Optimum Design and Comparison of Slip Permanent-Magnet Couplings With Wind Energy as Case Study Application

With eddy-current couplings proposed for and applied in several industrial applications, it is essential that these types of electrical machines be more thoroughly evaluated. In this paper, the feasibility of replacing the classical eddy-current coupling topology with a toothed slip permanent magnet coupling (PMC) is investigated. The case study application in this paper for the slip PMC is for a new type of wind generator concept known as a slip synchronous permanent magnet generator. Several different slip PMC technologies are evaluated, and a number of interesting novel concepts are introduced. These different topologies are optimized by means of finite element (FE) analysis for minimum active mass. The FE results are verified with practical measurements on several different prototypes.