A New Quasi-3-D Analytical Model of Axial Flux Permanent Magnet Machines

Fast design procedures of electrical machines require the use of adapted modeling approaches. This is particularly true for axial flux permanent magnet (AFPM) machines, which have an intrinsic 3-D electromagnetic structure. Indeed, accurate modeling of AFPM machines requires the use of 3-D finite-element analysis (3-D FEA), which is highly time consuming, especially at first design stages. This paper presents a new quasi-3-D analytical model (AM) that allows modeling accurately AFPM machines while saving a huge amount of time as compared with 3-D FEA. This new approach combines a multislice AM, which takes into account a part of the 3-D effects, and considers the end-effects by a simple and effective radial dependence modeling of the magnetic field in AFPM machines.