Axial-Flux Permanent-Magnet Generator Design for Hybrid Electric Propulsion Drone Applications

This paper presents the design of an axial-flux permanent-magnet (AFPM) generator used for hybrid electric propulsion drone applications. The design objectives of the AFPM generator are high power density, which is defined as output power per generator weight, and high efficiency. In order to satisfy the requirements for the target application and consider the practical problems in the manufacturing process, the structure of the AFPM generator comprising a double-rotor single-stator (DR-SS) was studied. In order to determine the rotor topology and stator winding specifications that had the greatest impact on performance in the DR-SS type design process, we selected three rotor models according to the arrangement of the magnetization direction and three stator models according to the coreless winding specifications. These models were first compared and analyzed. Then, a 3-D finite element method was performed to calculate the magnetic, mechanical, and thermal characteristics of the designed models. By consideration of the output power, efficiency, temperature, and mechanical stability, etc., a topology suitable for the design of generators for UAV systems was determined and manufactured. The reliability of the design result was confirmed through the test