Title: Improved Design of Permanent Magnet Generators for Large Scale Wind Turbines
Speaker: Helena Khazdozian, ECpE Graduate Student
Advisor: David C. Jiles, Anson Marston Distinguished Professor and Palmer Endowed Department Chair
Abstract: Direct-drive permanent magnet generators (DDPMGs) offer many advantages over the more commonly used geared doubly-fed induction generator, such as increased reliability and efficiency, yet are only employed in less than 1% of utility scale (>100kW) wind turbines in the U.S. There are two significant barriers that must be overcome to allow for increased use of DDPMGs in the U.S. wind industry: significant scaling of PMG rotor volume at large power ratings and the use of NdFeB permanent magnets. Methods are presented to achieve size reduction or the use of rare earth free permanent magnets in PMGs for wind turbine application.