Design and Performance of a High-Speed Permanent Magnet Generator with Amorphous Alloy Magnetic Core for Aerospace Applications

This paper deals with the design, prototyping, and testing of a high-speed permanent magnet generator with a stator magnetic core made of amorphous magnetic material (AMM) for aerospace applications. The target operative speed range is 30 000-60 000 rpm with an output power range between 50 and 300 kW. Two types of winding are examined and compared: tooth-coil and distributed. Special attention is dedicated to the rotor dynamics aspects of the solid disk magnet rotor assembly. The multidisciplinary design process is described. Electromagnetic calculations are provided for different operative conditions where the magnetic field and loss distribution are determined. Based on the design results, a full-size prototype rated at 120 kW and 60 000 rpm rotational speed featuring a stator core made of AMM has been developed and tested. The test results proved the high efficiency achievable with the described technical solutions. It has been proved that the use of AMMs in high-speed electrical machines enables to minimize losses in the stator magnetic core by five to seven times in comparison with traditional materials.