An analytical, numerical and experimental study on performance characteristics in a novel Vernier permanent magnet machine

Vernier permanent magnet (VPM) machines have been widely used in the last two decades due to their high torque density resulting from their magnetic gearing effect. In this paper, we present a new design of VPM machine with higher efficiency and power/weight ratio than their conventional counterparts. The proposed design is a combination of discrete-pole and hybrid-pole VPM machines, which incorporates the attractive characteristics of both types to improve the distribution of air-gap flux density and reduce construction costs. The arrangement of the magnets in the stator is spoke type, and their magnetization is peripheral. In order to determine the performance characteristics of the proposed machine, an analytical model based on the subdomain method is presented. The proposed method employs a quasi-Cartesian coordinates system to express the Laplace’s and Poisson’s equations, as well as to determine the solution for each region. Then, the solution of the equations is written in the form of hyperbolic functions and the mathematical expression of the coefficients of the equations will be simpler. To validate the proposed analytical model, a Vernier machine is designed and fabricated and the results of the experimental experiments are compared with numerical (machine simulation in finite element analysis software) and analytical results. The comparison of these results shows that the proposed model is highly accurate.