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Electrical machines with high-temperature superconducting (HTS) armature windings can benefit from high power density and efficiency. Furthermore, by using permanent magnets (PM) on the rotor, the cryogenic system can be significantly simplified compared with the fully superconducting (SC) machines or the machines with SC field windings. Compared with the conventional electrical machines, the performance of machines with HTS armature windings can be more sensitive to the design parameters due to the interaction between the operating current and the flux density. In this article, the influence of stator geometry on the machine with HTS armature windings and PM rotor is investigated. By considering the interaction between the operating current and the flux density, an iteration procedure for calculating the operating current of the HTS armature windings is proposed. A 10-MW surface-mounted PM wind power generator with HTS armature windings is studied by the finite element analysis. It is found that machines with different coil angle have different behaviors when changing the tooth width and the dimensions of tooth tips, which is different from conventional electrical machines. A new design and optimization method is then developed. Finally, the optimal design is identified with global optimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, the operating current and torque of surface-mounted permanent magnet (SPM) wind power generators with high-temperature superconducting (HTS) armature windings are analyzed. The influence of coil location and current angle on the electromagnetic performance is investigated systematically. The results show that the location of the HTS coils significantly affects the operating current and torque. Furthermore, the maximum torque current angle of SPM wind power generators with HTS armature windings can be different from 180° due to the interaction between the armature and magnet fields. A design optimization method for wind power generators with HTS armature windings is developed in this article. The optimal design is then identified with consideration of the coupling influence of coil location and current angle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares the short-circuit performance of superconducting (SC) generators with three different topologies, i.e. iron-cored stator and rotor, iron-cored stator and air-cored rotor, and air-cored stator and rotor. The analysis is based on three-phase short-circuit fault, and finite element analysis is used for simulation. Following the introduction of specifications of generators, the short-circuit performances of different topologies are analysed and compared, with the field winding excited by voltage and current excitation sources, respectively. It shows that the short-circuit performance can be improved by limiting the field current. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of tooth tips on the performance variations due to using grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES) stator laminations in permanent magnet fractional-slot modular machines is studied in this work. It is concluded that the electromagnetic performance is further improved using GOES in machines with tooth tips compared to machines without tooth tips. This is due to a higher increment on the flux density in the airgap. The acoustic behaviour variations due to using GOES are predicted by analysing several mechanical- and acoustic-related parameters. It is predicted that implementing GOES improves the acoustic behaviour in machines without tooth tips. Furthermore, the effects of GOES in machines with tooth tips are slightly improved compared to machines without tooth tips. However, in order to determine the real mechanical and acoustic behaviours, further analysis is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The performance improvement of using grain-oriented electrical steels (GOES) in the stator of PM fractional-slot modular machines is analysed in this study. Several models using a finite element tool are examined and it is concluded the techniques used in the actual software are not accurate for simulating anisotropic behaviour. Consequently, a simplified yet accurate modelling technique is proposed to simulate the performance of this type of electrical machines equipped with GOES. The advantages as well as the drawbacks of using GOES on the electromagnetic performance are investigated for different pole/slot combinations. It is concluded that the use of GOES is beneficial from an electromagnetic point of view mainly due to an increase on the radial component of the airgap flux density. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares the electromagnetic performance of 10-MW superconducting (SC) generators with three different topologies, i.e., iron-cored stator and rotor topology (ISIRT), iron-cored stator and air-cored rotor topology (ISART), and air-cored stator and rotor topology (ASART). The objective is to provide a powerful insight into the advantages and disadvantages of different topologies, and to establish some design guidelines for selecting an appropriate direct-drive SC generator for offshore wind turbine applications. First, the structures of the three SC generator topologies are introduced. Then, the influence of the SC coil cross-sectional area on torque capability is compared. After that three SC generators with different topologies are optimized, respectively, for further comparison, including the active material cost, weight, harmonics in the electromotive force, torque ripple, field harmonics in the SC coil, and forces on the rotor and stator components, etc. It is found that, with the same SC quantity, the torque capability of the ISIRT is much better than that of the other two topologies. However, the advantage becomes less significant when a larger area of the SC coil is employed. The air-gap flux density waveform of the ASART is much smoother than those of the ISIRT and ISART. The torque ripples of the ISIRT and the ISART are much higher than that of the ASART. The field harmonics (both amplitude and frequency) in the SC coil of the ASART are the lowest. For the ISIRT, most of the force on the rotor is acting on the rotor iron, and thus, the SC coil is more likely to be safe from a mechanical performance point of view and the design of the corresponding supporting structure is simple. However, for the air-cored rotor topologies, nearly all the force is acting on the SC coil. For the air-cored stator, the force mainly acts on the armature winding, whereas for the iron-cored stator, it is mainly on the stator teeth. Due to the excellent mechanical performance of iron, the iron-cored stator is therefore more robust. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper investigates the influence of pole number and stator outer diameter on the performance of superconducting (SC) generators. The SC generator has an iron-cored rotor topology. First, the generator structure is introduced and the optimization procedure is described. Then, the influence of design parameters on performance, in terms of generator volume, weight, SC wire utilization, active material cost, etc., is presented. Some relationships for the optimal combinations for different performance attributes are established. In addition, the influence of SC material price on the determination of optimal stator outer diameter and pole number is discussed. Finally, the influence of SC coil area per pole on performance is also investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Flux-switching permanent-magnet (FSPM) brushless machines have attracted considerable interest as a candidate machine technology for applications requiring high torque density and robust rotors. To date, published findings have focused exclusively on single- and three-phase FSPM machines. This paper investigates FSPM brushless machines of higher phase numbers by means of a detailed comparison of the electromagnetic performances of three-, four-, five-, and six-phase variants within the specific context of aerospace machine. Machines having both all poles and alternate poles wound are investigated, with the latter offering scope to reduce mutual coupling between phases so as to achieve improved fault tolerance. The finite-element (FE)-predicted electromagnetic performances in both machines, such as electromotive force waveform, winding inductance, cogging torque, and static torque, are validated by the experiments made on a small-scale five-phase FSPM machine. The nature of the machine specification requires that consideration must be given to mechanical stress in the rotor and the tradeoff with electromagnetic design considerations, notably the degree of rotor saliency which can be incorporated. Therefore, a mechanical FE study of the rotor mechanical stresses of multiphase FSPM machines is also comparatively assessed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]