Preliminary design of axial flux permanent magnet machine for marine current turbine

This paper presents an analytical analysis and application of axial flux permanent magnet machine design to marine current turbine. Marine current is a prominent renewable energy source because of its predictable current profile. Rim-driven, direct-drive type is favorable for the marine current turbine application in terms of maintenance and reliability. The axial flux permanent magnet machine is a candidate machine type that not only reduces machine manufacturing costs, but also achieves high performance. The general sizing equation technique is implemented to produce the machine size. The magnetic flux relationship among air gap, stator yoke, rotor yoke, and permanent magnet is taken into account to calculate core material size of the machine. FEA simulation results are compared with analytical calculations. The proposed machine and the reference machine design results are briefly compared. Moreover, machine cost is estimated based on the volume of the proposed machine.