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Axial Flux Motors have become very popular because of their higher power density compared to conventional Radial Flux Motors of the same weight and are very efficient and cost effective in electric vehicle and aerial applications. Power density is the ratio of output power to volume of the machine. For a given size machine Axial Flux motors deliver more torque and power, or Radial Flux motors are larger for a given power output. In this blog I provide an introduction to Ansys Maxwell's capability to model a design and obtain FEA results. The model can be developed from nothing, or RMxprt can be used to initialize the design process (automate the geometry and excitation circuit creation.

 

ANSYS MAXWELL 3D

The design and modelling process consists at a minimum of setting up the motion, boundaries, excitations, mesh operations, analysis. Parameters (EM torque and force on objects) and Optimetrics (optimization analysis) are optional settings. Post processing can be setup before or after obtaining results. 

Motion

Define the rotation direction, speed, and mechanical transients (optional).

Boundaries

Apply rotational and planar (mirror) symmetry to reduce the model size and simulation time. It takes 28 min of simulation time to simulate a half symmetry model and 17 min of simulation time to simulate a quarter symmetry model. The simulations are run for one cycle over which steady steady is reached.

Excitations

Use an external circuit to invert DC voltage excitation to three phase voltages. Switch controls can be TIME, POSITION, or SPEED based. 

 

MESH

Apply mesh operations for the different type of geometry objects. The SurfApprox_Coil operation is applied to mesh the curvature of the coils, and the SurfPriority1 operation is used to prioritize the meshing of the surface of the coils.

Analysis Setup

Define the stop (simulation) time and time step and select to save field results for every time step. Also, the Calculator in Field Overlays can be used to create user defined named expressions and applied in the setup to be used to create 1D plots.

Results (Post Processing)

Create field plots of the magnetic flux density and winding current density. The right hand rule for EM force and torque on the stator windings can be used to determine the mechanical force and torque on the rotor magnets. The EM force and torque on the stator windings are equal and opposite to the mechanical force and torque on the rotor magnets. Produce 1D transient plots for the rotor torque and output power.

 

 

 

RMxprt

The initial FEA Model setup and creation in Ansys Maxwell can be automated with easy to use RMxprt templates, and the FEA model can easily modified as desired using the Ansys Maxwell CAD operations and the Maxwell circuit design.

 

OZEN ENGINEERING YOUTUBE VIDEO

 

ABOUT OZEN ENGINEERING INC.

Ozen Engineering is a leading provider of Ansys solutions, catering to a diverse range of industries with a specialization in electronics, semiconductor, biomedical, healthcare, aerospace and automotive applications. Our team delivers personalized solutions to optimize product design and performance by seamlessly integrating Ansys simulation into the product development process. As an elite channel partner of Ansys, we provide best-in-class software tools, consulting, training, mentoring, and technical support.

Contact us to learn about our simulation capability and request a demonstration for us to show you how we can help you with your engineering projects. Ozen Engineering Inc is an Ansys Elite Channel Partner, and we provide training to use Ansys tools, offer consulting services, and sell Ansys software packages.

Visit our website

https://www.ozeninc.com/

Give us a call

(800) 832-3767

Send us a message

info@ozeninc.com

Post by David A. Giglio, PhD, PE
January 5, 2024