Optimum Permanent Magnet Motor Design for Automotive Applications

The majority of permanent magnet motors used in today's automobile utilize ceramic magnets in a stereotype design that is a direct descendant of the wound field motor. Designers of these motors should not limit themselves to the self-made rules that dictate the use of high-coercivity, arc-shaped magnets in small airgap geometries.

This paper will show that the motor designer can achieve the most optimum, cost effective design for each application only if he gives full consideration to all the ceramic magnet grades and configurations available and matches them to the needs of the application.