Highly Efficient Brushless Motor Design for an Air-conditioner

of the Next Generation 42V Vehicle

Hiroshi Murakami 1 Hisakazu Kataoka 1 Yukio Honda 1

Shigeo Morimoto 2 Yoji Takeda 2
1
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. ,ltd., 7-1-1, Morofuku, Daito, Osaka 574-0044, JAPAN.
Phone: +81-720-70-3066, Fax: +81-720-70-3158, E-mail: mura@mot.mei.co.jp
2
Osaka Prefecture University, 1-1, Gakuencho, Sakai, Osaka 599-8531, JAPAN

Abstract - In the past few years, worldwide awareness of
environmental problems has grown dramatically. The idling
stop and 42V battery system attract large attention for next
generation vehicle. In order to adapt to idling stop,
air-conditioning compressors are required to be changed to the
electric-motor drive from the gasoline engine drive. This paper
discusses the optimum design of a high speed and high
efficiency brushless motor for a compressor of the 42V
operated vehicle. The compressor motors require high
efficiency at high speeds. Therefore, turning our attention to an
IPMSM which guarantees structural strength, improved
techniques such as an optimal method of designing a magnet
layout that minimizes iron loss, and concentrated winding
technology using rectangular wire that minimizes copper loss
have been developed. As a result, a method of designing
IPMSM that offers high efficiency of 94% at 15,000 min-1 and is
suitable for the 42V vehicle has been established.
to satisfy these requirements, attention has been paid to an
interior permanent magnet synchronous motor (IPMSM)
with concentrated winding stator that would enable a smaller
coil volume and that could maintain the required mechanical
strength under high speed operation while keeping the high
efficiency drive[1]-[8]. Hence, studies were launched in how
to reduce the size and boost the motor efficiency of an
IPMSM with concentrated winding. Studies included
simulations and experimental results with prototype motors
that aimed to optimize the motor configuration of an IPMSM
rotor for minimum iron loss in the high speed range, because
iron loss was expected to be higher for a concentrated
winding IPMSM than with a distributed winding IPMSM.
4
Higherpower
Torque (Nm), Power (kW)

3 Wide range
I. INTRODUCTION
Higher torque

Amidst growing awareness of global environmental 2

problems, the research and development on the hybrid 90% efficiency range
Electric Vehicle (HEV), Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV)
1
and idling stop systems attract much attention in the
Improve efficiency
automobile Industry. At the same time, the 42V battery
system is recommended rather than the conventional 12V 0
system for energy saving. Therefore, today there is a big 0 5000 10000 15000
-1
20000
technical turning point for automotive manufacturers. Rotational speed (min )
Recently, a lot of interest is focused on hybrid EV and idling
stop systems as technologies for the next generation in low Fig. 1. Compressor motor requirements
fuel consumption vehicle. In order to apply the idling stop for the car conditioner.
system, the automobile air-conditioner must continue to
work even while the engine is stopped on the signal stop. For
this reason, the conventional engine-driven compressors are II. MOTOR DESGIN OF IPMSM FOR
gradually being replaced with electric motor-driven types. DECREASING THE IRON LOSS
This paper reports on the car air-conditioner compressor
motors for the next generation 42V vehicle. The motor A. Comparison between Distributed Winding IPMSM and
requirements of the car air-conditioning compressor are Concentrated Winding IPMSM
shown in Fig. 1. In the summertime, the compressor motor
must rapidly cool the cab environment, which means it will Fig. 2 shows the cross-sections of typical IPMSMs with
required high speeds more than 10,000 min-1and high motor distributed and concentrated windings stator. These motors
efficiency in the high speed operation range. Moreover, it have the same rotor configuration. At first, the flux
must be low fuel-consuming, small and lightweight. In order distribution between the two stator configurations are
calculated and compared. Fig. 3 shows calculation results of

0-7803-7116-X/01/$10.00 (C) 2001 IEEE

461
the q-axis flux distribution using the FEM analyses. In this
comparison, the magnets in the rotors were treated as an air.
A
From this figure, it can be found that the magnetic flux
distribution of the IPMSM with distributed winding has the
90 deg.
same 90 degrees pitch as the rotor pole pitch. On the other 90 deg.
hand, q-axis flux distribution in the concentrated winding
IPMSM differed from rotor pole pitch as it is distributed
winding asymmetrically at 120 degrees pitch to the left and
60 degree pitch to the right. This phenomenon occurs
because the stator has 6 slots arrayed at a 60 degrees pitch
whereas the 4 rotor poles are arranged every 90 degrees, a
important feature of the concentrated winding stator. (a) IPMSM with distributed winding.
Fig. 4 shows the calculation results of the motor A
inductance from the FEM analyses [9]-[10]. This inductance
is obtained from the interlinkage flux at each rotor position 60 deg.
120 deg.
and the current is directed into the stator winding shown in
Fig. 3. As is seen in Fig. 4, the inductance of the
concentrated winding is greater than that of the distributed
winding. However, the difference between the maximum and
minimum values is almost the same, which leads us to
believe that the generated reluctance torque is nearly the
same. Therefore, the inductance of the concentrated winding
is higher in comparison to that of the distributed winding and, (b) IPMSM with concentrated winding.
even if the same torque is generated between the two, the Fig. 3 q-axis flux distribution.
flux density at the stator and rotor core should be higher with
the concentrated winding than the distributed winding.
Fig. 5 shows the calculation results of harmonic order
q-axis analyses at the stator core point A, indicated in Fig. 3. It has
d-axis been found that the basic wave component of IPMSM with
U the concentrated winding is higher than the distributed
u1 u4 u1 winding IPMSM. Moreover, much of the 3rd and 5th
S N
u2 harmonic components overlap. The reason for this result is
u3
u4 that the IPMSM with the concentrated winding has a higher
v4
w4
w3 inductance than the distributed winding IPMSM. That makes
N S
v3 w2 us think greater iron loss will occur in the concentrated
v2 w1
u2 u3 V v1 W winding IPMSM than the distributed winding IPMSM.
Therefore, this study is focused on the effects of iron loss of
the concentrated winding IPMSM in the higher speed range.
(a) IPMSM with distributed winding. The calculation results by the FEM analyses and
experimental results of the prototype motors are discussed.

1.5
q-axis
d-axis Concentrated winding
U
Inductance (p.u.)

u1
1.0
u1

u2
w2 0.5
v2 Distributed winding
w1
V v1 W
u2 0.0
0 45 90 135 180 225 270 315 360

(b) IPMSM with concentrated winding. Rotor position (deg.)

Fig. 2. Typical Configuration of IPMSM.
Fig. 4. Comparison of inductance.

462
 Table 1. Motor Specifications.
Type A Type B Type C
1.5 Stator Configuration Concentrated winding
Distributed winding Pole 4
Concentrated winding Number of stator Slot 6
Flux density (p.u.)

Stator outer Dia. (mm) 110

1.0 Stator Inner Dia. (mm) 60
Airgap Length (mm) 0.6
Stack length (mm) 42
0.5 Thickness of core (mm) 0.35
Magnet Nd-Fe-B
Br (T) 1.25
iHc (kA/m) 1670
0.0 Volume (mm3) 2642
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Rated torque (Nm) 1.5
Rated output (W) 750
Harmonic order
Fig. 5. Harmonic order analysis of stator flux density.
Table 2. Motor parameter.
Type A Type B Type C
Flux linkage a (Wb) 0.072 0.074 0.074
B. Calculation of Iron Loss by Rotor Configuration q-axis inductance L q (mH) 7.68 10.05 10.64
d-axis inductance L d (mH) 5.88 5.91 5.94
Fig. 6 shows the rotor configurations used in this study. Saliency ratio L q /L d 1.3 1.7 1.8
All rotors have the same magnetic volume, that is all
magnets are of the same thickness and width. The rotors are
modeled with differing saliency ratios as Type A, Type B 1.52 T
and Type C. Table 1 and Table 2 show the motor
specifications and parameters used in this studies. The
permanent magnets are embedded progressively deeper into 1.36 T
the rotor in the order of Type A, Type B and Type C. This
widens the q-axis flux path and thus increases the q-axis
inductance Lq and saliency ratio. In this study, the focus is on
the iron loss to identify how the difference in Lq affects
motor characteristics.
Fig. 7 shows the maximum flux density distributions that
are calculated from the FEM analyses. All models are on the (a )Type A
steady state at the rated torque of 1.5 Nm. This figure shows
the flux density values around the stator teeth and yoke. Flux
density is the lowest in Type A, which has the smallest
saliency ratio, and increases as saliency ratio become larger. 1.75 T
This happens because magnetic resistance in the q-axis
direction decreases and consequently q-axis inductance
increases as the permanent magnets are embedded deeper in 1.55 T
the rotor. This indicates that more flux flows through the
rotor's q-axis flux paths, thus causing a higher flux density
around the stator teeth and yoke. This difference in flux
density affects iron loss, which leads us to believe that iron (b) Type B
loss at high speed will be high because of the higher
frequency. 1.80 T

1.65 T

(a)Type A (b) Type B (c) Type C (c) Type C

Fig. 6. Rotor configuration. Fig. 7. Flux density distributions at1.5 Nm.

463
 150
Type A 50
Type B rotational direction
Type C
100
Iron loss (W)

Stress (N/mm 2)
0 45 90 135 180 225 270 315 360

50 -50

radial direction
-100
0
0 5000 10000 15000 A B
Speed (r/min) -150

Fig. 8. Iron loss analyses at 1.5 Nm. Stator position (deg.)

Fig. 9.Maxwell stress distribution of concentrated winding stator.
Fig. 8 shows the calculation result of iron loss obtained in
FEM analyses. Iron loss is calculated at the 1.5 Nm rated
torque and different speeds as the motors are driven at a B
current phase that produced the maximum torque. From
these results, not much difference in iron loss is noted in the
low speed region because of the low frequency. However in
the high speed region, it is confirmed that iron loss increases
with Types B and C, which have higher saliency ratios and
flux densities, and decreases with Type A, which has a small
saliency ratio and flux density. Based on these results, it has
been concluded that a low iron loss rotor such as Type A A
would be best suited for a compressor motor with higher
speed drive.

Fig. 10. Vibration mode of 4poles/6Slots motor.

C. Improvement of Vibration and Noise

Because of the asymmetrical flux distribution shown in

Fig. 3, the concentrated winding stator would vibrate more
than a distributed winding stator. Fig. 9 shows the
0.1 mm

calculation result of Maxwell stress that has been applied to

the surface of the stator teeth at rated torque. The stress on
the positive side in this chart represents stress of the
rotational (torque) component, whereas the negative side
represents the radial component. The horizontal axis shows
Fig. 11. Tooth configuration to improve vibration.
the stator position and the corresponding teeth are also
shown. It can be seen from Fig. 9 that a lot more stress
occurs in the radial direction than the rotational direction. 50
Moreover, a high magnitude of stress is applied in two points, rotational direction
A and B, in the radial direction. As a result, the stator is
believed to warp under the vibration mode shown in Fig. 10. 0
Stress (N/mm )

Therefore, the focus is on a stator with highly stressed teeth

2

0 45 90 135 180 225 270 315 360

shaven as shown in Fig. 11 so as to partially widen the air
-50
gap. Fig. 12 shows the calculations results. The maximum radial direction
stress is at a point about 20% lower than the conventional
stator indicated in Fig. 9. On the other hand, stress in the -100 A B
rotational direction decreases by about 3%, confirming that
it had little or no effect on torque. Fig. 13 shows harmonic
order analyses result of the Maxwell stress for the two -150
stators. It verifies that the proposed stator configuration Stator podition (deg.)
reduces stress at all points, minimizes torque loss and
effectively reduces vibrations. Fig. 12. Stress distribution of improved stator.

464
 30
Conventional stator
25
Proposed stator
Stress (N/mm )
2

20
15
10
5
0
(a) New type (Rectangular wire)
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Harmonic order

Fig.13. Harmonic order analysis of Maxwell stress.

III. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS

To verify the iron loss reduction and motor efficiency

improvement obtained in FEM analyses, prototype motors
are made with Type A and Type B rotor configurations in (b) Conventional type (Round wire)
Fig. 6 and are subjected to performance tests. The test motor
is shown in Fig. 14. Fig. 15 (a) shows the prototyped stator
coil. Because a 42V motor needs a lot of current, rectangular
wires are used to improve the space fill factor of the stator
slot and to reduce stator size. Fig. 15 (b) shows the
conventional stator with round wires. As can be seen in Fig.
15 (c), the rectangular wire stator reduced volume 15% with
respect to the conventional stator. Fig. 16 shows a block
diagram of the experimental setup used in this study.
Fig. 17 and Fig.18 show the motor efficiency of Type A and
Type B, respectively. By comparison, motor efficiency at a
speed more than 10,000 min-1 as nearly 1% higher in Type A. Rectangular wire Round wire
This has been attributed to the fact that the low iron loss (c) Sator Outline
rotor, which had a smaller saliency ratio and flux density of
the stator core in order to minimize ion loss in the high speed Fig. 15 Stator Winding of test motor
region, reduces overall loss.
Based on this information, it was confirmed that a low iron
loss rotor would be good as a high efficiency drive in
applications that require efficiency in the high speed region,
because iron loss accounts for more of the overall loss than
copper loss does.

Rotor Stator
Fig. 14. Configuration of test motor. Fig. 16. Block diagram of experimental equipment.

465
 2.5
(3) A motor driven by a 42 V power supply would need a lot
94% of current flowing through it, therefore it would require a
large gauge wire for the winding, which would consequently
93%
lower space fill factor and make the coil end longer. For this
Torque (Nm)

2.0
reason, a rectangular wire is used for the stator winding and
the new winding technology is established. As a result, the
92%
1.5 coil end was 15% smaller than a conventional stator wound
with round wire.
91%
90%
1.0 (4) The prototype motor with Type A rotor reduced q-axis
11000 12000 13000 14000 15000
inductance by 23% and iron loss at high speed by 20% over
Speed (r/min) the prototype motor with Type B rotor. As a result, a motor
Fig. 17 Motor Efficiency of Type A
efficiency of 94% was obtained at 15,000 min-1, indicating
that the Type A rotor would be best-suited for a car
air-conditioning compressor motor that must be highly
efficient at high speeds.
2.5
93%
REFERENCES
92%
Torque (Nm)

2.0
91%
1.5
90%
89%
1.0
11000 12000 13000
Speed (r/min)
Fig. 18 Motor Efficiency of Type B
IV. CONCLUSIONS
This paper reported on comparative analyses and tests
performed on motors with different saliency ratios in order
to identify the flux distribution and thus iron loss effects of
concentrated winding IPMSMs and determine the best rotor
configuration for the next generation compressor motor for
car air-conditioning. The following are obtained.
(1) Since the rotor pole pitch differs from the stator winding
pitch, the flux profile generated as current flows through the
winding of a concentrated winding IPMSM contains a high
harmonic component and is not sinusoidal in waveform.
Also, owing to high inductance, the flux density at the stator
core is high, making the motor more susceptible to the
effects of iron loss in the high speed region.
(2) In applications that require high efficiency drive at high
speeds range, an IPMSM of low q-axis inductance is
appropriate as it can reduce iron loss in the high speed range.
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