Meshless Generalized Finite Difference Method to Analyze Electromagnetic Performance of SPM Machines With Eccentric Rotor Shape

In this article, we propose an unconventional method, i.e., generalized finite difference method (GFDM), to analyze the electromagnetic performance of surface-mounted permanent magnet (SPM) machine with eccentric rotor shape. The remarkable characteristic of this method is that it is meshless. In this method, the solution region is discretized in the form of nodes, and the nodes can move with the moving structure. This is very helpful in modeling the SPM machine because there is no remeshing process during the rotation. However, mesh generation is required in the traditional finite-element analysis (FEA). First, the basic principle of the proposed GFDM is introduced. Second, the whole field domain is divided into five types of regions, viz., PMs, air gap, slot openings, slots, and stator core. Third, the differential equations satisfied by each region are discretized into algebraic equations by the GFDM. The interfaces need to be dealt with separately because of the discontinuity of the derivative of the vector potential. Then, the systems of equations are solved to analyze the electromagnetic performance of an SPM machine. Finally, this method is implemented on a 12-slot, 10-pole SPM machine. Meanwhile, the effectiveness of this method is verified by an FEA and experiment.