A Parameterized Nonlinear Magnetic Equivalent Circuit for Design and Fast Analysis of Radial Flux Magnetic Gears with Bridges

Abstract

Magnetic gears offer significant advantages over mechanical gears, including contactless power transfer, but require efficient and accurate modeling tools for optimization and commercialization. This paper presents the first fast and accurate 2D nonlinear magnetic equivalent circuit (MEC) model for radial flux magnetic gears (RFMG), capable of analyzing designs with bridges critical structural elements that introduce intense localized magnetic saturation. The proposed model systematically incorporates nonlinear effects while maintaining rapid simulation times through a parameterized geometry and adaptable flux tube distribution. A robust initialization strategy ensures reliable performance across diverse designs. Extensive validation against nonlinear finite element analysis (FEA) confirms the model's accuracy in torque and flux density predictions. A comprehensive parametric study of 140,000 designs demonstrates close agreement with FEA results, with simulations running up to 100 times faster. Unlike previous MEC approaches, this model provides a generalized, computationally efficient solution for analyzing a wide range of RFMG designs with or without bridges, making it particularly well-suited for large scale design optimization.