Electromagnetic Characteristics Analysis of a Novel Differential Dual‐Rotor Contra‐Rotating Axial‐Flux PM Motor with Equidirectional Toroidal Winding

In this paper, a novel differential dual‐rotor contra‐rotating axial‐flux PM (DDC‐AFPM) motor with equidirectional toroidal winding (EDTW) applied to electric propulsion of ships is proposed. Different from the conventional AFPM motor with contra‐rotating rotors (CR), the rotors of the proposed motor on both sides of the stator rotate oppositely at different speeds. The structure of the proposed motor is introduced and the operation principle is clarified. Initial parameters of the proposed motor are given, and the correctness of the simulation results is indirectly verified through the prototype of the AFPM motor with dual‐rotor and EDTW. In order to further improve the electromagnetic performance of the proposed motor, parameters of the motor are preliminarily improved. Finally, the electromagnetic characteristics including armature field, no‐load and on‐load characteristics of the proposed motor are analyzed based on three‐dimensional finite element method (3D‐FEM). The simulation results show that the proposed motor has good electromagnetic characteristics and is suitable for ship propulsion. © 2023 Institute of Electrical Engineer of Japan and Wiley Periodicals LLC.