Iron loss reduction in an interior PM automotive alternator

This paper examines the iron loss characteristics of a high-flux interior PM machine. The machine was designed as a concept demonstrator for a 6 kW automotive alternator and has a wide field-weakening range. Initial experimental results revealed a high iron loss during field-weakening operation. Finite-element analysis was used to investigate the cause of the high iron losses and to predict their magnitude. The effects of changes in the machine design were examined in order to reduce iron losses and hence improve the machine performance.