Solved with COMSOL Multiphysics 4.

Generator in 3D
Introduction
This model is a static 3D simulation of a generator having a rotor with permanent magnets. The center of the rotor consists of annealed medium carbon steel, which is a nonlinear ferromagnetic material which saturates at high magnetic flux density. The center is surrounded with several blocks of a permanent magnet made of samarium and cobalt, creating a strong magnetic field. The stator is made of the same nonlinear material as the center of the rotor, confining the field in closed loops through the winding. The winding (not included in the model) is wound around the stator poles. Figure 1 shows the generator with part of the stator sliced in order to show the winding and the rotor.

Figure 1: Drawing of a generator showing how the rotor, stator, and stator winding are constructed.

Model Definition
This model solves for the magnetic scalar potential, Vm, based on the assumption that currents can be neglected, which holds true when the generator terminals are open. The equation for Vm becomes ( V m B r ) = 0

GENERATOR IN 3D

Solved with COMSOL Multiphysics 4.1

The stator and center of the rotor are made of annealed medium-carbon steel (soft iron), which is implemented in COMSOL Multiphysics as an interpolation function of the B-H curve of the material; see Figure 2.

Figure 2: The norm of the magnetic flux, |B|, versus the norm of the magnetic field, |H|, for the rotor and stator materials.

Results and Discussion

Figure 3 shows the norm of the magnetic flux for a slice through a centered cross section of the generator. The plot also shows the streamlines of the magnetic flux. The starting points of the streamlines have been carefully selected to show the closed loops

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GENERATOR IN 3D

Solved with COMSOL Multiphysics 4.1

between neighboring stator and rotor poles. A few streamlines are also plotted at the edge of the generator to illustrate the field there.

Figure 3: A combined slice and streamline plot of the magnetic flux density.

Model Library path: ACDC_Module/Motors_and_Drives/generator_3d

Modeling Instructions
MODEL WIZARD

1 Go to the Model Wizard window. 2 Click Next. 3 In the Add Physics tree, select AC/DC>Magnetic Fields, No Currents (mfnc). 4 Click Next. 5 In the Studies tree, select Preset Studies>Stationary. 6 Click Finish.

GENERATOR IN 3D

Solved with COMSOL Multiphysics 4.1

GEOMETRY 1

Because the geometry-modeling instructions for this model are rather lengthy, the geometry is provided as a CAD-file.

Import 1
1 In the Model Builder window, right-click Model 1>Geometry 1 and choose Import. 2 Go to the Settings window for Import. 3 Locate the Import section. Click the Browse button. 4 Browse to the models Model Library folder and double-click the file
generator_3d.mphbin.

5 Click the Import button. 6 Click the Wireframe Rendering button on the Graphics toolbar..

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GLOBAL DEFINITIONS

Parameters
1 In the Model Builder window, right-click Global Definitions and choose Parameters. 2 Go to the Settings window for Parameters.

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GENERATOR IN 3D

Solved with COMSOL Multiphysics 4.1

3 Locate the Parameters section. In the Parameters table, enter the following settings:
NAME EXPRESSION DESCRIPTION

BrSmCo murSmCo

0.84[T] 1

Remanent flux in permanent magnets Relative permeability in permanent magnets

DEFINITIONS

Variables 1
1 In the Model Builder window, right-click Model 1>Definitions and choose Variables. 2 Go to the Settings window for Variables. 3 Locate the Variables section. In the Variables table, enter the following settings:
NAME EXPRESSION DESCRIPTION

R MATERIALS

sqrt(x^2+y^2)

Radial coordinate

1 In the Model Builder window, right-click Model 1>Materials and choose Open Material Browser. 2 Go to the Material Browser window. 3 Locate the Materials section. In the Materials tree, select AC/DC>Soft Iron (without losses). 4 Right-click and choose Add Material to Model from the menu.

Soft Iron (without losses)

1 In the Model Builder window, click Soft Iron (without losses). 2 Select Domains 2 and 7 only.
MAGNETIC FIELDS, NO CURRENTS

Magnetic Flux Conservation 1

1 In the Model Builder window, click Model 1>Magnetic Fields, No Currents>Magnetic Flux Conservation 1. 2 Go to the Settings window for Magnetic Flux Conservation. 3 Locate the Magnetic Field section. From the r list, select User defined.

GENERATOR IN 3D

Solved with COMSOL Multiphysics 4.1

Magnetic Flux Conservation 2

1 In the Model Builder window, right-click Magnetic Fields, No Currents and choose Magnetic Flux Conservation. 2 Select Domains 2 and 7 only. 3 Go to the Settings window for Magnetic Flux Conservation. 4 Locate the Magnetic Field section. From the Constitutive relation list, select BH curve.

Magnetic Flux Conservation 3

1 In the Model Builder window, right-click Magnetic Fields, No Currents and choose Magnetic Flux Conservation. 2 Select Domains 5, 9, 10, and 13 only. 3 Go to the Settings window for Magnetic Flux Conservation. 4 Locate the Magnetic Field section. From the Constitutive relation list, select Remanent flux density. 5 From the r list, select User defined. In the associated edit field, type murSmCo. 6 Specify the Br vector as
-BrSmCo*x/R -BrSmCo*y/R 0

x y z

Magnetic Flux Conservation 4

1 In the Model Builder window, right-click Magnetic Fields, No Currents and choose Magnetic Flux Conservation. 2 Select Domains 6, 8, 11, and 12 only. 3 Go to the Settings window for Magnetic Flux Conservation. 4 Locate the Magnetic Field section. From the Constitutive relation list, select Remanent flux density. 5 From the r list, select User defined. In the associated edit field, type murSmCo. 6 Specify the Br vector as
BrSmCo*x/R BrSmCo*y/R 0

x y z

The default magnetic insulation boundary condition applies to this model.

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GENERATOR IN 3D

Solved with COMSOL Multiphysics 4.1

MESH 1

1 In the Model Builder window, click Model 1>Mesh 1. 2 Go to the Settings window for Mesh. 3 Locate the Mesh Settings section. From the Element size list, select Finer.

Free Tetrahedral 1
1 Right-click Model 1>Mesh 1 and choose Free Tetrahedral. 2 In the Model Builder window, right-click Mesh 1 and choose Build All.
STUDY 1

In the Model Builder window, right-click Study 1 and choose Compute.

RESULTS

3D Plot Group 2
1 In the Model Builder window, expand the Results>3D Plot Group 2 node, then click Slice 1. 2 Go to the Settings window for Slice. 3 In the upper-right corner of the Expression section, click Replace Expression. 4 From the menu, choose Magnetic Fields, No Currents>Magnetic flux density norm (mfnc.normB). 5 Locate the Plane Data section. From the Plane list, select xy-planes. 6 In the Planes edit field, type 1. 7 In the Model Builder window, right-click 3D Plot Group 2 and choose Streamline. 8 Go to the Settings window for Streamline. 9 In the upper-right corner of the Expression section, click Replace Expression. 1 0 From the menu, choose Magnetic Fields, No Currents>Magnetic flux density (mfnc.Bx,..., mfnc.Bz). 1 1 Go to the Settings window for Streamline. 1 2 Locate the Streamline Positioning section. From the Entry method list, select Coordinates. 1 3 In the x edit field, type 0 0 0 0 0 0 0. 1 4 In the y edit field, type 0.35 0.35 0.35 0.35 0.35 0.3 0.2. 1 5 In the z edit field, type range(0.1,0.49/6,0.59). 1 6 Locate the Coloring and Style section. From the Line type list, select Tube.

GENERATOR IN 3D

Solved with COMSOL Multiphysics 4.1

17 Click the Plot button.

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GENERATOR IN 3D