Masatsugu Takemoto
Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, Hokkaido University

Abstract

Permanent magnet synchronous motors using high-performance rare-earth permanent magnets play an important role in hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) propulsion systems. However, rare earth materials employed in the high-performance rare-earth permanent magnets have problems such as price rise and export restriction. Thus, it is essential to develop a rare-earth-free motor for the HEVs. We have proposed a novel ferrite permanent magnet axial gap motor with segmented rotor structure. In order to obtain the fundamental characteristics of this motor, a prototype is fabricated and tested. The experiment results of the prototype are shown in detail. It can be confirmed with the experiment results of the prototype that the proposed motor has the possibility of the development of the rare-earth-free motor enough.