IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion, Vol. 12, No.

4, December 1997

351

DC POWER GENERATION USING INTIERIOR

PERMANENT-MAGNET MACHINIES

O l o r u n f e m i Ojo, Senior Member,

IEEE

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Tennessee Technological University
Cookeville, Tennessee 38505, U.S.A.

ABSTRACT: This paper explores the use of an interior permanent-magnet synchronous machine (IPM) as a
source of controlled DC power. A three-phase diode rectifier
converts the generated AC power into DC, which is further
processed by a buck or boost D C D C converter with a pulsewidth modulation voltage controller for load voltage and output power regulation. The modeling and analysis of the generator system set forth are confirmed to accurately predict
the generator characteristics by experimental results derived
from a 2 hp interior permanent-magnet generator controlled
separately by a buck and a boost DC-DC converter.
I. INTRODUCTION
Generators having permanent-magnet materials in the
rotor structure such as interior-magnet, surface-magnet and
muti-stacked imbricated permanent magnet generators are
becoming popular in many applications in view of their potentially high efficiencies, high power densities and the availability of high-energy permanent-magnet materials at reasonable
costs. Other advantages include the absence of brushes, slip
rings, excitation windings and excitation losses. DC power
sources are not required for excitation control. Permanent
magnet generators, however, suffer from the lack of excitation control for terminal voltage and power flow control when
supplying AC loads. A rectifier and a DC-AC inverter interposed between the generator and load is generally required to
ensure voltage regulation. In DC power generation, the lack of
excitation control is no longer a limitation as a diode rectifier
and DC-DC converter system with various types of control
strategies permit load voltage and/or load power control.

PE-463-EC-0-01-1997 A paper recommended and approved by by

the IEEE Electric Machinery Committee of the IEEE Power
Engineering Society for publication in the IEEE Transactions on
Energy Conversion. Manuscript submitted July 31, 1996; made
available for printing January 8 , 1997.

John Cox and Zhiqing Wu

Center for Electric Power
Tennessee Technological University
Cookeville, Tennessee 38505, U.S.A.

The multi-stacked imbricated permanent-magnet alternator was extensively studied and shown to have promising
potential in many appllications such as vehicle and welding
alternators and as a salurce of regulated DC power supplies
[l]. This paper gives at report of the research conducted to
determine the operatialn and performance capability of the
interior permanent-magnet generator as a source of regulated
DC power. It is anticipated that the system will find utility in many applicationis, including automotive power generation, welding, construction, battery charging and regulated
DC power supplies. It may be considered as a replacement
for the claw-pole generator system presently used in the automotive industry which is known to have limited efficiency
and poor response to sudden load changes.
In Section 11, two generator systems generating DC output power are described , while their models are given in Sections I11 and IV. Calculated, measured generator steady-state
characteristic curves and waveforms are included in these sections. Conclusions are drawn in Section V.

11. SYSTEM DESCRIPTION

Figure 1 shows the two generator topologies considered in
this paper. The interior permanent-magnet machine run by
a source of mechanical power generates a three-phase power,
which is rectified into a DC voltage by a three-phase diode
rectifier. This DC voltage is filtered to remove significant
ripple voltage components and is fed into either a DC-DC
buck or a D C D C boost converter. The load voltage or
output power of the load connected to the DC-DC converter is
regulated using a constant frequency, pulse-width modulation
scheme. By changing the turn-on time (duty-ratio) of the
transistor in the DC-DC converter, the output voltage is
regulated. The output voltage is regulated to be lower than
the output rectifier voltage with DC-DC buck converter,
while it is greater than the rectifier output voltage in the
scheme with DC-DC bloost converter [2]. The signal to switch
the transistors in the converters are derived from comparing
a DC reference (control) signal with a constant frequency,
constant peak sawtooth signal as shown in Figure 2(a) The
frequency of the sawtooth signal which ranges between a
few kilohertz and a few hundred kilohertz establishes the
switching frequency of the transistor. When the control signal
exceeds the sawtooth rignd, the transistor turns on; it turns
off when the control signal is lower than the sawtooth signal.

0885-8969/97/$10.00 0 1997 IEEE

352
The switching functions of the transistor (Si)and the diode
(52) are also shown in Figure 2(b) for a converter operating
in the continuous-inductor current conduction mode (CCM).
Variation of the reference signal magnitude brings about
change in the duty ratio of the converter. Shunt capacitors are
generally connected across the generator terminals to improve
system power capability by providing reactive power to the
generator.
Ld
Lo

Ro

q and &axis generator currents are IQ, and I d s , the magnet

flux is A,,, while the q and d flux linkages are A,, and A d s ,
respectively. The angular frequency of the generated voltage
corresponding to the rotor speed is we. The time derivative of
the states is represented by p. The per-phase stator resistance
is r,; the q and d axis self-inductances are L,, and L d s ,
respectively. The experimental graphs of the stator q and d
axis self-inductances and the magnet flux plotted as a function
of the generator peak current, (Is)for a 2 hp machine with
a rotor design shown in Figure 3(a) are given in Figures
3(b-d). Empirical equations for these parameters, which are
also plotted with the experimental data in Figure 3(b-d), are
given as:

+ 0.87I, + 0.71
Ln [ L d s ] - l = 0.0251, - 0.211; + 0.911, + 1.51
Am = 0.00021, - 0.0041, + 0.0211, + 0.19 .
Ln [L,,]-l = 0.031; - 0.231;

Ld

.,

LO

Ro

(4

(b)

(5)

_j_K
(6)

a3

Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of generator with DC output.

(a) With DC-DC buck converter,
(b) With DC-DC boost converter.

(4)

Experiment

a1

aC5

IspeaklA]

1
1
n id;.
t

Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of the pulse-width modulator.

(a) Switching scheme, (b) Converter inductor
current,and switching function for CCM.

111. GENERATOR WITH BUCK CONVERTER

The model of the interior permanent-magnet generator
connected to a three-phase diode rectifier and a DC-De
buck converter (Figure 1(a)) operating in the continuousinductor current conduction mode is set forth below. The
4-d equations of an interior-permanent magnet synchronous
machine running at a constant rotor speed we are given as
~31:
&s

= rsIqs

vd8

= rsfdds

+ -k we
+ P A d s - we

Ads

(1)

Aqs

(2)

I s peak [A]

Fig. 3. Measured parameters of the experimental 2 hp, 4-pole

interior permanent-magnet generator. (a) Cross-sectional
view of a pole, (b) q-axis inductance, (c) d-axis
inductance, (d) Magnet flux.

The three-phase diode rectifier is modeled by the current

and voltage switching functions [4]. The voltage and current
relationships between the output and input variables of the
three-phase diode rectifier are expressed as:

where,
Aqs

LqsIqs

Ads

= LdsIds

(3)

The generator terminal q and d axis voltages (also the q and

d axis capacitor voltages) are &, and Vds, respectively; the

Iar

=s

a 4

Ibr

= S b I d , IC, = S c I d

(8)

sa,b
s

where the rectifier current switching functions are

and sc for the three phase currents, and S a , ,
and

sbu

scu

353
are the voltage switching functions for the line-to-neutral
voltages. The output voltage of the rectifier is V d , rectifier
output current (filter current) is I d ; I a r , Ibr and I,y are
the phase currents flowing into the rectifier. These switching
functions (with commutation angle p ) are approximated with
their fundamental components and are given as [4]:

M o d e I: Tramistor is on: 0 5 t

5 dlT.

The defining equations of this mode shown in Figures 4(a)

and 2(b) are:

Vco

Loi1 = V c d - KO

(19)

CeKo = l e

(20)

-. Ro 4

+ RoIe = 0

(21)

The inductor current flowing through inductor Lo is

4,T

is the converter switching period, the output filter capacitor

voltage is
current flowing in capacitor
is Ie and the

v,,,

ce

load resistance is R,.

where,

AI =

9,

A, = $ cos(p/2)

Mode 11: Tr,ansistor is off dlT

The voltage equations of the shunt capacitors, rectifier output

filter are given as:

5 t 5 T.

The voltage equations from Figure 4(b) are given as:

The equations of the two modes of converter operation are

unified using the switching functions of the transistor and
diode (Figure 2(b)) and are expressed as:
where, Vas,Vas,and V,, are the phase voltages of the shunt
capacitors, V c d is the filter capacitor voltage, COis the phase
shunt capacitance and I, is the current flowing into the DCDC converter. The output rectifier filter inductance and
capacitor are L d and c d , respectively. Equations (7-13) are
transformed to a q-d synchronous reference frame rotating at
an angular speed of we yielding the following:

CeKo = Ie
Vco

- RoiTl(S1+ S 2 )

(26)

+ RoIe = 0

(27)

The average currents and voltages of the DC-DC converter

variables are determined by averaging the state variables over
a period of the converter switching. Following the averaging
technique, the following equations describe the averaged state
variables [5-61:
where,

Sq=AI,
Sq, = AV

+22)

Loll =: d l p c d - pco(dl

s d = o ,

sdv

=O .

The DC-DC buck converter operating in CCM has two modes

of operation shown in Figure 4. When the transistor is on,
the equivalent circuit of the converter is given in Figure 4(a),
and the circuit in Figure 4(b) results when the transistor is
off and the diode conducts.
(

y
VCd

7
Ce
le

q (b)l
RO

Vcd

rF-J-1
le

Fig. 4. Equivalent circuit of modes of operation of DC-DC

buck converter operating in CCM. (a) Transistor
is on, (b) Transistor is off.

CeVco

=ie

(28)
(29)

ko - Roi1(d1+ 2 2 ) + R o i e = 0

(30)

f. The
Si and S2, which are the

where the average of quantity f is represented by

average of the switching functions

duty ratios of the turn-on and turn-off times, are dl and dz,
*

RO

respectively. In CCM operation, dl d 2 = 1. Under steadystate operation, the state variables of the generator, rectifier,
filter and the average of the states of the DG-DG converter
are constant, with their time derivatives becoming zero. With
these constraints enforced on equations (1-2, 14-18, 28-30),
it can be shown that the effective resistance seen at the input
of the loaded DC-DC buck converter and the phase resistance

354
presented by the load at the output of the machine terminals
are respectively given as:
(31)

It is observed that the converter load appears as a duty-ratio

0

dependent resistor.

a2

0.4 a6 a8
Duty R a t i o

h
Duty R a t i o

Figures 5 and 6 show measured and calculated steadystate performance characteristics of the experimental machine
based on the derived models. There is fairly good correlation
between experimental and calculation results. Differences in
these results must be attributed to the commutation overlap,
the harmonics in the machine waveforms and the losses in the
devices. The losses of the rectifier-converter system shown in
Figure 6(d), being current dependent, is seen to vary with the
duty-ratio. Measured waveforms of the generator system are
shown in Figure 7 showing the overlap commutation angle
in the line-to-line generator voltage. The waveforms of the
machine are also distorted due to the switching action.

do

a2

a4

as

0.6

Duty R a t i o

0.2

a4 0.6
Duty R a t i o

as

Fig. 6. Generator performance characteristics of IPM generator

with DC-DC buck converter. (a) Generator output power vs.
duty ratio, (b) Generator phase voltage vs. duty ratio,
(c) Generator phase voltage vs. generator power,
(d) Measured Dower loss vs. duty ratio.

","..--Duty R a t i o

M e a ~ r e dwaveforms of an IPM generator with DC-DC

buck converter. (a) Generator Line-tcFline voltage, 50V/div.
(b) Generator phase current, lA/div, (c) Converter inductor
current, lA/div, (d) Converter input current, 1A/div.

Fig. 7.

Fig. 5 . Converter performance characteristics of IPM generator

with DC-DC buck converter. (a) Load voltage vs. duty ratio,
(b) Converter input resistance vs. duty ratio, (c) Rectifier
voltage vs. generator power, (d) Rectifier output
voltage vs. load voltage.

IV. GENERATOR WITH BOOST CONVERTER

Figure l(b) shows the schematic diagram of the generator connected with a DC-DC boost converter. This converter,
which is assumed to be operating in CCM, has two modes of

355
operation. The equivalent circuits corresponding to the peri-

Vco- &oil&

ods when the transistor is on and off are shown in Figure 8.

+ RJe

=0 .

(44)

Under steady-state condition, the state variables of the gener-

(4

ator, rectifier, filter inductor and capacitor and the averaged

states of the DC-DC converter are constant, with their derivatives also equal to zero. Hence, under steady-state, the load
resistance when referred to the input of the DC-DC boost
converter is given as:
Fig. 8. Equivalent circuit of modes of operation of

(45)

the DC-DC boost converter operating in CCM.

(a) Transistor is on, (b) Transistor is off.

When the load resistance is referred to the terminals of the

Mode I: Transistor is on: 0 5 t

5 dlT.

machine, the effective phase load resistance is expressed as:

The voltage equations for this mode from the equivalent

circuit of Figures 8(a) and 2(b) are:
Figures 9-10 display measured steady-state characteristics of the generator with loaded DC-DC boost converter.
The calculation results fairly correspond to the experimental

cevco
= I,

(34)

results. Figure 11 shows measured waveforms of the system

when the converter operates in CCM.

(b)

(4

M o d e II: Transistor is o f f dlT

5t 5T

From Figure 8(b), the voltage equations are expressed as:

Lo~=
I Vcd

- Vco

cevco
= le
Vco - Roll

+ RoIe= 0 .

(36)

Duty R a t i o

Duty R a t i o

(37)

(38)

Equations (33-38) are combined using the switching function

Si and S2 resulting in the following:

Vco - RoIlS2

+ RoIe = 0 .

a2

a4 a6 Cl8
Duty R a t i o

(41)

Fig. 9. Measured andl calculated steady-state characteristics

After averaging, the averaged state variable equations are

given as:

L 0 i = (dl + &)k,a- d2C0

of the IPM generator with DC-DC boost converter. (a) Phase

generator voltage vs. duty ratio, (b) Generator output

(42)

power VB.duty ratio, (c) Generator phase voltage

vs. generator output power, (d) Rectifierconverter loss vs. duty ratio.

356
nals. As expected, the system with a boost converter has i
higher output load voltage. The output voltage vs. duty ratic
curves peak at certain duty ratios, the peak load voltage de.
pending on the rotor speed and shunt capacitor values. It ir
also observed that, in view of the varying, duty-ratio dependent output rectifier voltage, the converter output characteristics differ remarkably from those of the DC-DC convertei
fed with a constant DC source. Indeed, a voltage range exists
in which an output voltage value for a constant rotor speed
is attainable at two duty ratio values.
Experimental waveforms show how the presence of the
0
a2 0.4 0.6 a8
a switching converter, generator armature reaction and the
Duty Ratio
stator leakage inductance negatively influence the generator
voltage and current waveforms. There is significant commutation overlap in the switching of the three-phase diode rectifier

7
evidenced in the line-to-line voltage waveforms shown in Figures 7 and 11.
With the model of these generator systems in place,
it now remains to work out the system control scheme to
vary the converter duty ratio to ensure either regulated load
current or load voltage.

(4

d , ,\*I
0

0.2

0.4

a6

0.8

Duty Ratio

Fig. 10. Measured and calculated steady-state characteristics of

the converter in the IPM generator system. (a) Load voltage
vs. duty ratio, (b) Rectifier voltage vs. duty ratio,
(c) Rectifier output voltage vs. load voltage,

REFERENCES
K. J. Binns and T. S. Low, Performance and Application
of Multi-stacked Imbricated Permanent-Magnet Generators,
IEE Proceedings,Part B, Vol. 130, No. 6,pp. 407-414, 1983.
N. Mohan, T.M. Undeland and W. P. Robbins, Power Elec-

tronics, Converters, Applications and Design, John Wiley and

Sons, New York, 1989.
V. Hosinger, Performance of Polyphase Permanent-Magnet
Machines, IEEE Trans. on Power Apparatus and System,
Vol. PAS-99, No. 6, pp. 151C-1518, Nov./Dec. 1980.
Peter Wood, SwitchingPower Converters, Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 1981.
J. Slotine and W. Li, Applied Nonlinear Control, PrenticeHall, Englewood Cliffs, 1991.
E. Van Dijk, H. J. N. Spruijt, D. OSullivan and J. B. Klassens,
PWM-Switch Modeling of DC-DC Converters, E E E Trans.
on Power Electronics, Vol. 10, No. 6,pp. 659-665, November
1995.

BIOGRAPHIES

Olorunfemi Ojo (SM) received B.Eng. and M.Eng. degrees

Fig. 11. Measured waveforms of the IPM generator with loaded
DCDC boost converter, 2msec/div. (a) Generator lineto-line
voltage, 20V/div, (b) Generator phase current, 2A/div,
( c ) Converter inductor current, 0.2A/div, (d) Rectifier
inductor current,0.2A/div.

V. CONCLUSIONS
In this paper, the characteristics of the IPM generator
producing regulated DC output power using DC-DC converters operating in the continuous-conduction mode have been
determined experimentally and by calculation using simplified system models. It is shown that the rectifier-converter
system based on the fundamental component basis presents
a duty-ratio dependent resistive load to the generator termi-

from Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, Nigeria and Ph.D. degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is with Tennessee Technological University where he teaches courses and researches on electric machine, power electronics, motor drives and

power electronics, and applications in power systems.

Zhiqing Wu received B.S. degree in 1985 from the Zhengzhou
Light Industry Institute of Technology and M.S. degree in 1989
from the Guangdong Institute of Technology in China. He is
presently a Ph.D. candidate in the area of electric machines, power
electronics and control of motor drives.
John Cox received B.S. degree in electrical engineeringin 1993,
a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering in 1994, and M.S. degree
in electrical engineering in 1996. His area of interest is in electric
machines and power electronics.