Some design and operation aspects of axial flux permanent magnet synchronous machines, wound with concentrated coils, are presented. Due to their high number of poles, compactness, and excellent waveform quality and efficiency, these machines show satisfactory operation at low speeds, both as direct drive generators and as motors. In this paper, after a general analysis of the model and design features of this kind of machine, the attention is focused on wind power generation: The main sizing equations are defined, and the most relevant figures of merit are examined by means of a suitable parametric analysis. Some experimental results obtained by testing a three-phase, 50-kW, and 70-rpm prototype are presented and discussed, validating the modeling theory and the design procedure.

This study deals with the analytical modelling of the steady-state operation of a three-phase diode rectifier whose dc bus is connected to a constant voltage source. Such a system exhibits several operation modes that are fully investigated. Analytical expressions of the boundaries of each mode as well as the average dc and the rms ac currents are deduced as a function of the ac and dc parameters, including voltage drops across diodes. They allow us to evaluate the power delivered to the dc bus as well as the efficiency of the conversion in each mode of operation. These results can also be extended to practical rectifiers with bulk dc capacitors and allow for performing parametric analyses and optimization in the design of drives or permanent magnet synchronous generators directly connected to a diode rectifier. The theoretical results are validated by experimental tests

This paper deals with the ac-dc interface conversion in grid-connected wind energy conversion systems based on modular permanent-magnet synchronous generators. In particular, some solutions based on diode rectifiers are extensively analyzed as for the waveforms, the efficiency, and the torque ripple, by considering several connections, which are allowed by the inherent modularity of the considered generators. Rectifier schemes with a high number of pulses can be easily realized without using special shifter transformers so that these solutions can be attractive for low-and medium-power applications.

An analytical method is presented to evaluate the field and global quantities for the operation and design analysis of axial flux permanent- magnet (PM) machines. The method, of general applicability, is based on the definition and superposition of suited field functions, able to accurately model the different singularities of the studied device: PM field distribution, effects of slotting, and radial end effects. Selected explorative FEM analyses are used in order to investigate the field functions shape and to help in identifying their structure and parameters. Then, the flux density distribution is obtained, as a function of the rotor position, taking into account some manufacture dissymmetry effects, such as air-gap offsets and PM rotor disk inclinations. This approach allows to analyze the effect of dissymmetry on the circulation of current among winding parallel paths in no-load operation. Moreover, by using theMaxwell stress tensor, the stress distribution is evaluated, as well as the resultant axial forces and the bending torques on the shaft due to the rotor disk tilts. Several FEM simulations show the soundness of the proposed method, which exhibits high accuracy and great evaluation speed

This paper proposes a model reference adjustable system observer for the sensorless control of doubly fed induction machines. The formulation is based on the direct calculation of the torque and flux rotor current components in the stator-flux-oriented coordinates by using the stator currents and voltages and the norm of the rotor current space vector. The tuning of the observer is discussed, and a theoretical sensitivity and stability analysis is performed in order to investigate the behavior of the observer under mismatched parameters. The paper is completed by the experimental validation of the observer performances