Study of Hybrid Excited Synchronous Alternators for Automotive Applications Using Coupled FE and Circuit Simulations

TLDR

Hybrid excitation combines high‑energy permanent magnets with controllable electrical excitation. The study examines an alternative arrangement to conventional Lundell automotive generators. The rotor geometry is optimized via finite‑element simulations, and a transient solver couples the FE model with an external circuit to develop a prototype. The optimized geometry and simulations are validated against prototype measurements and outperform conventional alternator geometries.

Abstract

In this paper, an alternative arrangement to conventional Lundell automotive generators is examined. This geometry is characterized by hybrid excitation combining the high-energy density of permanent magnets and the controllability of commonly used electrical excitation. The rotor geometry of the alternator is optimized by means of finite element (FE) simulations and a prototype design is developed. The formulation for the transient solver is given and the coupling of the FE model with an external circuit is explained in detail. The accomplished studies, simulations, and geometry optimizations are presented. In a final step, the simulations are compared to prototype measurements and confronted with conventional alternator geometries.