Design of fault-tolerant machine for hybrid aircraft

• Main Author: Tan, Swee Chong
• Other Authors: Christopher H. T. Lee
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2021
• Subjects: Engineering; Engineering::Electrical and electronic engineering; Engineering::Electrical and electronic engineering::Power electronics
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/149715
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

This project presents a study on the design of a suitable fault-tolerant electric machine for aerospace application using the JMAG program. This project mainly focuses on the electromagnetic properties of the electric machine. There are two kinds of machines presented in this paper, the flux-switching permanent magnet machine (FSPM) and the permanent magnet synchronous machine (PMSM). These two machines were chosen because of their ability to produce high torque density. The modular winding design is implemented on the FSPM machine while the multiple 3-phase design is implemented in the PMSM. Simulations are conducted when the machines are under healthy and faulty conditions. Through the simulation results, the FSPM machine is rejected due to the high amount of power losses during high-speed operations. The high-power loss is due to the high fundamental frequency of the FSPM machine. The PMSM on the other hand shows promising results due to its ability to provide high power with high amount of efficiency. There are two different fault-tolerant PMSM designs, one with dual 3-phase while the other with quadruple 3-phase. The quadruple 3-phase design is chosen to be the most suitable for fault tolerant aerospace application due to its added freedom of control during fault conditions as compared to the dual 3-phase design. When one or two 3-phase circuits faces a fault, they will be disconnected, and the fault will not affect the other healthy phases. The control circuit will then increase the current output of the other healthy 3-phase circuits so that the electric machine is able to continue supplying its rated power.