Computer Aided Design and FE Analysis
of a PM BLDG Hub Motor
K. R. Rajagopal, Senior Member, IEEE, and Chippa Sathaiah
Abstract--This paper presents the computer aided design
(CAD) of a PM BLDC hub motor. Using the developed CAD
program, a 30W, 48V, 310rpm PM BLDC hub motor meant for
a ceiling fan application is designed. The design variables such
as flux density in air gap and iron, slot space factor, stack length
of the motor, air gap length, number of magnet poles, etc., are
assumed. Basic output equation is used for the design algorithm.
Output of the developed CAD program gives the design data
and the same is validated by FE analysis. This paper also
presents the parametric analysis of the designed PM BLDC hub
motor and the results of parametric analysis are submitted.
Index terms-Brushless motor, ceiling fan, computer aided
design (CAD) of motor, finite element (FE) analysis, hub motor,
motor, parametric analysis, permanent magnet brushless dc
(PM BLDC) motor, permanent magnet (PM) motor.
I. INTRODUCTION
Due to the worldwide growing concern over the energy
conservation, the development and commercialization of high
efficiency electric motor drives becomes a major necessity.
The high efficiency electric motor drives systems can replace
the conventional drive systems in home appliances and in
industrial applications. This of course will reduce the
consumption of the electric energy. As most of the electric
power is consumed by electric motors, any improvement in
the motor efficiency, even by one percent, can save a lot of
energy.
PM BLDC motors have various advantages like high
efficiency, compact volume and high torque-to-power ratios.
Reduction in the cost of permanent magnet materials and
power electronic devices have collectively brought the
attention of motor designers to look for cost effective and
high performance applications for these motors in various
domestic and industrial applications. The choice of motor
type is the most fundamental design decision, because of the
relatively high cost of magnets, together with issues related to
packaging, magnet retention, and winding. There are several
different configurations of brushless motors which use
rotating permanent magnets and stationary phase coils. The
main reason for so many different variations has to do with
the utilization of different magnet grades in addition to the
K. R. Rajagopal is with the Electrical Engineering Department, Indian
Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi-110016, India (e-mail:
(goa$ee.JJtd .ac.Jn).
Chippa Sathaiah is an M. Tech student in Power Electronics, Electrical
Machines and Drives of Electrical Engineering Department at Indian Institute
of Technology Delhi, New Delhi-i 10016, India (email:
sat haia h cLazrediffnmailI1.corn).
0-7803-9772-X/06/$20.00 (C 2006 IEEE
Authorized licensed use limited to: INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY DELHI. Downloaded on January 16,2023 at 03:00:57 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
wide range of applications. The most cost effective use of
permanent magnets in brushless DC motors requires a
configuration with the rotor outside the stator. As ceiling fan
application requires constant speed at low to medium speed it
may make more sense to use an exterior rotor configuration
with rotating member on the outside of the wound stator.
This paper presents a computer aided design (CAD)
program for the design of a PM BLDC hub motor. Flow chart
for the development of the CAD program for the design of
PM BLDC hub motor and its description is given in this
paper. Details of the steps involved for the development of
the computer aided design (CAD) of a PM BLDC hub motor
are also given. Using the developed CAD program, a 30W
PM BLDC motor meant for ceiling fan application is
designed. Design outputs from the CAD program are used as
inputs for 2-D FE analysis for validation of design. Results
obtained from the FE analysis, like flux density plot and
torque angle characteristics are validating the design. The
design data of the motor obtained from the CAD program is
used for parametric analysis. Design outputs from parametric
analysis are also validated using FE analysis. The output from
the parametric analysis can be used as the input for further
optimization of the motor design.
II. COMPUTER AIDED DESIGN
The flow chart of the developed CAD program for
design of a PM BLDC hub motor is shown in Fig. 1. Motor
specifications, type of configuration, material types and other
assumed data for the design are provided as inputs.
The input motor specifications are:
Stack length of the motor = 15.5mm
Air gap length of the motor = 0.25mm
Remanent flux density of the permanent magnet = 1.12T
Relative permeability of the permanent magnet 1.1
Slot fill factor, Sf= 0.3
Flux density in rotor 2T
Flux density in stator 1.5T
Teeth flux density= 2T
Number of poles = 8
Lamination thickness of stator iron = 0.35 mm
Friction and windage loss = 1W
Number of slots = 9
Magnet fraction=0.89
Number of phases=3
The developed CAD program contains four loops. The
first loop is used to find the length of the magnet to get the
required flux density in the air gap; second loop is used to
find the air gap diameter to get the required shaft diameter;
 third loop is used to find phase current and number turns per
phase based on the calculation resistance of the winding and
the fourth loop is used to find the mechanical efficiency of
the motor. The computer aided design of a PM BLDC hub
motor is divided into three major parts. They are:
A. Magnetic circuit design
1) Number ofpoles.
Number of poles will be selected based on the speed of
rotation, commutation frequency and cogging torque [3].
Increase in the number of poles for the same speed results in
increased commutation frequency, hence increase in
switching losses in transistors and iron loss in the stator. And
for the fixed main dimensions, with increase in the number of
poles, either the width of magnet spacer or the magnet
fraction will decrease, which will result in decrease in
specific magnetic loading and thereby the developed torque.
Also end turn becomes shorter and the leakage inductance
becomes lower for higher pole number. But the reduction in
pole number increases the cogging torque and end copper
requirement.
2) Number of slots.
Selection number of slots mainly depends on the cogging
torque and end copper requirement. If the ratio of slot number
to pole number is even, then every edge of every pole lines up
with every slot, causing cogging. If a fractional slot
combination is used, fewer pole edges line up with the slots
and hence reduced cogging torque. And a fractional slot
configuration minimizes the need for skewing of either the
poles or the lamination stack to reduce cogging. A final point
to be made about the slot and pole relationship concerns the
winding pitch. Since the coils can be wound only over an
integral number of slots, the winding pitch is determined by
dividing the number of slots by the number of poles and
rounding off to the next lower number, or in the case of the
0.75 slots/pole series, the next larger whole number. It should
be obvious that the end turns are shortest when the pitch is
one or two slot pitches [3].
3) Length of air gap.
Of the three components of the phase-inductance, the air
gap inductance is the predominant. Larger air gap will result
in reduced phase-inductance, armature reaction effects, and
also the cogging torque, but will necessitate bigger magnets,
thereby increased cost. And as the air gap increases, the
efficiency of the motor reduces.
4) Magnetic materials.
Choice of soft magnetic materials for stator and rotor
core depends on the frequency and operating flux density. As
negligible flux levels occur at rotor back iron, the choice can
be on the flux density alone. And the selection of Permanent
Magnet depends on the energy product and commercial
availability. Nd-Fe-B and samarium cobalt permanent
Authorized licensed use limited to: INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY DELHI. Downloaded on January 16,2023 at 03:00:57 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
magnets are preferred because of their high-energy product
and retentivity. Nd-Fe-B can be selected for the design of the
PM BLDC hub motor because of its maximum energy
product, (BH)max = 30 MGOe and higher residual flux
density, (Br)= 1. 12T.
5) Magnet fraction.
Magnet fraction is particularly an important parameter in
regard to the level of cogging torque, and it has been found
that when magnet fringing is neglected, the optimum ratio of
pole-arc to pole-pitch, up, for minimizing the fundamental
component of cogging torque, for any combination of slot
and pole number, is:
(N - ki)
(Cp
N
ki = 1,2,3 ...... ,N-1 (1)
Where N = N,/P
N, is the smallest common multiple of slot
number and pole number
and P is the number of poles.
In practice, however, due to fringing of the magnet flux into
the slots, the optimum value of u1p should be increased by
adding a small factor typically ranges from 0.01 to 0.03
depending on the air gap length [5]. Clearly, in order to
maximize the air gap flux, and thereby the excitation torque,
the optimal ratio of pole-arc to pole-pitch should be as high as
possible. Hence, in practice k1=l, is usually the preferred
value.
6) Magnet length (thickness).
Based on the magnetic circuit equations [1], the length of
the permanent magnet can be found by reducing the
difference between the assumed and actual flux densities in
the air gap with the variation of permanent magnet length. In
order to reduce the requirement of the ampere conductors to
improve efficiency, the magnet length can be increased and
hence specific magnetic loading. But the increase in magnet
length requires more magnet material and hence increased
cost of the motor.
B. Electrical circuit design
1) Number ofphases.
In case of 2-phase configuration there is a problem of
stalling and uncertainty in direction of rotation. Three phase
motors are the most common choice for all but the lowest
power levels. Although the utilization can theoretically be
argued to be higher in motors of higher phase number, the
gains would be offset by the increased number of leads and
transistors, which increases cost and may severely
compromise reliability. Three phase motors have the
flexibility afforded by star or delta connected windings, or
even unipolar windings. They can operate with only three
connecting leads with no loss of control flexibility. They have
excellent starting characteristics, with smooth rotation in
 either direction, or low torque ripple. They can work with a
wide range of magnet configurations and an enormous range
of winding configurations, and can take advantage of the coil
winding technology that has been developed for both AC
induction and DC brush type motors. They can operate with
either square wave drive of\r sine wave drive, and are well
adapted to the development of sensor less controllers that
requires no physical shaft position sensor [3].
2) Conductor current density.
Conductor current density is decided based on the
recommendations given for permanent magnet motor
windings and the cooling method employed [3]. Lower values
of conductor current density are advisable for small and
totally enclosed. Also lower values of current density requires
more quantity of permanent magnet material resulting in
increased cost and still smaller current densities can be used
for higher efficiency but with higher size and cost for the
motor.
Where as higher values of current density gives rise to
more copper loss and reduces the efficiency of the motor. But
higher values of current density reduce permanent magnet
material required and hence overall cost of the motor.
3) Winding design.
Based on the winding tables for different pole and slot
combination for PM BLDC motor [2], winding connections
for the designed motor can be made and the winding factor
which depends on the pitch factor and distribution factor can
be easily calculated. Slot space factor ranges from 0.3-0.35
for double layer winding and 0.65-0.7 for single layer
winding [3].
4) Number of turns per phase and Phase current.
From the output equation of the PM BLDC motor [1],
the expression for product of number of turns per phase and
phase current can be derived as follows:
During any 1200 interval of phase current the
instantaneous power being converted from electrical to
mechanical is given by:

Pd = - mBgLDgoIphwmNph (2)
11 m

Where,
P0 is the rated output power
rim is the mechanical efficiency ofthe motor Fig. 1. Flow chart of the CAD program for the design of PM BLDC hub
m is the number of phases conducting simultaneously motor.
Bg is the air gap flux density
L is the stack length of the motor From the output equation, the product of number of turns
Dgo is the air gap diameter per phase and phase current can be derived and is given by:
'ph is the phase current
wm is the speed in rad/sec Pd
Nph is the number turns per phase NphIph = (3)
mBgLDgowmn

Authorized licensed use limited to: INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY DELHI. Downloaded on January 16,2023 at 03:00:57 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
 The two parameters, one is number of turns per phase
and the other is phase current can be calculated by varying
one parameter and calculating the other, until the two
parameters satisfies the two equations for the resistance of the
winding given by:

R = V-Eb
Iph
(4)
Where,
V is the supply voltage
Eb is the back emf across the number of phases
conducting simultaneously and
'ph is the supply current

R= P (5)
a
Where, Further validation of CAD results can be done with
p is the resistivity of copper respect to average torque developed by the designed motor
1 is the total conductor length of numbers of using FE analysis. The average torque developed by a motor
phases conducting simultaneously and using FE analysis can be calculated by finding the
ac is the area of cross section of conductor instantaneous torque developed by the motor at different rotor
positions. Torque versus angle characteristics of the designed
C. Mechanical design 30W PM BLDC hub motor for one cycle of the fundamental
frequency, obtained using 2-D FE analysis by supplying
1) Air gap diameter. currents in two of the three phases depending on the position
of the rotor of the motor is given in fig.3. The average torque
Air gap diameter is given by the sum of shaft diameter, computed using the FE analysis is 1.02Nm against the
twice the stator iron thickness and twice the slot height. The designed torque of 0.998Nm.
shaft diameter can be assumed based on the application,
where the motor is intended to be used. Next the thickness of TABLE I
the stator back iron can be easily calculated by assuming the DESIGN OUTPUTS OF THE 30W PM BLDC HUB MOTOR OBTAINED USING
THE DEVELOPED CAD PROGRAM
flux density in the iron less than the saturation level of the
ferromagnetic material used. And finally the slot height can
be calculated from the number of turns per slot, conductor Full load efficiency (%) 78.72
cross sectional area and the slot space factor. Rotor outer diameter (mm) 98.62
Stack length ofthe motor (mm) 15.5
2) Weight of the motor. Total weight of the motor (gms) 861.06
Average torque developed (Nm) 0.998
Weight of the designed PM BLDC hub motor can be
easily calculated from the motor dimensions and mass density Inductance per phase (H) 0.0162
of different materials used. From the weight of the motor, the
value of torque to weight ratio of the designed PM BLDC hub
motor can be calculated.

3) Mechanical efficiency.
Mechanical efficiency is calculated by reducing the
assumed mechanical efficiency in small steps until the error
between the assumed and calculated mechanical efficiencies
of the motor is less than the predetermined value. Hence the
overall efficiency of the designed PM BLDC hub motor can
be calculated easily.
III. VALIDATION OF THE DESIGN USING FE ANALYSIS

Fig. 2. Flux density plot of the designed 30W PM BLDC hub motor.

Authorized licensed use limited to: INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY DELHI. Downloaded on January 16,2023 at 03:00:57 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
 Variation of efficiency with stack length and pole
1.5 -
number of the motor is given in fig.5 and fig.6 respectively.
Parametric analysis results of the designed motor gives
1.2 increase efficiency and reduced weight and size. The design
1.1 outputs after parametric analysis are given in table III.
1

a 0.9
H 0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0 15 30 45 60 75 90
Rotor position (mech. deg)

Fig. 3. Torque versus angle characteristics of the designed 30W PM BLDC

hub motor.
TABLE II
COMPARISON OF DESIGN OUTPUTS OF 30W PM BLDC HUB MOTOR

Using the
Parameter developed CAD Using FE analysis
program
Average flux density in air gap (T) 0.6 0.596
Fluxdensityinteeth (T) 2.0 1.96
Flux density in stator iron (T) 1.5 1.46
Flux density in rotor iron (T) 2.0 1.92 Fig. 5. Variation of efficiency with stack length of the designed 30W PM
BLDC hub motor.
Average torque (Nm) 0.998 1.02

IV. PARAMETRIC ANALYSIS OF THE DESIGNED PM

BLDC MOTOR

Parametric analysis is carried out on the designed PM

BLDC hub motor to get improved design in terms of
efficiency and size. Stack length of the motor, number of
poles and slot number are the three parameters considered for
parametric analysis of the motor. Variation of efficiency with
slot number is given in fig.4. As the slot number is increased,
efficiency is increasing linearly up to slot number around 27.
For further increase in slot number, there is no appreciable
increase in efficiency of the motor.

Fig. 6. Variation of efficiency with pole number of the designed 30W PM

BLDC hub motor.

TABLE III
FINAL DESIGN OUTPUTS OF THE 30W PM BLDC HUB MOTOR AFTER
INCORPORATING THE RESULTS OBTAINED FROM THE PARAMETRIC ANALYSIS

Full load efficiency (%) 82.65

Rotor outer diameter (mm) 88.62
Stack length ofthe motor (mm) 14
Total weight of the motor (gms) 464.46
Average torque developed (Nm) 0.978
Inductance per phase (H) 0.0579
Fig. 4. Variation of efficiency with slot number of the designed 30W PM
BLDC hub motor.

Authorized licensed use limited to: INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY DELHI. Downloaded on January 16,2023 at 03:00:57 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
 Comparison between the motor parameters before and VI. REFERENCES
after parametric analysis is given in table IV. The design
outputs from the parametric analysis are also validated using [1] T. J .E. Miller, Brushless Permanent-Magnet and Reluctance motor
FE analysis. Fig.7. shows the flux density plot of the designed drives. Claredon press Oxford, 1989.
[2] D. C. Hanselman, Brushless Permanent Magnet Motor Design. New
30W PM BLDC hub motor using FE analysis after parametric York: McGraw-Hill, 1994.
analysis. The torque angle characteristics of the designed [3] I. R. Handershot and T. J. E. Miller, Design of Brushless Permanent
motor after parametric analysis can be obtained by the similar Magnet Motors, Oxford, 1994.
procedure given for the motor before parametric analysis. [4] Parag R. Upadyay and K. R. Rajagopal, "FE analysis and CAD of
Radial-Flux Surface Mounted Permanent Magnet Brushless DC
Motors" IEEE Transactions on magnetic, Vol. 41 No. 10, October
TABLE IV 2005.
COMPARISON OF MOTOR PARAMETERS BEFORE AND AFTER PARAMETRIC [5] Z. Q. Zhu and David Howe, "Influence of design parameters on
ANALYSIS OF THE DESIGNED 30W PM BLDC MOTOR cogging torque in Permanent Magnet Machines" IEEE Transactions on
energy conversion, Vol. 15, No. 4, December 2000.
Original design Final design [6] Min Dai, Ali Keyhani and Tomy Sebastian, "Torque ripple analysis of
Parameter (before parametric (after parametric a PM Brushless DC motor using Finite Element Method" IEEE
analysis) analysis) Transactions on energy conversion, Vol. 19, No. 1, March 2004.
[7] Jinyun, K. T. Chau, C. C. Chan and J. Z. Jiang, "Design and analysis of
Number of poles 8 6 a new Permanent Magnet Brushless DC Machine" IEEE Transactions
on magnetics, Vol. 36, No. 5, September 2000.
Number of slots 9 27 [8] P. R. Upadyay, K. R. Rajagopal and B. P. Singh, "Computer aided
design of an Axial Field Permanent Magnet Brushless DC Motor for an
Stack length (mm) 15.5 14 electric vehicle" Journal of applied physics, Vol. 93, No. 10, 15 May
2003.
Magnet fraction 0.89 0.67
VII. BIOGRAPHIES
Average torque (Nm) 0.998 0.978
K. R. Rajagopal (M'1998, SM'2000) was born in
Alappuzha, Kerala, India in 1961. He received
Diploma in Electrical Engineering from Carmel
Polytechnic, Alappuzha, India in 1979, B. Tech.
Degree in Electrical Engineering from the College
of Engineering, Trivandrum, India in 1988, M.
Tech. Degree in Power Electronics, Electrical
g Machines and Drives and Ph. D. Degree in
Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of
Technology Delhi, New Delhi, India during 1991
and 1998 respectively.
From 1980 to 1983, he was with Aluminum Industries Ltd. (ALIND),
Trivandrum, India, as an Application Engineer (Relays), from 1983 to 1999,
he was with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), Trivundrum,
India, where he was engaged in Analysis, Design, Development and Testing
of Special Electrical Machines/Devices used in space applications. Since
1999, he is with the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi, India,
where currently he is a Professor in Electrical Engineering Department.
He has published more than 30 papers in International Journals and
more than 60 papers in International conference proceedings. He received
Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE) award for most Innovative
Potential Project in Engineering during the year 1998. His fields of interest
include Electrical Machines and Drives, Special Electrical Machines (Stepper
Fig. 7. Flux density plot of the final design of the 30W PM BLDC hub motor Motors, Switched Reluctance Motors, PM BLDC Motors, Hysterisis Motors,
after parametric analysis. etc.,), Magnetic Devices, Finite Element Analysis and CAD of Electrical
Machines and Design of Energy Efficient Motors for Home Appliances.
V. CONCLUSION
Chippa Sathaiah was born in Chendoli,
Computer aided design of a PM BLDC hub motor is Karimnagar district, Andhra Pradesh, India in 1979.
presented in this paper. Using the developed CAD program a He received Diploma in Electrical and Electronics
Engineering from the Jawaharlal Nehru
30W PM BLDC hub motor meant for ceiling fan application Government Polytechnic, Hy derabad, Andhra
is designed. The design procedure is divided into three major Pradesh, India in 2000. He graduated from Osmania
parts and is clearly described. The design validation with FE University with B. E. (Electrical and Electronics
analysis is also given in this paper. There is design Engineering) Degree, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh,
India in 2005.
improvement in terms of efficiency and size is obtained using He joined the Andhra Pradesh Transmission
parametric analysis. The design outputs of the CAD program Corporation, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India as Sub Engineer Electrical
and parametric analysis for 30W PM BLDC hub motor are during the year 2002. Currently he is pursuing his M. Tech. in Power
submitted. The design outputs from CAD program and Electronics, Electrical Machines and Drives at the Indian Institute of
Technology Delhi, New Delhi, India. His fields of interest include Power
parametric analysis are validated using FE analysis. The Electronics, Electrical Machines and Drives, Finite Element Analysis and
torque angle characteristics obtained using FE analysis of the Computer Aided Design of Electrical Machines.
designed motor also given in this paper.

Authorized licensed use limited to: INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY DELHI. Downloaded on January 16,2023 at 03:00:57 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.