A new efficient permanent-magnet vernier machine for wind power generation

This paper proposes a new outer-rotor permanent-magnet (PM) vernier machine for direct-drive wind power generation, which can offer low-speed operation to directly capture wind power, and enable high-speed rotating field design to maximize the power density. Compared with its mechanical gear counterpart, the proposed machine can eliminate the mechanical wear and tear as well as gear transmission loss, thus improving the generation reliability and efficiency. The key is to newly introduce the flux-modulation poles which can effectively modulate the high-speed rotating field of the armature windings and the low-speed rotating field of the PM outer rotor. By using the time-stepping finite-element method, the proposed machine can be accurately analyzed. Hence, its performances are quantitatively compared with other PM vernier machines, thus verifying its validity. © 2006 IEEE.