the other, by an amount that makes it possible for the end
the development of permanent-magnet materials, that make windings to nest closely together. Finally, the winding is
them preferable to conventional machines in a number of connected to the commutator, and the complete armature
applications. is encapsulated in epoxy resin, giving it mechanical strength.
The airgap length is proportional to both the magnetising
Paper 7313 P, first received 28th January and in final form 2nd force and the length of the magnets. One of these quantities
August 1974 must therefore increase greatly to accommodate such a large
Mr. Campbell is with Cambridge University Engineering Department, airgap. So that the machine weight did not become too large,
Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1P2, England permanent magnets with high coercivities were chosen to
PROC. IEE, Vol. 121, No. 12, DECEMBER 1974 1489
provide the field. The arrangement of the active parts of
this machine is shown in Fig. 2.
Fig. 1
Double-layer winding
mild steel
ring
, magnets
armature (showing
winding arrangement)
commutator
mild steel
ring
Fig. 2
Exploded view of disc-armature motor
2.1 Permanent magnets
The type of magnet eventually chosen is determined
largely by the application of the motor. However, ceramic
magnets, that are sintered from barium ferrite powder, are
the most popular for small machines. These have a high mag-
netising force but a lower flux density, compared with other
materials. The output power of the machine is determined
by both the magnetic and the electric circuits, and the low
value of flux density will impose a greater requirement on
the armature-winding design. Such magnets are, however,
comparatively cheap and of low density. The high co-
ercivity means that, on open circuit, they are still working
on the straight portion of the B/H characterisitic, and there-
fore recoil does not move the operating point onto a minor
loop and magnetising windings do not have to be included
in the machine itself.
The choice of magnet material is only the start of the
design, for it is the flux distribution cutting the armature con-
ductors perpendicular to their direction of travel that de-
termines motor performance. For a given operating flux
density, this 'useful' flux will become greater as leakage flux
between adjacent poles is reduced. However, this is not con-
sistent with the desire to increase the total flux per pole, and
so there is clearly a need to optimise the pole-arc/pole-pitch
ratio.
An indication of the pole shape that would produce
optimum performance can be gained, if it is assumed, for the
moment, that the value of flux density is constant around
the edge of a pole face. If this is so, the distance between two
1490
neighbouring pole edges required to produce optimum per-
formance will be approximately constant over most of the
radial active distance. This will become less true towards the
extremities of this distance, where the effects of the poles
are diminished. In these regions, also, the original assumption
of a constant flux density around the pole-face edges will be
least valid. However, for most of the active length of a con-
ductor, an optimum performance would be achieved if the
adjacent pole edges were parallel. There would be a loss of
material, though, if the magnets were cut from large rings,
and so, in the prototype disc-armature machines, the magnet
edges lie on radial lines.
3 Generation of e.m.f. in the airgap
As with the design of any conventional d.c. motor,
there are only a discrete number of winding arrangements.
An attempt should be made, though, to fill up the available
space at the inner radius of the active length of conductors,
/?i in Fig. 3. This demonstrates a disadvantage of the axial-
field machine, because there will always be some wasted vol-
ume at radii greater than R\. This is wasted in the sense that
it is not filled with current-carrying conductor producing
torque in the available magnetic field. Complete filling of the
radius/?i does not take account of the end windings, which
must exist at radii less than Rx. The shape of the coils is such
that the end windings are stacked behind the line of the pole
faces. Their location is therefore made as close to R\ as poss-
ible, allowing a clearance (normally of about 1 mm) between
the armature and the bottoms of the magnets.
Fig. 3
Element of armature conductor
In the subsequent calculations, it is assumed that only the
conductors lying between radii/?! and/? 2 (Fig. 3) produce
useful torque. These dimensions are the inner and outer radii
of the magnets. Any additional torque produced by stray
fields in the end windings is assumed to be negligible. In con-
ventional machines, the normal method of determining the
e.m.f. in conductors uses an average value for useful flux den
sity, calculated over one pole pitch. It will now be shown tha\
this is not a reasonable method to employ in disc-armature
machines.
Consider the element of armature conductor shown in
Fig. 3. Its radial and angular positions are described by the
subscripts / and/, respectively, its angular velocity is u>, and
the remaining dimensions are as shown in the Figure. Initially,
no assumptions will be made about the distrubution of flux,
which will be described by the same subscripts. Thus, the flux
cut by the element sweeping through area dA will be
The e.m.f. in the element will then be given by
eu = Bij
therefore
(1)
PROC. IEE, Vol. 121, No. 12, DECEMBER 1974
e, is the e.m.f. in the whole active conductor at angular
position/. It would be convenient to remove the dependence
of flux density on radius, so that the integration can be per-
formed. The use of such a flux density, Bj, would only be
valid if Bj itself was defined as an integration of B(j over
radius. The expression for e.m.f. becomes
= («,Bjl2)(Rl-R\) (2)
where
Bj = / Btjndr (3)
Eqn. 3 does not give the mean flux density at any given
angular position. A similar calculation applied to a conven-
tional machine shape is, however, identical to the deter-
mination of the mean.
Eqn. 3 indicates that the contribution of a given flux den-
sity to the e.m.f. of the conductor is proportional to the
radius at which it is situated. This is because the linear velo-
city of the conductor is proportional to radius. It is there-
fore not surprising to find that the inverse of the multiplying
constant is the product of active conductor length / and aver-
age radius. If the linear velocity v is calculated at this radius,
eqn. 2 then becomes the familiar expression
ej = Bjlv (4)
3.1 Moment of flux density
The deviation from conventional d.c.-machine cal-
culations is caused by the inseparability of £,j from r,-. This
can be overcome by defining a 'moment of flux density' Pj
such that
-Rx) / (5)
This calculation is now that of the mean of Bt jrt over the
active radius. The conductor e.m.f., which was given in
eqn. 1, now becomes
= Pjl<x> (6)
This shows that the calculation of conductor e.m.f. in an
axial-field machine can be simplified by taking a suitable
mean. However, this is not the mean of flux density, but the
mean of flux-density moment. .
It is now possible to find the average conductor e.m.f. Ec
for one pole pitch as
Ec = (p/co/27r) f2WP Pjdd
o The high-coercivity materials used in disc-armature
where p is the number of poles. As the result of this is the
mean of Pj another moment of flux density P can be de-
fined, that is not dependent on angular position.
2n/p R2
P = fBtJrtdrd0 (7)
Hence R equation for either potential or magnetising force.
Ec = Plu (8)
P is the mean of B(j rt over the active area of a pole pitch. It
is possible to calculate the total flux per pole 0 for a disc-
armature machine:
<j) = 2-nlP/p (9)
The combination of eqns. 8 and 9 will eliminate the geometry
of the field system, which need not appear in subsequent
calculations of machine performance. The associated geo-
metry of the armature winding would, however, have to oc-
cur in any calculation of armature resistance. Also, in a
machine of this type, valuable information about its oper-
ation can be gained from a study of the e.m.f. in a conductor
as its angular position is varied. Eqn. 6 is most useful here, as
it retains some information about the field geometry,
PROC. IEE, Vol. 121, No. 12, DECEMBER 1974
throughPy.
The importance of the moment of flux density in axial-
field-machine theory has now been shown. Its value depends
upon the design of the permanent-magnet field system, and
so this link must be examined further. This can be done best
by a direct calculation of field distribution from the poles.
4 Magnetic-field distribution in the airgap
A method that uses the Schwarz-Christoffel trans-
formation was developed by F.W. Carter3 in 1900. Carter's
derivation is extremely complicated, and is not suitable for
such an array of magnetic poles. It only provides a solution
in two dimensions, whereas it will be found important to
have an appreciation of the field distribution in the third
(radial) direction. Carter also makes the assumptions that
the poles are infinitely long, and that the whole pole surface
is at one potential, which are not sufficiently accurate when
those poles are high-coercivity permanent magnets.
4.1 Direct solution of magnetic potential
If the system is not transformed into a new co-
ordinate system, it will not be necessary to make Carter's
assumptions about the length of poles and the surface-po-
tential distributions. For the moment, though, it will be
simpler to consider the 2-dimensional problem at a given
radius. This is shown in Fig. 4, where OC and AB are the
flux-return-ring surfaces, OA and CB are the neutral lines
between adjacent magnets, and the magnet boundary is
DEFG. The north and south pole faces are FG and ED, re-
spectively. If the potential distribution over the pole surface
is known, it is possible to find the flux distribution in the
airgap, as required. However, some important simplifications
can be made for these permanent-magnet poles.
H
c
D
Fig. 4
2-dimensional representation of magnet and airgap
machines are homogeneous, uniformly magnetised media. It
will therefore be assumed that the direction of the intrinsic
magnetisation M is constant and in the axial x direction.
Within the magnetic medium, divM= 0, and so it will be
possible to treat this region as airgap and solve Laplace's
The exceptions to this rule are the faces of the magnet,
although in Fig. 5 the south pole is attached to a mild-steel
plate OC and is therefore assumed to be at zero potential.
All that remains is the north pole FG, upon which there will
be a potential distribution ty(d).
The solution of V2i// = 0 is eased if the region is divided
into two areas by the line HI, and if the definition of \jj(6)
is extended to the whole of this line. The whole boundary
OABC is at zero potential, and the potential distributions
in areas 1 and 2, which are derived in Appendix 9.1, are
/o
n-nO nnx
x sin - — sinh - — (10)
1491
 ever, lead to a direct calculation of magnetising force in the
airgap. This is satisfactory, as only the fields in the planes of
the conductors are required. By taking the gradient of eqn.
c 13, the magnetising force can be found:
nird , mr(A —x) H = S(Msq/4nq3)dA (14)
x sin —sinh (11)

The axial component of magnetising force must be continu-

ous on lines HF and GI, i.e.

X=H

On differentiation, this condition becomes

, n-nH MT(A -H)
coth— = -coth—
C . C
There is, however, no way in which these can be equated.
Continuity must therefore be achieved by the function ip(6)
being zero along HF and GI. There now exists a complete
set of boundary conditions for the rectangle HABI, and it is
possible to find the field in the airgap of area 2, without
reference to area 1.
This direct solution has led to an erroneous result, be- x axis
cause, as the pole-arc/pole-pitch ratio decreases, there must
clearly be field lines crossing HF and GI. This cannot happen Fig. 6
with this theory, because i//(0) *s z e r o o n these lines, and so Position of point Q related to magnet face
eqns. 10 and 11, and their derivatives, will also be zero. The
original assumption must have been invalid, because the only If the axial direction only is considered, integration over
way to achieve the required redistribution of field is for the whole pole face yields
there to be pole sources on the magnet sides DG and EF.
This direct method has attempted to improve on Carter's Hx = f(Ms cos yl4nq2)dA
method by producing an accurate solution of magnetic po- It is shown in Appendix 9.2 that, for the pole shape of the
tential in the airgap. Although it has not fully achieved this disc-armature machine, this becomes
aim, there does exist a more realistic potential distribution
on the pole face. Calculations based on neglecting whatever Msx
pole sources exist on the magnet sides will be shown to be • An

4
in good agreement with experimental results in Section 5. a—B
rs cos0 — x2 — s1
dd (15)
H [x2 + s2sin2d)'(r2 + x2 + s2 -2rs cos 0) 1/2
r=R,
I_ B The significance of eqn. 15 is that the field in the airgap can
be calculated without reference to a potential distribution
G
on the pole face. The intrinsic magnetisation M exists only
area 1 area 2
on the pole face asMs, and is not dependent upon radial or
F angular position. The drawback to eqn. 15 is that the re-
maining integration can only be performed by numerical
H A
means, and it will only be possible to find a discrete field
distribution.
Fig. 5
2-dimensional representation with simplified magnet

4.2 Numerical calculation of magnetising force

Consideration of the area HABI only does not take
account of the magnet length, for which it is necessary to
consider the whole area OABC. Furthermore, the system
shown in Fig. 5 should be extended to three dimensions, so
that the source potential is ^j(r,d) on the pole face.
It can be shown4 that the potential i// at any point Q
(Fig. 6) can be found from the volume integral of intrinsic
magnetisation, and surface integral of pole strength: Fig. 7
Disc-armature motor
4TTI// = / (divMdv/q) + f(Ms/q)dA (12)
5 Results applied to machine design
It has already been shown that, for these permanent magnets,
div M — 0, and Ms will be constant over the pole face. Hence A typical disc-armature motor is shown in Fig. 7,
and eqn. 15 will be used to study the suitability of the pole-
= f(Ms/4irq)dA (13) arc/pole-pitch ratio that is used. This machine differs slightly
from the arrangement shown in Fig. 2, in that the remote-
This cannot be used to find the source potential, \p(r,d), flux-return ring is incorporated into the armature, and this
because i// becomes infinite as q tends to zero. It does, how-
1492 PROC. IEE, Vol. 121, No. 12, DECEMBER 1974
is on the underside of the rotor shown in Fig. 7. This alter-
ation simplifies the construction of the machine, although a
laminated ring is now required. If it is assumed that both
this and the mild-steel backing plate have infinite per-
meability, then a system of image poles can be built up for
the main pole under study, and its adjacent poles on either
side.
O-28
the design of an axial-field machine in the radial direction.
If the ratio R^Ri is increased, there will be a greater length
of active conductor, but there will also be a greater waste
of useful flux available in the airgap.
O28r
O24

O 24 -
O 2O

O2O -
>; O I 6

OI6 -
x O 12

5 OI2 -
OO8

O O8 -
OO4

O O4 -
O 4 6 IO 16 2O 24
distance from magnet <£. deg

8 IO 16 2O 24
distance from magnet C^, deg
Fig. 9
Field distribution at first layer of conductors for various
pole-arcI pole-pitch ratios (radius = 47 mm)
Fig. 8
Field entering flux-return ring normally (radius = 47 mm)
O28 r
a Calculated curve
b Experimental values
O24
The accuracy of the calculation is demonstrated by
evaluating the field entering the return ring normally (Fig. 8)
at a particular radius. Under these conditions the distances * O2O
JC and s (Fig. 6) are constant in eqn. 15. Fig. 8 shows the E
field at the point Q over half a pole pitch, and this variation
is achieved by altering the position of the r axis (normal to - O 16
Q) by means of the angle 0. The computed values (solid line)
are in good agreement with the experimental values, found
by inserting a Hall-effect element on the surface of the re- x' O I 2
turn ring.
008
5.1 Pole-arc/pole-pitch ratio
It is more useful to calculate the field distribution
normal to each of the conductor layers in the armature. For 004
the layer nearest to the magnets, the effect of different pole-
arc/pole-pitch ratios on the field distribution is shown in
Fig. 9. The useful flux is seen to increase as the ratio in- 34 38 42 46 5O 54 58
creases. However, this gain becomes less as higher ratios are radius, mm
approached, owing to the increase in leakage flux between
adjacent magnets. Since this leads to a poorer utilisation of Fig. 10
the magnet material, the ratio of 0-8 used in this machine Radial field distribution along the magnet centre line
may have been a wise choice. Pole-arc/pole-pitch ratio = 0-8

5.2 Radial-field distribution, and a relationship
between Ri and R2- I maximise the armature power. This power El must first be
The importance of treating the machine as a 3-
dimensional problem can be seen from a plot, at the same
conductor layer, of the variation of field with radius at the
midpoint of a pole (Fig. 10). This shows that the field at
Ri and R2 is approximately half its maximum value. That
maximum occurs at a radius slightly greater than the average
radius, as might be expected from the earlier discussion. As
with the angular direction, there is clearly a need to optimise
PROC IEE, Vol. 121, No. 12, DECEMBER 1974
The most common criterion for relating R^ to R2 is to
obtained in terms of specific magnetic and electric loadings.
The former is usually identical to the average useful flux
density in the airgap, but it has already been shown that
such a quantity is of little use in an axial-field machine. If
Bij and r{ really are insperable, then a specific magnetic
loading, that is independent of machine dimensions, can
never be defined. For this purpose, the assumption must
therefore be made that Bj, defined by eqn. 3, is independent
1493
ofr,-. It is then possible to obtain the average conductor the two variables:
e.m.f. Ec from eqns. 3, 7 and 8:
2-n/p \p(x,d) = X(x)e(d) (20)
Ec = {u(Rl-Rl)pl4n}f Bj
o By first considering the 0 direction, the solution must be
The specific magnetic loading Bav can then be defined as the periodic, and will have the general form
average of Bj over one pole pitch. Hence
0(0) = (21)
J, K, and X are determined from the boundary conditions
The specific electric loading Ac makes it possible to find, I//(JC,O) = 0 and \p(x,C) = 0. Hence, eqn. 21 becomes
from the machine dimensions, the total electric loading in
the armature. Conductor current Ic is approximately inde- ^ (22)
pendent of machine dimensions, but the number of con- where n= 1, 2, 3 etc. This is true for both areas 1 and 2 in
ductors Z will depend on R{. Ac is therefore defined as Fig. 5.
The solution in the JC direction will be slightly different
(17) for each area. Area 1 will be considered in detail. X is
common between the solutions in ea6h direction, and so,
After rewriting eqn. 16 as the total armature e.m.f., the in the x direction, corresponding to eqn. 22, will be exponential.
armature power becomes It is given by
Xn (x) = Ln sinh — (x - x0) (23)
El = ftu3BntAc{R\-R\)Ri (18)
The maximum armature power will therefore occur when where JC0 is a constant and is zero, owing to the boundary
R2 = \/3/?i (19) condition 0(0,0) = 0.
The total solution is found by combining eqns. 20, 22
For the motor shown in Fig. 7, Ri is 34 mm and R2 is 59 mm. and 23, and summing for all values of n:
v-, , nnd , rvnx
6 Conclusions = 2- kn sin — sinh — (24)
n=l C <-
This paper has developed the basic theoretical .
principles of an axial-field permanent-magnet machine. It The final boundary condition is the potential distribution on
is now possible to investigate the advantages of this mach- the magnet face, defined as 0(0) along the line HI. In eqn. 24
ine in a number of applications, with a greater accuracy.
Depending upon the design adopted, these advantages can be
high efficiency, high power/weight ratio, low inertia, high
speed, or merely the physical shape of the machine.
from which the sine Fourier coefficients of i//(0) are
The ability to study the variation of conductor e.m.f.
with angular position, by the use of eqn. 6, is particularly nnH 2 c . nnd
useful in a machine of this type. Since armature reaction — = - / 0(0)sin— (25)
is negligible, it is possible, by a suitable addition of the indi-
vidual conductor e.m.f.s, to calculate the voltage between The complete solution in area 1 is therefore found by sub-
two adjacent commutator segments for a rotating armature. stituting eqn. 25 in eqn. 24, from which eqn. 10 is obtained.
Using this method, work is in progress to study the quality The solution in area 2, given by eqn. 11, is found in a
of commutation in this machine, with a view to determin- similar way, allowing for the slight difference in the JC direc-
ing the maximum operating speed of any particular design. tion.

7 Acknowledgments 9.2 Derivation of eqn. 15

Most of the work described in this paper was done
while the author was with the Warwick University Engineer- The magnetising force in the axial direction, at a
ing Department, and he is greateful to many colleagues there point Q, was derived from eqn. 14 as
who have contributed in various ways. In particular,
acknowledgment is made to A.E. Corbett for his assistance MscosydA
Hx =\ (26)
with eqn. 19.
It can be found directly from Fig. 6 that:
8 References
1 CAMPBELL, P.: '"Pancake" shaped d.c. motor for efficient fan x
drives', Elect. Rev., 1974, 194, pp. 211-212 cos 7 = —
2 CAMPBELL, P.: 'Energy conservation in electric vehicles: the q.
d.c. disc-armature motor'. Proceedings of the European con- dA = rdddr
ference on electrotechnics, Amsterdam, 1974
3 CARTER, F.W.: 'Note on air-gap and interpolar induction', q2 = x2 + s2 + r2 — Irs cos 0
J. 1EE, 1900, 29, pp. 925-933
4 SOMMERFIELD, A.: 'Electrodynamics' (Academic Press, 1952), Substitution of these values into eqn. 26 yields
Chap. 12.
5 DWIGHT, H.B.: 'Tables of integrals and other mathematical
data' (Macmillan, 1962) _ Ms r xr
•drdd
Hx =
4^ J(
R
9 Appendixes
9.1. Derivation of Eqns. 10 and 11 The integration over the pole face is divided into two parts.
That in the radial direction can be evaluated using standard
The solution of Laplace's equation, V 2 ^ * ^ ) = 0, integrals,5 leaving only the integration in the angular direc-
within the boundary OABC of Fig. 5 is achieved by separating tion in eqn. 15.
1494 PROC. IEE, Vol. 121, No. 12, DECEMBER 1974