• Energy Research

This paper proposes a general analytical model for large-power surface-mounted permanent magnet (SPM) wind generators under inter-turn short-circuit (ITSC) faults. In the model, branch currents rather than phase currents are used as state variables to describe the electromagnetic behavior of the faulty machine. In addition, it is found that the multiphase Clarke transformation can be used to simplify the proposed fault model with the inductances calculated analytically or numerically using finite element analysis. With the latter, both linear and nonlinear inductances can be obtained, and the non-linear inductances are used for the fault modelling of large power rating machines due to larger electrical loading and heavier magnetic saturation. With the developed fault model, studies of scaling effects (different power ratings such as 3 kW, 500 kW and 3 MW) and the influence of fault location on the electromagnetic performance of SPM generators with series-parallel coil connections have been carried out. The simulation results show that large-power SPM wind generators are vulnerable to ITSC faults when a relatively small number of turns are short-circuited and a single-turn short-circuit fault at the top of the slot is found to be the worst case.

In this paper, the transient thermal response of a conventional double-layer switched-flux permanent-magnet machine is studied for both healthy and fault conditions such as inter-turn short-circuit. A highly optimized and accurate cosimulation model for different operating conditions is developed requiring low computation and time resources. The electromechanical models for both healthy and faulty operation are implemented in MATLAB/Simulink while the thermal model is implemented using three-dimensional (3-D) finite-element model (FEM) software. Both models are dynamically coupled to enable the influence of temperature rise on the electromagnetic performance and vice versa to be predicted. Operation under various conditions are investigated, and it is found that the temperature rise under fault conditions and high speed can lead to irreversible demagnetization of the permanent magnets. The superposition principle is used to accurately estimate the impact of short-circuit currents on the temperature rise. A series of dynamic tests are carried out to validate the transient thermal response prediction when operating during both the healthy and fault conditions.

This paper investigates magnet demagnetization characteristics of the modular permanent magnet machine. The influence of flux gaps on magnet flux density, losses distribution, torque and demagnetization are analyzed for different operating conditions. The magnet demagnetizations caused by three sources, such as the PM field, the armature field, and the magnet temperature rise, are individually investigated using the frozen permeability method. Furthermore, coupled electromagnetic (EM)-thermal modelling is also adopted in this paper to fully reveal the advantages of the modular machine in improving machine EM performances. This is essential due to the temperature-dependent properties of the machines, such as the magnet remanence, coercivity, and copper resistivity. For comparison propose, the EM performances with a particular focus on the demagnetization withstand capability for both the modular and non-modular machines are investigated based on the EM-thermal coupling. It is found that, compared to the non-modular machine, the modular machine can achieve higher torque, higher efficiency, and better demagnetization withstand capability.

This paper presents coupled electromagnetic (EM)–thermal modelling of the steady-state dynamic performances, such as torque speed curve and the efficiency map, for surface-mounted permanent magnet machines. One important feature of such a model is that it considers the demagnetization caused by magnet temperature rise at different rotor speeds. EM-only simulations, which often assume that the machines operate under constant temperature, have been widely used in the literature. However, the interaction between EM and thermal performances could lead to very different dynamic performance prediction. This is because the material properties, e.g., magnet remanence, coercivity, and copper resistivity are temperature-dependent. The temperature rise within electrical machines reduces torque/power density, PM eddy current losses, and iron losses but increases copper loss. Therefore, the coupled EM–thermal modelling is essential to determine accurate temperature variation and to obtain accurate EM performances of electrical machines. In this paper, the coupled EM–thermal modelling is implemented for both modular and non-modular machines to reveal the advantages of the modular machine under different operating conditions. The results show that the modular machine generally has better dynamic performance than the non-modular machine because the introduced flux gaps in alternate stator teeth can boost both EM and thermal performance.

AbstractThis paper investigates the benefits and challenges of the multi‐MW direct‐drive offshore wind Vernier generators. It is worth noting that the comparison of generator topologies presented in ref. [1] was for the same power level and therefore a reduced machine volume for the surface‐mounted permanent magnet Vernier (SPM‐V) generators. This would mainly impact the capital expenditure (CAPEX) cost between the different investigated machines. Whereas in this paper, the performance is compared for the same machine volume that allows the Vernier generators to produce a much higher energy yield than a conventional SPM generator. As the extra energy yield would be beneficial over the lifetime of the turbine, this will have a bigger impact than the CAPEX cost savings with a reduced machine volume. In addition, a novel Vernier machine with magnets on both the stator and rotor has been proposed to further improve the energy yield. In addition to the basic electromagnetic performance, the levelised cost of energy (LCOE) of the three generator topologies, that is, the conventional SPM, SPM‐V and the proposed Vernier machines, has been compared. The direct‐drive powertrain systems with SPM‐V and the proposed Vernier generators can achieve LCOE of 12.3% and 24% lower than that of the conventional SPM generators, indicating their huge potential as an alternative to reduce the overall cost of energy.

This paper proposes some consequent‐pole (CP) modular permanent magnet (PM) machines with different flux gap (FG) widths and slot/pole number combinations. The corresponding inset modular PM machines having the same magnet volume are also presented for comparison. It has been demonstrated that the output torques of the consequent pole modular machines are always higher than those of the inset modular machines regardless of FG widths and slot/pole number combinations. Other electromagnetic performances such as back‐EMF, cogging torque, and iron losses etc. are calculated by 2D FEA software and compared as well. The advantages and disadvantages of consequent and inset modular PM machines are summarised here.

This paper investigates the nature of the low saliency ratio of large permanent magnet generators with fractional-slot concentrated windings (FSCWs). A saliency ratio of at least 1.2 is typically required to enable sensorless control of large generators—a value naturally achieved in integer slot winding topologies but absent in FSCW surface-mounted permanent magnet machines reported in the literature. The low saliency ratio in FSCW designs is attributed to larger teeth, which reduce magnetic saturation and increase d-axis inductance. This work explores methods to enhance the saliency ratio of FSCW machines for offshore wind turbines, facilitating sensorless rotor position estimation. The proposed approaches are categorized into two groups: (1) those that preserve the conventional machine geometry with minimal modification to the magnetic circuit and (2) those involving magnetic circuit alterations. The results show that significant improvement in saliency ratio is only achievable through magnetic circuit modifications, such as rotor shoes, albeit with some performance trade-offs. A multi-objective genetic algorithm is employed to design two optimized 3 MW FSCW machine topologies, achieving saliency ratios of 1.15 and 1.2 with minimal performance loss. Compared to a 3 MW FSCW baseline, the optimized designs show stator power reductions of 3.40% and 6.16% for saliency ratios of 1.15 and 1.2, respectively.

This paper investigates the influence of pole number and stator outer diameter on the performance of superconducting (SC) generators. The SC generator has an iron-cored rotor topology. Firstly, the generator structure is introduced and the optimization procedure is described. Then the influence of design parameters on performance, in terms of generator volume, weight, SC wire utilization, and active material cost, etc., is presented. Some relationships for the optimal combinations for different performance attributes are established. In addition, the influence of SC material price on the determination of optimal stator outer diameter and pole number is discussed. Finally, the influence of SC coil area per pole on performance is also investigated.