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Design, Construction and Cost Minimization of a Coreless Axial Flux

Permanent Magnet Generator for Small Wind Turbine Applications

Conference Paper · April 2014

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 Design, Construction and Cost Minimization of a Coreless
Axial Flux Permanent Magnet Generator for Small Wind
Turbine Applications

G. M. Messinis, K. C. Latoufis, N. D. Hatziargyriou

National Technical University of Athens (NTUA)
Iroon Politexniou 9, Zografou, Athens, Greece
+30 210 7721499
latoufis@power.ece.ntua.gr
ABSTRACT
This paper describes the design of a 3kW coreless axial flux permanent magnet
generator, used in grid connected small wind turbines, for low cost rural electrification
applications. The basic generator design equations are presented and further
developed in a MATLAB model. The generator's cost is minimized, while simple
manufacturing techniques are considered. The generator's performance is simulated
with the aid of finite element analysis (FEA) software. The generator is constructed
and tested in a laboratory setup while the simulation results are verified through
experimental results.

1. Introduction
In the past years, there has been an increasing interest for the use of axial flux
permanent magnet (AFPM) generators in wind power generation applications. Small
AFPM wind turbines can play an important role in rural electrification applications in
the domestic or small business scale, especially in developing countries. Considering
the limited access to initial capital in the majority of rural applications worldwide,
minimizing the total cost of the application is essential. This can be achieved by
minimizing the cost of materials and simplifying the manufacturing process.
This paper presents the design, simulation and construction of a 3 kW generator
for grid connected applications and the minimization of its total cost. Various open
design construction manuals for small wind turbines of nominal power of up to 3kW
can be found [1]. In literature there is only a small record of AFPM generator studies
for small wind turbine applications [3],[4],[5],[6].

2. Design Equations
Two important characteristics of a small wind turbine are its wind capture range and
the generator's respective voltage range. For small wind turbines in rural
applications a wind speed range of 3-10m/s is preferred since typical annual mean
wind speeds are usually in the order of 4-5m/s.

Figure 1 Plan view of the generator consisting of two rotor disks, the stator, the bearing hub
and shaft, the metal frame and the rotor blades.

Since the generator will be connected to a grid tie inverter it is vital that its output
voltage corresponds to the inverter's DC input voltage range. Eq. 1-4 can be used to
calculate the EMF voltage range and the RPM range of the generator, from cut-in to
nominal power production.

2.2. Magnetic Circuit Analysis

In order to dimension the AFPM generator, the permanent magnet (PM) equivalent
magnetic circuit should be derived and analyzed. As flux leakages are considered
negligible, the analysis results in (5),(6) [5],[8]. In the current application, neodymium
magnets NdFeB of grade N40 are used, due to their high flux densityand abundance
in commercial markets.

2.3. The Induced EMF Voltage and Maximum current density

The induced EMF voltage can be calculated by considering the geometry of the axial
flux PM generator. In [5] and [7] the induced EMF voltage is calculated using the
peak value of the fundamental component of the airgap flux density, namely Bp.
Concluding, the RMS value of the induced EMF voltage waveform, which is assumed
sinusoidal, can be expressed by:
FEA software is used to calculate the fundamental component of the airgap flux
density Bp for every generator design investigated. Taken that Bp depends mainly on
the pole arc to pole pitch ratio ai, a fifth grade polynomial is calculated to aid the
procedure. The maximum current density Jmax is an important design parameter of all
types of generators and can be used in the preliminary design stages of AFPM
machines. For AFPM machines it is common practice for the maximum current
density to be taken equal to 6A/mm2, since the rotor discs act as fans cooling the
stator [8],[9].Using (8) the coil leg width can be calculated.

2.5. The Stator Winding

The stator winding analysed and used in this design is a double layer concentrated
winding, which is fully analysed in [7],[8]. By using the winding analysis stated earlier
the outer radius of the generator can be calculated by (9).

the end winding factor

the stator factor where:
where:

 



and the radius factor.
3. Cost Minimization
For rural electrification applications in the developing world the total cost of the
turbine is probably the most important criterion. Although cost minimization for the
generator of the small wind turbine is the main objective, other parameters such as
the efficiency to cost ratio or the power density should be considered.
The objective of this study is to present the procedure by which the optimum low cost
design for a 3kW generator is achieved and not to find the actual dimensions
themselves, as they are subject to change. The authors will be referring to the
relative term "low cost application" as an application with starting capital and
maintenance costs that are considered to be viable for the investing community.
Moreover, only the cost of the AFPM generator will be considered, and not the total
cost of the installation, thus excluding power electronics and building materials from
the research.
3.1. Constants and Variables
The problem variables are the pole arc to pole pitch ratio ai and the inner to outer
radius ratio kd due to their major influence on the dimensions of the generator. Other
variables, such as certain characteristics of the permanent magnets are considered
fixed in the design. Rectangular neodymium NdFeB grade N40 magnets of axial
thickness 10mm were chosen because of their abundance in commercial markets.
Another fixed variable is the nominal frequency which is set at 40Hz resulting in
fewer magnets and thus lower cost as , although a higher number of poles
would lead to a more efficient design. By studying other AFPM coreless generator
designs [1], the fill factor of the coils kf was initially estimated equal to 0.55.
The pole arc to pole pitch ratio ai varies between 0.2 and 0.7, while the inner to outer
radius ratio kd varies between 0.5 and 0.9. The equations presented in Section II are
solved using a MATLAB model to produce various generator designs. The cost, the
mass and the outer radius of the generator are calculated in order to obtain an
overview of the produced designs. For each cost curve the minimum cost point is
tracked, making it feasible to calculate a minimum cost curve, Fig. 2.
1

0.9

0.8
Rin/Rout kd

0.7

0.6

0.5

0.4

0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65 0.7 0.75
pole arc/pole pitch ai

Figure 2: The minimum cost curves Figure 3: The final cost minimization curve

3.2. Construction Restrictions

Manufacturing processes for low cost applications in the rural context emphasise on
local construction of the generator. This implies the use of simple tools and
manufacturing techniques, imposing construction restrictions in the cost minimization.
An important constraint has to do with the geometry of the coils. A difficulty in
constructing coils whose axial thickness tw is much larger than the coil leg width wc
has been observed. This restriction is expressed by the maximum value of the tw/wc
ratio and indicated as "Coil Construction Curve", Fig.3. By studying coils used in
other coreless AFPM generators, it is concluded that the maximum value of this ratio
is 0.4 [1].
 Table 1 The characteristics of the
commercial magnet 3 kW with nominal
frequency equal to 50 Hz

Commercial Magnet (f=50 Hz)

αi 0.659
kd 0.869
Efficiency 87.99 %
Weight 30.9 kg
Outer Radius 238.26 mm
Fig. 4: The 3 kW Axial-Flux PM Generator Cost 410 €
5. Simulation, Construction and Experimental Measurements
The final design is simulated in the FEMM 4.2 software (Fig. 9). Three dissections,
along the middle, outer and inner radius of the generator are analyzed and the rotor
is displaced by one electric period using MATLAB 7. The simulation will produce
satisfactory results even if there is no current in the winding, as the absence of an
iron core makes the stator’s field unable to influence significantly the rotor’s field. The
simulation’s rotational step is close to 0.5° and each time the rotor is displaced the
flux linkage of each phase is measured. Thus, the induced EMF voltage waveform
and its RMS value are calculated. Using the equivalent circuit [5] of the AFPM
machine the terminal voltage, the mechanical torque, the output power and the
efficiency of the generator are calculated.
The generator is tested (Fig. 4) in the NTUA laboratory with the use of a DC motor,
since it can provide stable control of the generator’s RPM. The generator is first
driven in open circuit mode to measure the induced EMF voltage. There was a 1.4%
deviation between experimental and simulated results, Fig. 5. Then the generator is
connected to a three phase ohmic load and driven at nominal RPM. The terminal
voltage, the mechanical torque and output power are shown in Fig. 6, Fig. 7 and
Fig.8,respectively. The maximum deviation in the terminal voltage and output power
graphs was equal to 5.5% whilst for the torque it was equal to 6.3%.
140 350
simulated EMF measured
measured EMF simulated
120 300

100 250
Mechanical Torque (Nm)

80 200
EMF (V)

60 150

40 100

20 50

0 0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350
Current (A) n (RPM)

Figure 5: The simulation and experimental Figure 4 The simulation and experimental
results for the EMF voltage. results for the terminal volatge
 280 3000
simulated simulated
275 measured measured

270 2500

265
Terminal Voltage (V)

Electic Power (W)

260 2000

255

250 1500

245

240 1000

235

230 500
1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4
Current (A) Current (A)

Figure 5: The simulation and experimental Figure 6: The simulation and experimental
results for the mechanical torque. results for the output power.
Pure Iron

NdFeB 40 MGOe NdFeB 40 MGOe NdFeB 40 MGOe NdFeB 40 MGOe

0.95mm 0.95mm 0.95mm 0.95mm 0.95mm 0.95mm

[A:337] [A:-337] [B:337] [B:-337] [C:337] [C:-337]
Air
NdFeB 40 MGOe NdFeB 40 MGOe NdFeB 40 MGOe NdFeB 40 MGOe

Pure Iron

Figure 9: 2D FE-model of the generator

References
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[2] Bumby JR, Stanard N, Dominy J, and McLeod N. A Permanent Magnet Generator for
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[3] Parviainen P, Pyrhonen J and Kontkanen P. Axial Flux Permanent Magnet Generator
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[4] Leon Mishnaevsky Jr. , Peter Freere, Rakesh Sinha, Parash Acharya, Rakesh Shrestha,
Pushkar Manandhar, Small wind turbines with timber blades for developing countries:
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Permanent Magnet Generator Design for Low Cost Manufacturing of Small Wind
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Flux Air-Cored Stator Permanent Magnet Machine with Concentrated Coils. IEEE
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[8] Rong-Jie Wang. Design Aspects and Optimization of an Axial Field Permanent Magnet
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[9] Chalmers BJ and Spooner E. An Axial-Flux Permanent-Magnet Generator for a Gearless
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