Application of rare-earth magnets in high-performance electric machines

Some state of the art developments of high-performance machines using rare-earth magnets are reviewed with particular examples drawn from a number of novel machine designs developed jointly by the Faculty of Engineering, University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) and CSIRO Telecommunications and Industrial Physics. These designs include an 1800 W, 1060 rev/min, 98% efficient solar car in-wheel motor using a Halbach magnet array, axial flux, and ironless winding; a 1200 W, 3000 rev/min, 91% efficient solar-powered, water-filled, submersible, bore-hole pump motor using a surface magnet rotor; a 500 W, 10000 rev/min, 87% efficient, oil-filled, oil-well tractor motor using a 2-pole cylindrical magnet rotor and slotless winding; a 75 kW, 48000 rev/min, 97% efficient, high-speed compressor drive with 2-pole cylindrical magnet rotor, slotted stator, and refrigerant cooling; and a 20 kW, 211 rev/min, 87% efficient, direct-drive generator for wind turbines with very low starting torque using an outer rotor with surface magnets and a slotted stator. (orig.)