MEC-Based Modelling of Claw Pole Machines:Application to Automotive and Wind Generating Systems

The paper deals with the development and the finite element validation of the magnetic equivalent circuits (MECs) of three claw pole topologies. These are considered as viable candidates for automotive and wind generating applications. The first concept is the conventional claw pole alternator, the second claw pole topology has a DC-excitation winding in the stator, rather than in the rotor in conventional machine, and the third claw pole concept is a one-phase machine with claw pole in the stator and PM excitation in the rotor. The proposed MECs consider both no-load and loaded armature operations. It also accounts for the saturation of the magnetic circuit. The resolution of the established MECs is carried out using the Newton-Raphson algorithm. A validation of the proposed MECs is achieved considering a comparison between their results and those yielded by 3D finite element analysis.