Influence of Different Rotor Teeth Shapes on the Performance of Flux Switching Permanent Magnet Machines Used for Electric Vehicles

This paper investigated a 12-slot/11-pole flux switching permanent magnet (FSPM) machine used for electric vehicles (EVs). Five novel rotor teeth shapes are proposed and researched to reduce the cogging torque and torque ripple of the FSPM machine. These rotor teeth shapes are notched teeth, stepped teeth, eccentric teeth, combination of notched and stepped teeth, and combination of notched and eccentric teeth. They are applied on the rotor and optimized, respectively. The influences of different rotor teeth shapes on cogging torque, torque ripple and electromagnetic torque are analyzed by the 2-D finite-element method (FEM). Then, the performance of FSPMs with different rotor teeth shapes are compared and evaluated comprehensively from the points of view of cogging torque, torque ripple, electromagnetic torque, flux linkage, back electromotive force (EMF), and so on. The results show that the presented rotor teeth shapes, especially the combination of stepped and notched teeth, can greatly reduce the cogging torque and torque ripple with only slight changes in the average electromagnetic torque.