Low Cost, High Power Density, Flux Switching

Machines and Drives for Power Tools

H. Pollock and C. Pollock R.T. Walter and B.V. Gorti

Department of Engineering Black and Decker Inc.
University of Leicester Towson
Leicester UK Maryland USA

Abstract This paper presents the results of a new flux switching
motor and drive offering high power density and an extremely
low cost power electronic controller. The motor contains a dc
field winding and a bifilar armature winding, both on the stator
with a simple and rugged salient pole reluctance rotor. The
power electronic controller requires only two ground referenced
power transistors. This delivers electronic commutation, high
dynamic performance, speed and torque control at an extremely
low cost. The design of the motor and its electronic controller is
described and test results of a complete drive delivering 2 kW at
15,000 r/min are presented.
I. INTRODUCTION
In the domestic appliance, power tool, light industrial and
automotive markets there is an increasing demand for a low
cost brushless alternative to the series universal motor.
Inverter fed, single phase induction motors and variable
frequency three phase induction motor drives have both been
proposed. These solutions involve relatively complex control
and do not match the power density offered by the series
universal motor. Single phase and three phase permanent
magnet brushless dc motors have achieved success in small
sizes for ventilation fans where the efficiency savings are
justifying the additional cost of the electronically commutated
drive system and the cost of the magnet. Switched reluctance
machines and drives has been seen as having significant
potential in these markets due to the inherently low motor cost
and the potential for simple electronics. Whilst there have been
some notable product successes driven by switched reluctance
machines, the cost of the power electronics remains a barrier to
many applications. This paper presents the results of a
development project to produce a new brushless motor and
drive that is extremely low cost and offers power density in
excess of a comparable series universal motor.
II. THE FLUX SWITCHING MOTOR
The new flux switching FS motor [1,2] has a salient pole
rotor with no windings or permanent magnets. The stator is
substantially non-salient containing a field and armature
winding. The flux switching motor is shown in Fig. 1 with
eight stator teeth and 4 rotor teeth. A field winding in 4 of the
slots establishes a 4 pole magnetic field. The other 4 slots
contain what is referred to as an armature winding. Each
reversal of armature causes the stator flux to switch between
two sets of alternate stator teeth; hence the name flux switching
motor. The flux does not rotate but oscillates. However, with
appropriate control of the armature current the reluctance rotor
can rotate continuously and at a speed controlled by the
armature current frequency.
The flux switching motor could be considered to be the
motoring equivalent of the inductor alternator [3,4,5]. Limited
motion actuators operating on the interaction of a dc and ac
field have been constructed and analysed [6]. There are some
similarities to fully pitched switched reluctance motors though
published work on these motors has concentrated on three
phase machines [7]. The benefit of the inductor alternator and
the proposed flux switching motor is the dc field winding. This
dc field winding can be energized continuously with dc current,
providing the magnetizing energy to the motor at all times
without increasing the kVA requirements of the power
electronic controller. This benefit has also been realized with
switched reluctance machines [8,9]. In the flux switching
machine the field winding can be connected in series or in
shunt with an electronically controlled armature winding.
A F+
F- A
A F-
F+ A
Figure 1. Flux Switching Motor with armature and field windings on the
stator.

0-7803-7883-0/03/$17.00 2003 IEEE

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 +
S3 S4 S2 Series Field
Winding

1 uF 3k3

AC input Armature Armature

Winding 1 Winding 2

S2 S1 S1 S1 S2 RHRP30120 RHRP30120

0 0 C2

0
C1 3300 uF
3300 uF

S1 S2

(a) (b) (c)

IRG4PH50UD IRG4PH50UD

Figure 2. Three possible inverter circuits to control the ac armature current.

A. Power Electronic Circuit Configurations

(a)
The flux switching motor requires an ac armature current in
synchronism with the passing of each rotor tooth to operate.
The power electronic converter for the armature could
therefore be a full bridge or half bridge inverter as shown in
Figs. 2 (a,) and (b) [10].
However in its simplest form the power electronic converter of Shunt
Field
Winding
1 uF 3k3

the flux switching motor can contain two ground referenced AC input Armature
Winding 1
Armature
Winding 2

electronic switches as shown in Fig. 2(c). The armature coils C1

3300 uF
RHRP30120 RHRP30120

must be wound so that two armature coils are placed in every S1 S2

slot and therefore comprise a set of closely coupled (bifilar) S3

coils. The advantages to this configuration are : IRG4PH50UD IRG4PH50UD

simple gate drives for the power devices;

An integral diode in parallel with each switch acts as
the freewheel path when the alternate switch turns off; (b)

Avalanche enhanced power mosfets can be used as the
switches, providing the integral diode and absorbing
the small amount of leakage energy not transferred to
the second closely coupled armature winding.
B. Flux Switching Motor Configurations
The field winding carries dc current in the flux switching
motor. It can be connected either in series with the armature
inverter or with a higher number of turns, in shunt, across the
field supply as shown in Fig.3. In the series field
configuration, Fig. 3(a), it is necessary to add a diode or
capacitor to provide a path for the current in the field winding
while the armature switches are off. In the shunt configuration,
it is also possible to add a field control switch as shown in Fig.
3(b). The field control switch allows the de-energisation of the
field winding when the motor is stopped and offers the
signifcant advantages of field control (e.g. field weakening)
during normal operation. This paper will compare the results
of an identical motor lamination stack, one with a shunt
winding and one with a series field winding. The circuits of
Figs. 3(a) and 3(b) were used in the subsequent experimental
tests.
The armature windings are connected to two 1200 V
IGBTs. An RC snubber captured and dissipated the energy
associated with the leakage inductance between the closely
coupled armature windings. In the experimental motors
presented later in this paper this leakage energy was found to
be only 1% of the total power handled by the converter.
Figure 3. Bifilar armature inverter with (a) field winding in series (b) field
winding and field control switch (S5) connected in shunt
The shunt motor uses an additional ground referenced
power mosfet for the control of the field current. This mosfet
provides the flexibility for field weakening and also allows the
field current to be reduced at light loads.
The series motor incorporates the field winding between
two capacitors forming an ideal EMC filter. An additional
diode is provided to ensure that the capacitor nearest to the
armature circuit is not overcharged during armature current
reversal.
C. Design of the motor for high power density
The design of the motor laminations to optimize the
performance of the flux switching motor has involved new
modeling principles to be developed. Finite element analysis
has been used in conjunction with algebraic equations based
on dc motor equations for the dynamic simulation of the
machine.
Since the field and armature windings are performing
different functions within the machine they do not need equal
slots [11]. Furthermore, the flux behind a field winding slot is
substantially constant and unipolar in nature. The back iron
behind a field slot can therefore be thinner without causing
excessive iron losses.

1452
 (v) From the static data and simple dynamic motor model a
stack length of 60 mm was chosen.
(vi) The mmf in the shunt field winding (1400A) was
chosen to be slightly greater than the rms value of the armature
mmf (1300A). The number of field winding turns and its
resistance was then chosen to deliver at least this mmf when
connected to a 240 V dc supply.
(vii) The armature winding was chosen to deliver the
correct torque constant from a 240V dc supply. The armature
turns would be unchanged for both series and shunt motors. In
calculating the number of turns in the field winding, of the
series connected flux switching motor, the voltage drop across
the series field winding was neglected. The armature voltage
was assumed to be the same as in the shunt motor. Assuming
an efficiency of 65 % the power into the motor during the
constant power operation would be 2800 W. At 240 V dc this
was calculated to be a d.c. current of 11.67 A and would flow
Figure 4. Finite element simulation of the flux switching motor design used through the series field winding. The series field winding was
in the experimental tests. therefore designed to have 128 turns to give a similar mmf as
the shunt field winding. To give a field mmf of at least 1400At
A field slot is therefore designed to be narrower than the 128 field turns were chosen for the series winding i.e. 4 coils of
armature slots but slightly deeper. The armature slot area can 32 turns.
also be increased slightly to provide additional room for the
bifilar armature winding. The motor design used for the (viii) All field conductors were 0.85 mm diameter copper wire.
experimental prototype tested in this paper is shown in Fig. 4.
The outside diameter of the lamination is 90 mm.
At the time of the lamination design a full dynamic TABLE I. SUMMARY OF WINDING DESIGN
simulation did not exist and so the following design procedure
was adopted :
WINDING TOTAL NUMBER OF WIRE RESISTANCE
(i) Static FEA was used to alter the tooth shapes and rotor NUMBER OF TURNS PER DIAMETER AT 25C
radius to maximise the coupling of flux between the field and TURNS COIL
armature windings in the aligned positions. The variation in Bifilar 68 17 1.0mm 0.405
reluctance seen by a fully pitched field winding was minimised Armature 1
though not completely eliminated. A small variation in this Bifilar 68 17 1.0mm 0.406
reluctance was retained to facilitate braking of the motor Armature 2
through energisation of the field winding alone. Shunt Field 2520 630 0.2mm 346
Series Field 128 32 0.85mm 1
(ii) The area available for the armature and field windings
was optimised while ensuring flux density in any part of the
steel was not excessive. This led to a new slot design whereby Two prototype motors (one shunt and one series) were built
the field slots were deeper and narrower allowing the armature from Sankey Scotsil 800/0.65 mm laminations using the design
slots to be wider. The steel behind the field slots carries values. The stack length was 60 mm. Aluminium end bells
unipolar flux with minimal ripple and can therefore have a located on the stator stack supported the bearings. A nylon
higher flux density without increasing iron losses sleeve inserted between the end bells provided a path of
unacceptably[11]. cooling air to be drawn down the outside of the stator stack
from a shaft mounted fan. Identical mechanical arrangements
(iii) The tooth shapes were optimized to deliver a relatively were used for shunt and series stators so that comparisons
flat-topped back emf waveform in the armature under constant could be made between both motors in the same type of
dc field conditions. A first prototype of the flux switching housing. A photograph of the motor construction is shown in
concept [2] had a back emf profile with an unacceptably high Fig. 5.
ratio of peak to rms voltage which made torque production
very inefficient.
(iv) The armature back emf data for a given field winding
mmf was used in a simple dynamic model which allowed the
calculation of armature current and hence the electromagnetic
torque from a square wave voltage excitation.

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 90

85

80

75

percentage on time (%)

70

65

60

55

50

45

40
7000 8000 9000 10000 11000 12000 13000 14000 15000 16000 17000 18000
motor speed (r/min)

Figure 6. Power switch on-time

Figure 5. Stator and Rotor parts before final assembly

D. Control of the motor for acceleration and loading
The power electronic circuits used for the shunt and series
motor tests were shown in Fig. 3(a) and 3(b). With dc current
flowing in the field winding, either through shunt or series
excitation, the armature current must be reversed with each 45
of rotation. A single bit optical sensor and slotted disc with 45
segments was used on the prototype motors to determine the
point of armature current reversal. A low cost 8 bit micro-
controller was used to read the optical sensor signal and
produce the gate signals for the control of the two power
devices.
On starting the gate signal applied to each armature switch
during respective periods of 45 of rotor rotation was
modulated according to a PWM look up table, the duty ratio
increasing with speed. The PWM frequency was 5 kHz.
Above 7500 r/min the internally generated armature emf was
sufficient to allow the modulation to reach 100 % . The motor
speed and torque above this speed was controlled by a single
pulse armature on-time, the percentage of which during the
respective 45 periods was controlled. The controller was
developed to deliver a substantially constant output power over
a speed range from 12,000 r/min to 15,000 r/min. Above
15,000 r/min there was a requirement to limit the no-load speed
of the motor.
This was done by progressively reducing the current pulses
applied to the armature windings. When the speed was in
excess of 18,000 r/min the pulse width applied to each
armature was reduced to approximately one quarter of the
available time for each 45.
During the light load (no-load speed limiting) single pulse
routine it was found advantageous to modulate the mosfet
switch of the shunt field winding with the same on-time as the
IGBT switches on the armature. This reduced the field losses
when the motor was lightly loaded.
At high loads (over 1.2 Nm, below 15000 r/min) the mosfet
of the shunt motor was kept on all the time. This provides
maximum field current and hence maximizes the back emf in
the armature windings and limits the armature current as the
motor slows down under load.
The loading of the motor causes the speed to drop from the
no load speed. As the speed dropped a number of successive
algorithms were implemented to control the pulse width
applied to each armature winding within the available time for
each 45. The turn on point in all of these algorithms was at
the changing state of the optical sensor. The load routines were
calculated to deliver constant power below 15,000 r/min. This
was achieved by the applied voltage reaching a maximum at
15000 r/min and then reducing as the motor torque increased
further. The variation in power switch on time as a percentage
of the time for 45 is shown in Fig. 6.
III. TEST RESULTS
A. Current waveforms
Operation of the motor in pwm mode is shown in Fig. 7.
Operation of the shunt and series motors in high speed
single pulse mode at a load of 1.6 Nm is shown in the
oscilloscope plots in Fig. 8.
In all the oscilloscope polts of Fig. 7 and 8 the armature
current is shown as a bipolar current. This trace was obtained
by the summation of the positive and negative armature current
components through a single current probe. When the current
is decreasing from a positive or negative maximum back to
zero the current is actually flowing in a diode in parallel with
one of the IGBTs.

1454
 (a) Just after start-up
Ch1 Position sensor, Ch2 Series Field current (10 A/div)
Ch3 Armature Current (10A/div)
Ch4 Gate signal to one IGBT
(b) During pwm ramp
Ch1 Position sensor, Ch2 Series Field current (10 A/div)
Ch3 Armature Current (10A/div)
Ch4 Gate signal to one IGBT
Figure 7. Operation in PWM during acceleration
B. Dynamometer testing
The motors were tested on a dynamometer, operating from
a 240 V ac supply. The results of the full tests over the
complete torque range are shown in Fig. 9. Fig. 9(a) shows
how the speed of the motor is maintained as the load torque is
increased from no-load. During this part of the curve the pulse
width applied to the armature switches is increasing reaching a
maximum at 15,000 r/min. As the torque increases further the
armature single pulse width reduces as a percentage of the
avialable time for 45, following a novel algorithm which was
designed to deliver constant power.
1455
(a)
Ch1 Position sensor, Ch2 Shunt Field current (0.2 A/div)
Ch3 Armature Current (10A/div)
Ch4 Gate signal to one IGBT
(b)
Ch1 Position sensor, Ch2 Series Field current (10 A/div)
Ch3 Armature Current (10A/div)
Ch4 Snubber voltage (200 V/div)
Figure 8. Results for the shunt and series versions of the flux switching
motor (a) shunt motor waveforms, (b) series motor waveforms
The constant output power over the specified speed range is
clearly shown in the graphs. The shunt motor follows a 2000W
line of constant power (Fig. 9(b)) while the series motor
produces about 5% less but follows a parallel curve to the
shunt motor.
Both motors were tested with identical switch control
algorithms. Minor changes to the windings would have
enabled both motors to produce identical performance curves.
 18000 Constant Power Output of 2000 W The results of dynamometer testing have demonstrated that
the flux switching motor and drive are capable of delivering 2
16000
kW of power with only two power electronic switches. The
14000 efficiency of these first prototypes was in excess of 65 %.
12000
Further design enhancements to the lamination and the control
algorithms are estimated to improve this efficiency to well over
Speed, rpm

10000 70%.
8000
The shunt motor provides greater flexibility, through
6000 independent control of field and armature currents, but this
4000
Shunt Flux Switching Motor comes at the expense of an extra low current mosfet.
Series Flux Switching Motor

2000

0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8
Torque, Nm

(a) IV. COMPARISON WITH EXISTING SERIES UNIVERSAL

2200 MOTOR TECHNOLOGY
2000 The results obtained from the flux switching motor can be
1800 compared with the results of a series universal motor of similar
1600
size. The dimensions of the two motors are given in Table II
1400
and the comparative performance is presented in Fig. 10
(a,b,c).
Power out, W

1200

1000 It can be seen at a glance that the shapes of the two torque-
800
speed curves (Fig. 10(a)) are distinctly different with the FS
Shunt Flux Switching Motor motor providing the flatter, more constant speed load profile.
600 Series Flux Switching Motor
This flat torque-speed curve is an important consideration in
400
many power tool applications, particularly in the case of wood
200 sawing applications.
0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 The result of the flatter constant speed load profile is that
Torque, Nm
the FS motor reaches its maximum power out with a much
(b) smaller drop in speed. The FS motor delivers maximum load
power at 83% of its no-load speed. The speed of the series
70
universal motor has dropped to 33% of its no-load speed by the
65
time it delivers its maximum power output.
60

55 It is also important to note from Fig. 10(c) that, while the

50 peak efficiency of this universal motor is higher than the FS
45 motor, the FS motor has the higher efficiency at maximum
power output. This is another important consideration in
Efficiency, %

40

35 power tool applications since it allows the product to produce

30 more power without tripping the branch circuit protector.
25 Shunt Flux Switching Motor
Series Flux Switching Motor
20

15

10

5
TABLE II. DIMENSIONS AND KEY PARAMETERS OF COMPARABLE FLUX
0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 SWITCHING AND SERIES UNIVERSAL MOTORS
Torque, Nm
Motor Stator Stack Idle Max Torque- Effic
OD length Speed Power speed at
(c) (mm) (mm) (r/min) out (W) curve Max.
shape Power
Figure 9. Comparative data flux switching motor in shunt and series Series
configuration: (a) Speed vs Torque,(b) Power out,(c)Efficiency vs Power 89 60 19300 1680 Sloping 55%
Universal
output Flux 90 60 18400 2000 Flat 67%
switching

1456
 20000
V. CONCLUSIONS
Constant power output of 2000 W
18000
The results of these tests showed that the series version of
16000 the flux switching motor with the full field excitation has
14000
produced very similar results to the shunt motor. The
efficiencies of the two motors are very similar. The series
12000
version of the flux switching motor requires only two
Speed, rpm

10000 semiconductor switches, two non-isolated gate drives and a

simple 8 bit micro-controller. The shunt version, can if
8000
required employ one extra switch for the control of the field
6000 current. This switch is however rated at a very low current.
4000
Shunt Flux Switching Motor
The flux switching motor retains the simplicity of the
2000 Series Flux Switching Motor
Series Universal Motor
switched reluctance motors low manufacturing cost but for the
0
first time, in a reluctance machine, it employs a power
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0 2.2 2.4 2.6 2.8 3.0 3.2
converter which is extremely low cost. The power converter
Torque, Nm
does not need to be rated to deliver the magnetizing energy of
(a) the motor, which is a further saving in cost. The prototype flux
switching motors have demonstrated power density in excess
2200
of an equivalent series universal motor. This fact, coupled to
2000
the brushless operation, extremely low cost and easily
1800 programmed torque speed curves are leading to commercial
1600
opportunities for this new motor technology.
1400 Black and Decker is employing a Flux Switching motor
using extensions of this technology in a transportable table saw
Power out, W

1200
now being sold in northern Europe. The company plans to
1000
expand the use of this technology in other power tool
800
applications where the durability, power density, and other
600 features of the Flux Switching motor out weigh the extra cost
400 of the drive.
Shunt Flux Switching Motor
Series Flux Switching Motor
200
Series Universal Motor

0
REFERENCES
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0 2.2 2.4 2.6 2.8 3.0 3.2
[1] C. Pollock, J.D. Wale and M. Barnes, Electrical Machines, US patent
Torque, Nm
6,140,729, granted October 31, 2000.
(b) [2] C. Pollock and M. Wallace, The Flux Switching Motor, A DC Motor
without Magnets or Brushes, IEEE IAS Annual Meeting, October
75 1999.
70
[3] G. Guy, "Improvements in dynamo electric machines and motors". UK
65
patent application 18027, 9th September 1901.
60
[4] The British Thomson-Houston Company Ltd, "Improvements in
55
heteropolar inductor alternators". UK patent application 554827, 15th
50
November 1941.
45
[5] K.F. Raby, "Inductor alternators for 10 KC/S", Technical Monograph,
Efficiency, %

40
Engineering Department, The British Thomson-Houston Company Ltd.,
35
27th April 1950.
30
[6] H.R.Bolton and Y. Shakweh, "Performance prediction of Lawss relay
25
actuator," IEE Proceedings, vol. 137, Part B, pp. 1-13, January 1990.
20 Shunt Flux Switching Motor
Series Flux Switching Motor [7] B.C. Mecrow, "New winding configurations for doubly salient
15 Series Universal Motor
reluctance machines," IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications, vol.
10
32, No.6, pp. 1348-1356, November/December 1996.
5
[8] Y. Li, J.D. Lloyd and G.E. Horst, "Switched reluctance motor with dc
0
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000 assisted excitation," IEEE Transactions on Industrial Applications, vol.
Power Output, W 32, No. 2, pp. 801-807, October 1996.
[9] F. Liang, Y. Liao and T.A. Lipo, "A new variable reluctance motor
(c) utilizing an auxiliary commutation winding," IEEE Transactions on
Industrial Applications, vol. 30, No. 2, pp. 423-432, April 1994.
Figure 10. Comparative data between flux switching motor and series [10] J.D. Wale, and C. Pollock, "Novel converter topologies for a two-phase
Univeral motor: (a) Speed vs Torque,(b) Power out,(c)Efficiency vs Power switched reluctance motor with fully pitched windings," IEEE Power
output Electronics Specialists Conference, Baveno, pp. 1798-1803, June 1996.
[11] R.T. Walter, Electric Machines, PCT patent application
. PCT/GB00/02439, filed 2 Jul 1999.

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