Development and Testing of a Novel Cylindrical Permanent Magnet Linear Generator

Vernier hybrid machines are known for their simple salient translator structure and inherent magnetic gearing, making them a strong candidate for low speed, high force applications. As the armature coil and the magnets are both mounted on the stator, linear versions of this machine are attractive for high amplitude systems. In most configurations, single sided or double sided flat cross sections are considered, giving a two dimensional flux path. In this paper, a cylindrical variant of the double sided configuration is presented, where the flux path is now three dimensional. Guiding operating equations are given as well as the three dimensional finite element analysis (FEA) used to design a prototype. Details and test results of a soft magnetic composite (SMC) based laboratory prototype for a cylindrical Vernier hybrid machine are given which demonstrate the concept and validate the simulation results.