Torque ripple investigation in coaxial magnetic gears

Abstract

Magnetic gears offer significant advantages such as low noise and vibration level, lower maintenance and higher reliability compared to mechanical gears and are suitable for many applications in the industry. The coaxial magnetic gear has been extensively discussed in the literature, since it achieves higher torque densities amongst other magnetic gear configurations. The magnetic field is generated by permanent magnets mounted on the two rotors and a modulator between them. The modulator consists of ferromagnetic segments that are typically encased in a resin in order to increase its stiffness without compromising the generated magnetic field. However, due to the development of radial forces, oscillations of the ferromagnetic segments occur, which lead to torque ripples that affect the operation of the coaxial magnetic gear drive in applications where accuracy is required. This work introduces a computationally lightweight analytical 2D model in order to determine the applied radial force on the ferromagnetic segments at each angle of rotation of the two rotors and henceforth calculate the displacement of these segments using FEA. In this way it is possible to assess the variation of the torque (ripple) versus the angle of rotation of the input or output shaft. A parametric investigation examining the influence of the ferromagnetic segment thickness on the resulting torque ripple of a specific drive was carried out illustrating the benefits of the analytical models developed herein.