Magnetic Field Analytical Solution for Non-homogeneous Permeability in Retaining Sleeve of a High-Speed Permanent-Magnet Machine

This work presents a novel solution for magnetic field calculation in two-dimensional problems in which one region is defined with space-varying magnetic parameter. The proposed solution extends the well-established Maxwell–Fourier method for calculating magnetic fields in surface-mounted cylindrical high-speed permanent-magnet machines. This contribution is effective to evaluate more realistic magnetic parameters, where measurements of a high-speed permanent-magnet generator prototype indicate saturation in the retaining sleeve due to pole-to-pole leakage flux. The saturation profile is a function of mechanical angle and can be modeled with the aid of a space-varying relative permeability, expressed in terms of a Fourier series. As an example, the presented solution has been applied to a surface-mounted PM machine at no-load condition. Magnetic field calculations show that a simple saturation profile, with low order space-varying permeability in the retaining sleeve significantly affects the magnetic flux density distribution in the air-gap. The analytical solution is confronted with finite-element method, which confirms validity of the proposed methodology.