Improvement to performance of solid-rotor-ringed line-start axial-flux permanent-magnet motor

This paper presents two design-and-analysis cases of a line- start axial-flux permanent-magnet motor: with solid rotor and with composite rotor. For a novel structure of the motor, two concentric unilevel spaced raised rings are added to the inner and outer radii of its rotors to enable auto-start capability. The composite rotor was coated by a thin (0.05mm) layer of copper. The basic equations for the solid rotor ring were extracted. The motor's lack of symmetry necessitated 3D time-stepping finite element analysis, conducted via Vector Field Opera 14.0, which evaluated the design parameters and predicted the motor's transient performance. Results of the FEA show the composite rotor significantly improving both starting torque and synchronization capability over solid rotor.