Practical Aspects of Implementing Skew Angle to Reduce
Cogging Torque for the Mass-production of Permanent
Magnet Synchronous Motors
Rakib Islam1, and Alejandro Piña Ortega1
1
Nexteer Automotive, Michigan, USA
Email: rakib.islam@nexteer.com
Abstract--Although the cogging torque in permanent
magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) consists of several
frequency components, the skew angle used to minimize
cogging torque is generally determined to cancel the
fundamental and sub-harmonics of the fundamental
components. In a mass production environment,
manufacturing variation always cause low order cogging
components like slot and/or pole orders on top of
fundamental and sub-harmonics of fundamental. To cancel
this low frequency cogging components effectively a higher
skew angle would be necessary at the penalty of lower motor
torque. But, there could be a compromise in selecting the
skew angle that can moderately reduce these low orders
along with a substantial reduction of fundamental and its
sub-orders to achieve an optimum reduction of overall
cogging torque. This study investigated mainly to find an
optimum skew angle for a given motor topology and for a
skew scheme selected by the manufacturer to attain such
objectives. The research identified the sensitivity of motor
torque with skew angle and various skew schemes like step
skew, continuous skew etc. for six-different motor
topologies. Also, it is shown the effect of axial length
mismatch between stator and rotor. Finally, the research
findings were validated with the results from motors with
recommended skew scheme.
Index Terms-- Continuous skew, fundamental,
manufacturing tolerances, mass production, optimum skew
angle, step skew, sub-harmonics.
I. INTRODUCTION
The permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) is
widely used in high-performance drives due to its torque
density, efficiency, dynamic response and control.
Generally, the PMSMs are designed with slotted stator for
cost and packaging constraints. These designs inherently
exhibit cogging torque due to the interaction between the
permanent magnets (PMs) and the stator slots. The
cogging torque adds to torque ripple and hence noise and
vibration of the machine. Conventionally, cogging torque
in PMSMs can be set forth by the following expression as
Fourier series,
∞
Tcogg = ∑ Tn cos(nN cθ ) , (1)
n =1
where n is the order of the cogging harmonics, θ is the
mechanical angle between the stator and the rotor, Tn is
the amplitude of the nth order cogging torque component,
and Nc is the least common multiple of rotor poles Ns and
stator slots Q given by LCM(Ns,Q).
Hence, only cogging components that are integer
978-1-5386-3246-8/17/$31.00 © 2017 IEEE
multiple of Nc are included in (1). Nevertheless,
manufacturing variation creates low order cogging
components like pole order, slot order and integer
multiples of the both but these are not captured in this
equation.
In mass-production environment, any manufacturing
variation will further degrade the performance of PMSMs.
For instance, during the manufacturing process the PMs
may deviate from their nominal location (both
tangentially and radially). Also, there can be variation in
the geometry and the magnetization of the magnets which
creates asymmetry between rotor poles. Similarly, the
tolerances in the punching tool can create variations in the
stator laminations leading to asymmetry between stator
slots/teeth [1-2].
Cogging torque in PMSMs can be reduced either by
design methods or by control techniques. Several well-
known design methods for reducing cogging torque
practiced in the industry include but not limited to
rotor/stator skewing, magnet pole shaping, magnet
shifting, teeth pairing, use of dummy slots in the stator etc.
[3-7]. Among all these, rotor skew is the one widely used.
There are mainly two types of skew scheme: step skew
and continuous skew. In a step skew scheme, each rotor
pole consists of multiple numbers of magnet segments
(number of segments depend on the number of steps
chosen for skew e.g. 2 segments / pole for a 2-step skew)
each shifted radially along the length of the rotor by an
angle determined for the skew (Fig 1-a). For continuous
skew, the lone magnet segment in each pole is skewed by
an angle determined for skew along the length of the rotor
(Fig 1-b) or the magnetization of the rotor is done to
create poles skewed in case of a ring magnet on the rotor.
The skew angle is a function of the number of rotor poles
and stator slots in either case and is defined by
360
θ skew = (2)
Nc
Where, θskew is the optimum value of skew angle to
minimize cogging torque for all orders that are integer
multiple of Nc. The closer the number of slots is to the
number of poles, the higher is the cogging torque period
and the lower is its amplitude. The details of the skew
working principle could be found in [4, 6].
Based on skew scheme one or multiple orders of the
cogging torque can be effectively cancelled. Any of the
skew schemes (step or continuous) works well in an ideal expression would then be the one as proposed here
scenario. Such a scenario is given in Fig. 2 explaining
how the fundamental orders of cogging torque are ∞
reduced with skew angle. Tcogg = ∑ Tn cos( nN cθ ) +
Hence, this research focuses on showing optimum n =1 (3)
skew angle for the following motor topologies: 9-slot/6- ∞ ∞

pole (9/6), 12-slot/8-pole (12/8), 12-slot/10-pole (12/10), ∑

i =1
Ti cos(iQθ ) + ∑ T j cos( jN sθ )
j =1
15-slot/10-pole (15/10), 18-slot/12-pole (18/12), and 27-
slot/6-pole (27/6). The main topic is to demonstrate
tradeoffs between skew angle and motor performances Although, the skew angle is selected for one hundred
like cogging torque, BEMF harmonics and torque percent cancellation of the fundamental order(s), the low
constant. This paper also demonstrated the sensitivity of orders also get some moderate reduction as well (Fig. 3).
several cogging and harmonics orders with respect to Details of fundamental and all possible orders in a motor
skew angle which leads to better selection of skew angle are given in Table I for 6-different motor topologies
that is essential for reduced cogging and increased torque selected for this research. The fundamental cogging order
density compared to traditional skew scheme practiced in is Nc as aforementioned.
the industry. Motors can possess low order cogging contents,
cancellation of which requires higher skew angle than
given by (2). This can create additional loss in motor
output torque. An ideal skew scheme would be one that
can effectively cancel all these contents. In reality, slot-
pole combination of the machine that dictates the cogging
components and the skew angle becomes the limiting
factor in regard to how much cogging can be reduced
without sacrificing significant machine performances.

Skew angle vs cogging torque: fundamental, slot order and

1.1
few sub-harmonics
P-P Amplitude normalized to unity

1 Slot order(1/2*fundamental)
0.9 Fundamental
0.8
0.7
2nd sub-harmonics of slot order
0.6 1st-sub harmonics (2*fundamental)
0.5
Pole order (1/3*fundamental)
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5
Fig. 1. Skew angle defined for (a) rotor step skew (3-step), (b) rotor Skew Angle: fundamental normalized to unity
continuous skew and (c) stator continuous skew.
Fig. 3. Effect of skew angle on cogging torque orders for variation case
Skew angle vs cogging torque: fundamental and 1st sub-
1.1 harmonic III. FUNDAMENTALS OF SKEW SCHEMES
1
Skewing the rotor or the stator in a PMSM can achieve
P-P Amplitude-normalized to unity

0.9
0.8 the same goal of reducing cogging torque. Skew can
0.7
0.6
cancel one or few of the cogging components based on
0.5 the type of skew and the angle chosen for skew. This
0.4 Fundamental
0.3
study focuses mainly on the rotor skew in the form of
1st sub-harmonic
0.2 continuous skew and step skew (2-step and 3-step only)
0.1
0
as shown in Fig 1.
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 Skew angle is function of the motor topology and its
Skew angle: fundamental normalized to unity
effect on different cogging orders can be found in Fig. 2.
Fig. 2. Effect of skew angle on cogging torque orders for ideal case Skew angles also depend on the frequency of interests
that needs to be cancelled. Skew angle for step skew is
defined as the shift between two similar poles in the two
II. PRACTICAL ASPECTS OF COGGING TORQUE adjacent rows of the rotor poles whereas the continuous
skew is the shift between top edges of the pole to the
One of the challenges in mass production is to deal
bottom edge (Fig. 1). For a 9/6 motor the fundamental
with manufacturing tolerances to control lower order
cogging frequency is 18 and sub-harmonics of the
cogging torque components like slot order or pole order fundamental would be 36th, 54th and so on. Due to
[8-11]. manufacturing tolerances, there are 6th (due to variation in
Therefore, a more generalized form of the cogging
 TABLE I
EFFECTS OF SKEW ANGLE ON COGGING HARMONICS
Slot/Pole Funda- Skew angle (eliminate %Reduction in ke due Other %Reduction
mental fund. cogging comp. to skew cogging
cogging (deg.)) orders
order possible
(mech.)
Cont. 2-step 3-step Cont. 2-step 3-step Cont. 2-step 3-step
skew skew skew skew skew skew skew skew skew
9/6 18th 20 10 6.67 4.5% 3.4% 4% 6th 17.3% 13.4% 15.6%
9th 36.3% 29.3% 33.3%
27th 36.3% 29.3% 33.3%
36th 100% 0% 100%

12/8 24th 15 7.5 5 4.5% 3.4% 4% 8th 17.3% 13.4% 15.6%

12th 36.3% 29.3% 33.3%
48th 100% 0% 100%

12/10 60th 6 3 2 1.14% 0.86% 1.01% 10th 17.3% 13.4% 15.6%

12th 36.3% 29.3% 33.3%
120th 100% 0% 100%

15/10 30th 12 6 4 4.5% 3.4% 4% 10th 17.3% 13.4% 15.6%

15th 36.3% 29.3% 33.3%
60th 100% 0% 100%

18/12 36th 10 5 3.33 4.5% 3.4% 4% 12th 17.3% 13.4% 15.6%

18th 36.3% 29.3% 33.3%
72nd 100% 0% 100%

27/6 54th 6.67 3.33 2.23 0.51% 0.38% 0.45% 6th 17.3% 13.4% 15.6%
27th 36.3% 29.3% 33.3%
108th 100% 0% 100%

the stator) and 9th (due to variation in the rotor) order cancellation requires very large skew angle that leads to
contents also. The traditional skew angle would be 20 significant loss in ke for some motor types. Tradeoffs in
degrees. For instance, continuous skew would be 20 selecting skew angle are important for reducing cogging
degrees whereas skew angle for step-skew would be a without sacrificing ke.
function of the number of steps, that is to say, for a 3-step
skew the angle is 6.67 degree (= 20/3) and for 2-step Effect of Skew Angle: Reduction in cogging and loss in ke
skew it is 10 degrees (= 20/2). Continuous skew would 5.50%
5.00%
% loss in Ke
143
130
ideally cancel all cogging components of 18th, 36th and Cogging (P-P Amplitude), Nmx1e-3
%Reduction in motor constant, Ke

4.50% 18th 117

4.00% 104
any higher orders integer multiple of 18th order. Whereas, 3.50% 36th 91
a 2-step skew would cancel all of 18th order component 3.00% 78
2.50% 65
and a 3-step skew would cancel all of 18th and 36th orders. 2.00% 52

Nevertheless, all these forms of skew would bring 1.50%

1.00%
39
26
some partial cancellation to other orders; e.g. a 2-step 0.50% 13

skew would reduce 6th order by 13%, 9th and 27th order by 0.00%
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
0

30%. Skew Angle, deg

A summary of total and partial cancellation of cogging
torque harmonics for several slot/poles combination is
given in Table I when optimum skew angle is selected
and applied either continuously or by steps.
IV. IDEAL VS. PRACTICAL ASPECTS OF SKEW
IMPLEMENTATION
Generally, the skew angle is defined for canceling the
fundamental cogging order ignoring pole order and slot
order component. Again, pole or slot order cogging
Fig. 4. Effect of Skew angle in reducing different cogging orders
and BEMF constant Ke for nominal case of a 9-slot/6-pole
motor
A. Effect of Skew on Cogging Torque
The cogging torque reduced by 100% and 0% for 18th
and 36th order respectively for a 2-step skewed 9/6 motor
with skew angle equals to 10 degrees. The results reverse
with 5 degrees skew for the 18th and 36th order (Fig. 4). A
selection of skew angle between 5 and 10 degrees should
make a compromise in reducing both cogging orders.
B. Effect of Skew on BEMF and ke
Skew reduces the BEMF constant ke which is a
measure of torque density. The smaller the skew angle the
better the torque density is (Fig. 4). A selection of skew
angle between 5 and 10 degrees should make an
improvement in ke compared to a 10-degrees-skew-
design. Again, the harmonics in BEMF which leads to
torque ripple is also being affected by angle of skew. The
main components in harmonics are 5th, 7th, 11th and 13th
electrical orders in any motor.
C. Tradeoffs among Cogging Torque, BEMF
harmonics and ke
The analysis in Fig. 4 shows that for a skew angle
around 6~7 degrees the cogging orders (9th, 18th, 27th, and
36th) are substantially reduced and ke is moderately
improved. The comparison could be made with a baseline
design with no skew implemented.
(a)
(b)
Fig. 5. Axial component of magnetic flux density in stator and rotor with
different stack length, (a) longer stator and (b) longer rotor.
D. Effect of Axial length mismatch between stator and
rotor considering skew
Length mismatch might occur along axial direction in
an asymmetrical manner, that is, not only are rotor and
stator ends not in plane but also their disparity is not the
same at both machine ends. This manufacturing variation
causes unbalanced axial forces whose magnitudes
augment as rotor or stator skew is present [12,13].
On the other hand, this paper also shows results based
on 3D-FEM when length mismatch is symmetrical at both
machine ends. Two cases are analyzed and compared
against a machine with the same rotor and stator axial
length, one case is a rotor 1mm longer than stator while
the other the stator is 1mm longer than rotor. Since
machine uses laminations of 0.5mm thickness, it can be
assumed that the longer stator/rotor is made with two
more laminations than its corresponding rotor/stator.
The different behavior observed in cogging torque,
average torque and torque ripple is because of the effect
of axial flux density, as can be seen in Fig. 5. When rotor
is shorter than stator (Fig. 5a), most of axial flux coming
out of rotor permanent magnet crosses the air gap and
links the stator. In contrast, PMSMs with same stator and
rotor stack length as well as that one with longer rotor
(Fig. 5b), most of the axial flux becomes leakage and
returns to rotor without linking stator coils. If end
winding is accounted for, small portion of that axial flux
could link end winding turns.
However, tangential (and radial) forces are distorted by
the effect axial flux due to permanent magnet, which may
or may not link stator core in a constant manner while
rotor is spinning, as illustrated by results shown in the
next section.
V. RESULTS
The experimental results are obtained for a 9-slot/6-pole
motor builds with 2-step skew and various skew angles
from 0 to 10 degrees. The motor was 34mm long and 22
turns per coil. The results of cogging torque (Peak-to-
Peak, all significant orders) are compared in Fig. 6.
Additionally, two motors with 12-slot/8-pole
configuration were modeled by means of 3D-FEM, their
nominal stack length is 32mm. One of them has a stator
that is continuously skew according to Table I (15
degrees), while the other has rotor skewed in 3 steps with
5 degrees between steps. As a result, six different
combinations were studied when including rotor/stator
stack length mismatch. Table II shows results for the
machines with rotor step-skew where the three motors
have same rotor while stator is shortened/enlarged 0.5
mm at each side. It is noteworthy that the motor with
longer stator has higher average torque since axial flux
can go across air gap to link the stator and add to overall
flux linkage (Fig. 5a). Nevertheless, its drawback is that
tangential forces are also distorted which ends up
increasing pulsating torque when compared to a shorter
stator, as illustrated by Table II.
 TABLE II REFERENCES
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VI. CONCLUSIONS
The analysis of cogging torque well conformed to the
tests (Fig. 6). There are some slight differences between
the analysis and the test results. The obvious reason is the
variation in the rotor and stator build. For instance, the
skew sets for a specific angle might come with some
tolerances and hence differing from the nominal value.
The other common variation is also possible due to the
axial misalignment between rotor and stator.