Design and Analysis of Axial Flux Permanent Magnet Machine for Wind Power Applications

This paper approaches the electromagnetic design and finite element analysis of three-phase axial flux generator for the low-speed direct drive wind turbine. Due to the compact size, possible to accommodate a larger number of poles and less weight the permanent magnet generator is an appropriate choice for direct drive wind turbine system. There is a number of PM generator topologies available in the literature. Based on higher flux density in the air gap, starting torque requirement, weight, and cogging torque, the double rotor single stator axial flux PMG is selected for this research work. The proposed double-sided rotor with an inner coreless stator having non-overlapping concentrated winding could be the best choice for small scale wind turbines to produce power at lower speeds. The suggested PMG topology is designed and developed in the magnet software. The performance of PMG is analyzed based on airgap flux, the generated voltage at different speeds, developed torque and power quality.