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Article
Cogging Torque Reduction and Offset of Dual‐Rotor
Interior Permanent Magnet Motor in Electric Vehicle
Traction Platforms
Myeong‐Hwan Hwang 1, Hae‐Sol Lee 2,3, Se‐Hyeon Yang 2,4, Gye‐Seong Lee 2,3, Jong‐Ho Han 2,
Dong‐Hyun Kim 1,2, Hyeon‐Woo Kim 2 and Hyun‐Rok Cha 2,*
1 Department of Electrical Engineering, Chonnam National University, 77 Youngbong‐ro, Buk‐gu,
Gwangju 61186, Korea; han9215@naver.com (M.‐H.H.); bjiuh2608@kitech.re.kr (D.‐H.K.)
2 EV Components & Materials R&D Group, Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, 6 Cheomdan‐gwagiro
208 beon‐gil, Buk‐gu, Gwangju 61012, Korea; eddylee12@kitech.re.kr (H.‐S.L.); sehyun048@kitech.re.kr (S.‐
H.Y.); bcrow16@kitech.re.kr (G.‐S.L.); Jonghohan@kitech.re.kr (J.‐H.H.); kimhw@kitech.re.kr (H.‐W.K.)
3 Robotics and Virtual Engineering, Korea University of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34113, Korea
4 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Chonnam National University, 77 Youngbong‐ro, Buk‐gu,
Gwangju 61186, Korea
* Correspondence: hrcha@kitech.re.kr; Tel.: +82‐62‐600‐6212
Received: 12 April 2019; Accepted: 7 May 2019; Published: 9 May 2019
Abstract: Recently, various methods have been proposed to increase the output power density of a
driving motor applied to an electric vehicle. One such method is to design a structure with two
motor rotors. High output density can be obtained by applying the dual rotor to the motor.
However, this increases the cogging torque, which can cause high noise and vibration. In this paper,
we proposed a method for reducing the cogging torque by adjusting the angle between the magnet
and the dual rotor, as well as a novel method for reducing the cogging torque by angular adjustment
of the slot opening based on electromagnetic field analysis. In addition, the design was implemented
by applying a split core to increase the ease of manufacturing and the dot rate in the motor. We
believe that high cogging torque, which is a disadvantage of dual rotor motors, can be lowered by
the methods proposed in this paper. The results of this study are expected to be applicable to electric
vehicles that require high output power density.
Keywords: dual‐rotor interior permanent magnet synchronous motor; torque ripple; cogging
torque; electric vehicle
1. Introduction
The environmentally friendly electric car market is continuously expanding on a global scale
and the automotive industry is engaged in the development of motors with high power density for
application to electric vehicles. In particular, the development of traction motors, which are critical
to electric vehicles, is in focus. Recently, a method for increasing the output density by using a
structure with dual rotors was proposed. However, a drawback of this method was that the cogging
torque was doubled, resulting in high noise and vibration. This makes the structure unsuitable for
electric vehicles, as they require low noise and low vibration. Therefore, research on reducing the
noise and vibration in driving motors applied to electric automobiles are being actively conducted.
Yet, there has been no active research on reducing vibrations and noise when using dual rotors.
Therefore, this paper proposed a cogging torque canceling design suitable for dual rotor motor.
The basic structure was based on an interior permanent magnet (IPM) motor. Motors with an
IPM structure have been applied mostly to electric vehicle drive motors because they have high
output density and high efficiency [1‒3].
Energies 2019, 12, 1761; doi:10.3390/en12091761 www.mdpi.com/journal/energies
Energies 2019, 12, 1761 2 of 13
The reason for the high output density and the high efficiency of the IPM synchronous motor is
that it utilizes reluctance torque as well as magnetic torque and has a structure wherein permanent
magnets are embedded inside the rotor [4,5]. This structure generates two torque components—one
due to the permanent magnet and another due to the difference in the d‐q‐axis magnetic reluctance—
thereby ensuring high output density. Therefore, the IPM motor is suitable for practical applications
requiring high output density.
In the dual rotor motor, the permanent magnets are placed inside and outside of the split cores
to form a magnetic circuit between the inner and outer permanent magnets and the yoke of the rotor.
This allows the complete division of the split core so that individual coil windings can be applied to
significantly enhance the productivity of the split cores and the output of the motor [6‒10].
Despite its advantages, the dual rotor IPM motor generates twice the cogging torque; moreover,
the cogging torque and torque ripple are larger than in the conventional single‐rotor motor.
Therefore, reduction of the cogging torque and torque ripples of the IPM motor are important. The
electromagnetic vibration sources of the IPM motor include the non‐uniformity of the normal force
due to rotor eccentricity, axial thrust variation due to axial eccentricity, commutation torque ripples,
and cogging torque according to the driving system [11,12]. The IPM motor can achieve high
magnetic flux density in the air gap and high output because the lengths of the mechanical and
magnetic air gaps are identical; however, the relatively high cogging torque should be reduced as
much as possible in the design stage because it has significant effects on the noise and vibration of
the motor [13,14]. Therefore, the reduction of cogging torque to lower the vibrations is an important
research topic.
Consequently, active research is underway to reduce vibration and noise in IPM motors. Many
studies have published methods to reduce the cogging torque and torque ripples, such as adjustment
of layout, adjustment of slot and tooth width, application of permanent magnet skew, application of
a supporting tool on the tooth, use of slotless armature, and the application of notches [15,16]. Most
of the methods used to reduce cogging torque and torque ripples implemented in other studies were
electromagnetic methods, which reduced the cogging torque and torque ripples but also reduced the
effective flux, thus lowering the output and efficiency. Mechanical methods reduce the effective flux
much less than the electromagnetic methods. Thus, they facilitate the operation of high efficiency,
high power motors.
Therefore, in this paper, we have proposed a method to reduce the generation of cogging torque,
which is the biggest weakness of the dual rotor type BLDC motors. First, we verified the well‐known
method for reducing the cogging torque by optimizing the shapes of the stator and rotor. Secondly,
we examined the method for reducing the cogging torque by mechanically changing the magnet
arrangement. In order to overcome the difficulty of precisely matching the arrangement of the
magnets, we proposed a new method for reducing the cogging torque by adjusting the angle of the
slot opening. As a general method, we proposed the minimization of cogging torque by adjusting the
slot opening, the length of the magnet, and the distance between the magnet and the end of the rotor,
by modifying the stator. In addition, we examined the arrangement of the magnets and finally
proposed a cogging torque reduction method based on the adjustment of the slot opening angle.
In Section 2, the cogging torque equation and the IPM motor design flow are explained. In
Section 3, the analytical model is constructed by deriving the specifications of the electromagnetic
field analysis model through experiments, and the analysis and experimental methods are described.
In Section 4, the cogging torque is minimized through experiments, and the optimal design of the
cogging torque is analyzed through electromagnetic field analysis. Finally, Section 5 summarizes the
conclusions.
2. Theory
2.1. Governing Equations
Energies 2019, 12, 1761 3 of 13
The governing equations based on the d‐ and q‐axis current control of the IPM consisting of
three‐phase windings and permanent magnets in the rotor are described here. First, the voltage
equations are expressed as follows:
𝑑𝜆
𝑣 𝑅𝑖 𝜔𝜆 (1)
𝑑𝑡
𝑑𝜆
𝑣 𝑅𝑖 𝜔𝜆 (2)
𝑑𝑡
where 𝑣 and 𝑣 are the independent power sources of the virtual d‐axis and q‐axis coils of the
stator.
In the voltage equations, the interlinkage flux of the d‐axis and q‐axis, 𝜆 and 𝜆 , are
expressed as follows:
𝜆 𝐿 𝑖 Φ (3)
𝜆 𝐿 𝑖 (4)
The interlinkage flux of the d‐axis includes the component of the permanent magnet. Here, the
mechanical output and torque can be determined by excluding the stator copper loss and magnetic
field energy change from the power expressed as a three‐phase voltage and current relation as
follows:
3
𝑃 𝜔Φ 𝑖 𝜔 𝐿 𝐿 𝑖 𝑖 (5)
2
𝑃 3 (6)
𝑇 Φ 𝑖 𝐿 𝐿 𝑖 𝑖
2 2
The magnetic torque due to the interaction between the interlinkage flux of the permanent
magnet and the q‐axis current and the reluctance torque due to the difference in inductance can be
distinguished from Equation (6) [17‒19].
2.2. Cogging Torque and Characteristic Equation
The cogging torque is a non‐uniform torque of the stator, which is inevitably generated in a
motor using a permanent magnet. It represents the radial torque, which tends to move to the
equilibrium state where the magnetic energy of the motor is the lowest. Because the cogging torque
is a change in energy resulting from the rotation of the motor rotor, it can be determined by the partial
differentiation of the internal energy of the driving motor by the rotor position angle of the
synchronous motor as follows:
∆𝑊 𝛼
𝑇 𝛼 (7)
∆ 𝛼
where TCog is the cogging torque, ∆𝑊 𝛼 is the change in energy, and ∆ 𝛼 is the rotation of the
rotor.
1
𝑊 𝐵 𝑑𝑉 (8)
2𝜇
In Equation (8), B is the flux density and μ is the permeability.
𝐵 𝐺 𝜃, 𝑧 ∙ 𝐵 𝜃, 𝛼 (9)
In Equation (9), G θ, z is a function of the air gap permeance and B θ, α is the air gap flux
density. 𝜃 is the angle at the circumference and α is the rotation angle. By substituting Equation (9)
into Equation (8), we got
𝑊 𝛼 𝐺 𝜃, 𝑧 ∙ 𝐵 𝜃, 𝛼 𝑑𝑉 𝐺 𝜃, 𝑧 ∙ 𝐵 𝜃, 𝛼 𝑟𝑑𝜃𝑑𝑟𝑑𝑧 𝑅
(10)
𝑅 𝐺 𝜃, 𝑧 ∙ 𝐵 𝜃, 𝛼 𝑑𝜃 ,
Energies 2019, 12, 1761 4 of 13
𝑊 𝛼 𝑅 𝑅 ∑ 𝐺 𝐵 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑛𝑁 𝜃 cos 𝑛𝑁 𝜃 𝛼 𝑑𝜃 𝑅
(11)
𝑅 ∑ 𝐺 𝐵 cos 𝑛𝑁 𝛼 𝜋,
where 𝑁 is the least common multiple of the number of poles of the rotor and the number of slots
of the stator.
In the final analysis, the cogging torque was expressed as the partial differentiation of the air
gap energy by the rotation angle of the rotor from Equation (11), as follows [20‒22]:
𝐿𝜋
𝑇 𝛼 𝑅 𝑅 𝐺 𝐵 𝑛𝑁 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑛𝑁 𝛼 (12)
4𝜇
As can be seen from Equation (12), the cogging torque was determined by the values of 𝐺
and 𝐵 .
3. Dual Rotor Modeling
3.1. Machine Topology
Figure 1 shows the results of the modeling and electromagnetic field analysis conducted using
the electromagnetic analysis tool “JMAG” (Ver. 14.1). The parameters were fixed for analyzing the
cogging torque, and the results of the electromagnetic field analysis were derived. Figure 1 shows the
structure of the dual rotor. Winding is applied to the yoke rather than to the slot to minimize the slot
opening, as in the conventional method, and the split core is adopted. This enables a structure in
which winding can be easily applied to at least 60% of the area in one slot. Owing to the difference in
circumference between the inner and outer rotors, magnets of different strengths were applied for
the inner and outer rotors in the modeling (Outer Rotor: N35SH, Inner Rotor: N45SH). A magnet of
higher grade was used in the inner rotor, as it could accommodate a smaller magnet, whereas a
magnet of lower grade was used in the outer rotor, as it could accommodate a larger magnet.
(a)
(b) (c)
Figure 1. Dual rotor structure and cogging torque reduction method: (a) Dual rotor structure, (b)
cogging torque reduction method according to magnet angle, (c) cogging torque reduction method
based on adjustment of dual rotor slot opening angle.
Energies 2019, 12, 1761 5 of 13
3.2. Design Specifications of Dual Rotor IPM Motor
The slot and pole number combination of the dual rotor IPM motor were selected after analyzing
the back EMF value by applying 2‐pole 3‐slot scale combinations. The 8‐pole 12‐slot, 16‐pole 24‐slot,
and 24‐pole 36‐slot combinations were compared through electromagnetic field analysis. The
comparison results of the three combinations found that the 16‐pole 24‐slot combination resulted in
back EMF with sinusoidal waveform. Therefore, 16‐pole 24‐slot was selected as the final design
specification.
It can be seen in Figure 2a,c that the back EMF waveforms with the 8‐pole 12‐slot and 24‐pole
36‐slot combinations were irregular whereas the back EMF waveform with the 16‐pole 24‐slot
combination, shown in Figure 1b, was sinusoidal.
(a) (b) (c)
Figure 2. Analysis of the Back EMF waveforms of 2‐pole 3‐slot scale combinations. Back EMF with (a)
8‐pole 12‐slot combination; (b) 16‐pole 24‐slot combination; (c) 24‐pole 36‐slot combination.
Table 1 shows the model design specifications of the dual rotor IPM motor used in the analysis.
The output of the motor was 20 kW and the combination of 16 poles and 24 slots, which resulted in
back EMF with sinusoidal waveform (Figure 1), was selected. The current range was set to 72 A_rms
and the rated voltage was 310 V.
Table 1. Specifications of the dual rotor IPM motor.
According to the energy method, the cogging torque is the change in static magnetic energy
when the motor rotates. Therefore, we compared the results of cogging torque obtained from
electromagnetic field analysis of four methods, including the stator and rotor shape design method,
which is the general method proposed in many studies.
This study performed the following four analyses: (i) Analysis of the slot opening adjustment in
the stator, (ii) analysis of the magnet length, (iii) analysis of the cogging torque according to the gap
between the magnet and the stator tip, and (iv) analysis of the stator shape.
It was expected that the cogging torque could be reduced by examining the energy changes
connected to the stator and rotor based on the four analyses mentioned above. In addition, a method
for reducing the cogging torque by adjusting the angle between the magnet and the inner and outer
rotors, which was the method proposed in this paper, was examined. The adjustment of the slot
opening angle in the stator is a simple method that can be widely applied because it involves the
modification of the core shape.
Based on the results, we verified the method for reducing the cogging torque, including the
recently studied method for controlling the cogging torque through the magnet angle, and proposed
a method for reducing the cogging torque according to the angle of the stator slot opening, which is
easy to adopt in manufacturing and can effectively reduce the cogging torque.
3.3. Experimental Methods for Cogging Torque Analysis
Energies 2019, 12, 1761 6 of 13
Electromagnetic field analysis was performed through “JMAG” (Ver. 14.1) and the
characteristics of the cogging torque were derived in order to perform a comparative analysis. The
data values were compared using electromagnetic field software keeping one parameter fixed at a
time. Figure 3 examines the method used to reduce the cogging torque by modifying the stator and
rotor geometries. The four general methods were analyzed similar to the proposed method. The dual
rotor IPM motor had outer and inner slots of the stator and Figure 3a depicts how the optimal design
value was derived by adjusting the lengths of the outer and inner slot openings. Figure 3b shows the
comparison of the cogging torques by changing the lengths of the permanent magnets in the outer
and inner rotors. Figure 3c shows the analysis of the output and cogging torque by changing the
distance between the magnet and the stator tip. The output and cogging torque have a close linear
relationship with the distance between the magnet and the stator. Figure 3d shows the derivation of
the design value at which the cogging torque was the lowest by modifying the detailed design values
of the inner stators. The cogging torque optimization method was proposed based on the four
analysis methods in Figure 3.
(a) (b)
(c) (d)
Figure 3. Cogging torque analysis experiments. (a) Analysis based on slot opening of the stator; (b)
Analysis based on magnet length; (c) Analysis based on distance between magnet and stator tip; (d)
Analysis based on stator shape.
4. Comparison and Analysis Results
4.1. Cogging Torque Analysis of Dual Rotor Stator Slot Opening Length
The cogging torque was analyzed at the rated velocity of 2200 rpm by adjusting the stator slot
opening. An analysis of the graph in Figure 4 reveals the decreasing trend of the cogging torque as
the slot opening became smaller. As shown on Figure 4, the cogging torque of the inner rotor was 3
Nm when the slot opening was 1 mm and 36 Nm when the slot opening was 11 mm, which was a
difference of 33 Nm.
The best value of the cogging torque was achieved when the inner slot opening was 1 mm and
the outer slot opening was 5 mm. An analysis of the graph in Figure 4 revealed the decreasing trend
of the cogging torque as the slot opening became smaller.
Energies 2019, 12, 1761 7 of 13
Figure 4. Comparison of cogging torque according to the length of the slot opening.
4.2. Analysis of Cogging Torque According to the Dual Rotor Magnet Length
In general, the magnetic flux increases as the magnet length increases. Thus, when the magnet
length decreased, the torque decreased due to the reduced magnetic flux, but this significantly
affected the output. Furthermore, the magnet length affects the cogging torque. Therefore, the
appropriate cogging torque should be derived without reducing the output.
Figure 5 shows the cogging torque analysis results according to the magnet lengths of the inner
and outer rotors. Figure 5a shows the variation in the outer cogging torque with a change in the outer
rotor magnet length. It can be seen from the figure that the cogging torque was 3.8 Nm at the outer
rotor magnet length of 36 mm and 10.5 Nm at 30 mm, which was a difference of 6.7 Nm. Figure 5b
shows the analysis of the inner cogging torque according to the inner rotor magnet length. It can be
seen from the figure that the cogging torque was 0.5 Nm at the inner rotor magnet length of 18 mm
and 1.3 Nm at 22 mm, which was a difference of 0.8 Nm.
(a) (b)
Figure 5. Analysis of cogging torque according to the dual rotor magnet length. (a) Change in
permanent magnet length of outer rotor; (b) Change in permanent magnet length of inner rotor.
The results of Figure 5 are outlined in Table 2. In the early stage, the magnet length for the outer
rotors increased from 30 to 40 mm and the inner rotor increased from 14 to 22 mm in increments of 2
mm. The inner rotor magnet length was analyzed up to 22 mm because of the limitation of the model.
The experimental results showed that the cogging torque was the lowest at a magnet length of 36 mm
for the outer rotor and 18 mm for the inner rotor.
Energies 2019, 12, 1761 8 of 13
Table 2. Cogging torque according to the dual rotor magnet length.
(a) Permanent Magnet Length of Outer Rotor (b) Permanent Magnet Length of Inner Rotor
Permanent magnet length Outer cogging torque Permanent magnet length Inner cogging torque
(mm) (Nm) (mm) (Nm)
30 10.5 14 1.0
32 8.2 16 0.8
34 5.8 18 0.5
36 3.8 20 1.4
38 6.5 22 1.3
40 8.0
The results shown in Figure 5 are outlined in Table 3. In Table 2, the optimal value was found
by increasing the magnet length in increments of 2 mm. In Table 3, the optimal design value was
derived by subdividing the optimal results and increasing the magnet length in increments of 0.5
mm. The lowest cogging torque of 3.6 Nm was observed at the outer rotor magnet length of 36.5 mm,
and that of 0.4 Nm was observed at the inner rotor magnet length of 17.5 mm.
Table 3. Detailed analysis of the magnet length and inner cogging torque of dual rotor.
(a) Permanent Magnet Length of Outer Rotor (b) Permanent Magnet Length of Inner Rotor
Permanent magnet length Outer cogging torque Permanent magnet length Inner cogging torque
(mm) (Nm) (mm) (Nm)
35 4.8 16.5 0.5
35.5 4.2 17 0.6
36 3.8 17.5 0.4
36.5 3.6 18 0.5
37 3.9 18.5 0.7
4.3. Analysis of Cogging Torque According to the Distance between Magnet and Rotor Tip
Figure 6a shows the cogging torque values against the distance between the magnet and the
stator of the outer rotor. In the outer rotor, the cogging torque was the lowest (3.1 Nm) at a distance
of 0.8 mm between the magnet and the rotor tip. Figure 6b shows the cogging torque values against
the distance between the magnet and the stator of the inner rotor. The lowest cogging torque value
of 0.6 Nm was observed at a distance of 2.1 mm.
(a) (b)
Figure 6. Cogging torque according to the distance between magnet and stator of dual rotor. (a)
Distance between magnet and stator of outer rotor; (b) Distance between magnet and stator of inner
rotor.
4.4. Analysis of Cogging Torque According to Stator Shape
Energies 2019, 12, 1761 9 of 13
The representative method for reducing the cogging torque in the stator is to apply a skew to
the stator. However, this method cannot be applied to a split core. Furthermore, it requires an
additional process that decreases the output power density of the motor by reducing the occupation
ratio of the winding, which increases the motor production cost. Therefore, it is meaningful to reduce
the cogging torque by optimizing the stator shape without applying the skew.
The distances of four different spots, named (a) to (d), were adopted in this study to optimize
the stator shape, and they are shown in Figure 7. In distance of (a) shown in Figure 8a, the inner and
outer slot lengths of the stator were changed to the same value, which resulted in the inner cogging
torque of 0.8 Nm and the outer cogging torque of 2.7 Nm at a distance of 0.9 mm. The lowest cogging
torque was obtained when these two cogging torque values were added together. The lowest inner
cogging torque was obtained at a distance of 0.5 mm and the lowest outer cogging torque was
obtained at a distance of 0.9 mm.
Figure 7. Four different spots for the distance parameter.
In distance of (b) shown in Figure 8b, the outer cogging torque was 2.1 Nm and the inner cogging
torque was 0.8 Nm at a distance of 9.5 mm. However, the adjustment of length in No. 2 is linked to
the stator area and this area is analyzed by a factor associated with the occupation ratio of the
winding.
In distance of (c) shown in Figure 8c, the outer cogging torque was 2.1 Nm and the inner cogging
torque was 1.0 Nm at a distance of 10.5 mm. The length change in No. 3 was also related to the
winding area. The largest winding area must be used to produce a motor with a high output.
In distance (d) shown in Figure 8d, the sum of the cogging torques was the lowest at 1.8 mm,
where the outer cogging torque was 1.75 Nm and the inner cogging torque was 1.3 Nm.
(a) (b)
Energies 2019, 12, 1761 10 of 13
(c) (d)
Figure 8. Comparison and analysis according to stator spot (a) to spot (d). (a) Analysis of cogging
torque according to the slot length in spot (a); (b) analysis of cogging torque according to the slot
length in spot (b); (c) analysis of cogging torque according to the slot length in spot (c); (d) analysis of
cogging torque according to the slot length in spot (d).
4.5. Analysis of Cogging Torque According to the Magnet Angles of Inner and Outer Rotors
Figure 9 illustrates the core functionality of this paper, which was the method for reducing the
cogging torque by applying an angle difference between the outer and inner magnets. Furthermore,
the optimal angle was determined through an experiment that offset the cogging torques by varying
the angles of the slot opening centers of the outer and inner rotors based on the detailed structure
design according to the shape dimensions.
The plot in Figure 9 shows the analysis of the cogging torque according to the magnet angle. The
cogging torques in the inner and outer rotors are shown in the figure. The results of adding the inner
and outer cogging torques are also shown in Figure 8. The cogging torque of 45 Nm was generated
at the analytical step electrical angle of 5°.
Figure 9. Cogging torque at the magnet angle of 0°.
Figure 10, shows the method proposed in this study to reduce the cogging torque by adjusting
the angle of the slot opening. Recently, Figure 9 was reported in some studies; however, Figure 10
suggests a method for reducing the cogging torque by adjusting the angle of the slot opening rather
than by magnet angle control through electromagnetic field analysis.
The plot of Figure 10 shows the electromagnetic field analysis results obtained by adjusting the
angles of the inner and outer rotor magnets. From the analysis, it was verified that the cogging
torques generated in the internal and external rotors alternated when the machine angle was 5.62°;
the corresponding design is shown in Figure 10. The net cogging torque is also shown in this figure.
The analysis of the adjustment of the mechanical angle between the inner and outer rotor magnets
confirmed the intersection of the inner and outer cogging torques, as shown in Figure 9. The model
that considerably reduced the cogging torque can be achieved by adding alternating waveforms at
the magnet angle of 5.62°.
Energies 2019, 12, 1761 11 of 13
Figure 10. Cogging torque when the magnet angle is 5.62°.
Figure 11 shows how to adjustment of stator slot opening angle. The method to show the cogging
cancellation by changing the angle between the slot opening centers of the outer and inner rotors was
verified by electromagnetic field analysis. In the case of ∠0°, cogging cancellation did not occur,
similar to the case where only the slot opening was adjusted; however, cogging cancellation occurred
when the angle was varied, and it was possible to derive the cogging cancellation waveform ideally
at ∠7.5°.
Figure 11. Adjustment of stator slot opening angle.
Figure 12a shows the result of the cogging torque in the general dual rotor motor. It was
confirmed that the maximum torque reached 19 Nm. Figure 12b shows the result of analyzing the
cogging torque by adjusting the slot opening angle. The cogging torques of the inner rotor and the
outer rotor were found to intersect with each other. A cogging torque close to zero can be obtained
by adding the alternating torques to reduce noise and vibration of the motor.
(a) (b)
Figure 12. Results of cogging torque by adjusting the slot opening angle. (a) Sum of outer and inner
cogging torques; (b) Sum of alternating outer and inner cogging torques.
Energies 2019, 12, 1761 12 of 13
5. Conclusions
This study performed characteristic analysis by applying finite element analysis to a dual‐rotor
interior permanent magnet synchronous motor for electric vehicles. The cogging torque values were
analyzed in the following four ways: Analysis based on the adjustment of the slot opening length of
the driving motor stator, analysis based on the rotor magnet length, analysis based on the distance
between the magnet and the stator tip, and analysis based on the stator shape. The same analysis
conditions were used for these four analyses. In addition, the cogging torque reduction characteristics
of the motor were analyzed through electromagnetic field analysis of the modification of stator and
rotor shapes, which is a commonly applied method.
In this paper, guidelines were presented for rotor and stator design to minimize the cogging
torque in IPM motors. A method to reduce the noise and vibration by reducing the cogging torque
was proposed; four basic shape modification methods and two novel cogging torque reduction
methods were designed using electromagnetic field analysis.
It was confirmed that the arrangement of the magnets at different mechanical angles resulted in
the alternation of the cogging torques, which when added together reduced the cogging torque. It
was also confirmed that the cogging torque could be designed close to zero by this method.
However, considering that altering the angle of the magnet, which is a novel method of reducing
the cogging torque in the dual rotor, has the disadvantage that it is difficult to precisely angle the
magnet, we proposed changing the cogging torque by generating an angle difference in the stator
slot opening. The analysis of this method confirmed that it could yield the same results as those
obtained with the magnet arrangement. It is believed that this method can be widely used owing to
its ease of manufacture when compared with the method requiring change in the magnet
arrangement.
Author Contributions: Conceptualization, M.‐H.H. and H.‐R.C.; data curation, H.‐S.L.; formal analysis, J.‐H.H.;
methodology, M.H.H.; supervision, H.‐R.C.; validation, D.‐H.K. and G.‐S.L. and S.‐H.Y.; visualization, H.‐W.K.;
writing—original draft, M.‐H.H.; writing—review and editing, H.‐R.C.
Funding: This research was funded by the support of the Korea Institute of Industrials Technology as “Variable
Architecture Powertrain Platform and Self‐Driving Factor Technology Development for Industrial EV Self‐
Driving Vehicle” (KITECH EO‐19‐0038).
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
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