Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 68 (2017) 475–491

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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/rser

Overview of flux-controllable machines: Electrically excited machines,

hybrid excited machines and memory machines☆
crossmark
⁎
Qingsong Wang, Shuangxia Niu
Department of Electrical Engineering, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong

A R T I C L E I N F O A BS T RAC T

Keywords: Flux-controllable machines have attracted much attention in modern industry, especially in electric vehicle
Constant power propulsion and wind power generation, as they can ensure a wide constant power speed range when working at
Constant induced voltage motoring mode, while maintain constant induced voltage when working at generating mode. This paper reviews
Flux controllability the current research work about flux-controllable machines, mainly focused on electrically excited machines,
Hybrid excited
hybrid excited machines and memory machines. The latest novel machine concepts with the potential of good
Memory machine
flux controllability are particularly investigated. The working principle, advantages and drawbacks, and future
trends of different flux-controllable machines are discussed, compared and summarized in detail.

1. Introduction
Electric machines have attracted more and more attention in recent
years with the increasing concerns on energy crisis and environmental
pollution. Many clean energy applications have been investigated by
researchers to reduce the fuel energy consumptions, among which the
electric vehicles (EVs)/hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and wind power
generators are two prominent representatives.
Actually the EV was first invented as early as 1834, but almost
varnished from the scene since 1930 due to the limitations associated
with the batteries and the rapid advancement of internal combustion
engine vehicles (ICEVs) [1]. As the growing concerns on fuel energy
shortage and environmental pollution as well as global warming, the
research on EVs has shifted dramatically since 1990s. Many major
automotive manufacturers like GM, Nissan and BMW have launched
aggressive programs to develop EVs for commercialization [2]. HEVs
are also good candidates to reduce gasoline consumptions as well as
increase engine efficiency. One successful commercial HEV is the
Toyota Prius, many research works on this car have been conducted
[3–5]. No matter the EVs which merely use electric energy for
propulsion, or HEVs driven by gasoline combined with electricity, the
driving motors are key components to ensure good performances of
EVs/HEVs. Generally, there are two typical working stages for driving
motors in EVs/HEVs, namely constant torque start-up stage and
constant power high speed cruise stage. In order to meet the high
speed requirements of EVs/HEVs, the driving motors should have good
flux controllability to ensure wide constant power operating range.
On the other hand, the use of wind power is increasing rapidly as
more technical breakthroughs have been achieved. Fig. 1 shows of the
global wind capacity from 2015 to 2020, one can see that the wind
power systems are growing fast and enjoy good potential for further
sustained development [6]. Since the wind speed varies with the time,
the induced voltage will also change while the wind speed varies, which
would bring shock to power converters. To maintain a constant induced
voltage, the wind turbines need to weaken or strengthen the air-gap
flux when the wind speed increases or decreases. Therefore, the wind
power generators should also have good flux regulating capability to
meet the changes of wind speeds.
The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of the flux-
controllable machines, especially focusing on the current research
works including machine topologies, operating principles and features,
and especially the latest emerged novel machine concepts with good
flux.
2. Mathematical model and classification
2.1. Mathematical model
The mathematical model is the theoretical basis to understand the
working principle of the flux-controllable machines. Through the
research about the mathematical model, the accurate mathematical
expressions of the back EMF and the electromagnetic torque can be
obtained. For three-phase synchronous machines, the voltage equation
can be expressed as:

☆
This work was supported by the Research Grant Council of the Hong Kong Government under Project PolyU 152130/14E and PolyU 5388/13E.
⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: q.s.wang@connect.polyu.hk (Q. Wang), eesxniu@polyu.edu.hk (S. Niu).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2016.09.098
Received 11 January 2016; Received in revised form 26 July 2016; Accepted 24 September 2016
1364-0321/ © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Q. Wang, S. Niu Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 68 (2017) 475–491

Fig. 1. Global wind power capacity [6].

→ dψ → air-gap. One can find that the excitation flux ψf can act as a regulator for
→
u = Rs i +
dt (1) both the back EMF and the electromagnetic torque. Therefore, by
controlling the excitation flux, the back EMF and the terminal voltage
whereRs is the resistance of each phase windings,→ u = [ua, ub , uc]T ,
→ as well as the electromagnetic torque can be regulated effectively. This
i = [ia, ib , ic]T and →
ψ = [ψa, ψb , ψc]T are the phase voltage, current
feature is very useful to expand the constant power operating range
and flux linkage vector, respectively. The flux linkage of each phase
when the machines work at motoring mode, and maintain constant
windings contains three parts, namely, the self inductance flux linkage,
output voltages when the machines work at generating mode.
the mutual inductance flux linkage and the excitation flux linkage,
which can be expressed as:
→ →→
ψ = L i +→ ψf (2) 2.2. Classification
→ →
where L is the inductance matrix, ψ f is the excitation flux linkage According to the types of excitation sources and flux controlling
vector. methods, the flux-controllable machines can be divided into three
⎡ ⎤ categories, namely, electrically excited machines (EEMs), hybrid
→ ⎢ LAA MAB MAC ⎥
L = MAB LBB MBC excited machines (HEMs) and memory machines (MMs). EEMs are
⎢⎣ ⎥
MAC MBC LCC ⎦ (3) only excited by field windings, continuous excitation currents are
needed during the whole operating range, the flux regulating is
⎡ cos(θ ) ⎤
→ ⎢ ⎥ achieved by directly controlling the excitation currents. HEMs are
ψ f = ψf ⎢ cos(θ − 2π /3)⎥ excited by both the field windings and PMs with high coercivity,
⎣ cos(θ + 2π /3)⎦ (4) continuous excitation currents are needed during flux regulating.
in which LAA, BB , CC are the self inductance of each phase, MMs are excited by PMs with low coercivity and nonlinear hysteresis
MAB, AC , BC are the mutual inductance, ψf and θ are the excitation flux loops, the flux regulating can be achieved by applying current pulses.
linkage and the rotor position. By substituting Eq. (2) into Eq. (1), the The equivalent circuit model of EEMs, HEMs and MMs in d-q frame is
voltage equation can be re-written as: shown in Fig. 2. The steady-state voltage equations can be expressed
as:
→ → → →f
→ → dψ → dL → → d i dψ
u = Rs i + = Rs i + i +L + ⎡ ud ⎤ ⎡ id ⎤ ⎡ 0 − Lq ⎤ ⎡ id ⎤ ⎡0⎤
dt dt dt dt (5) ⎢ uq ⎥ = Rs ⎢ iq ⎥ + ω ⎢ ⎥ ⎢ ⎥ + ω ⎢ ψf ⎥
→ →
dL →
⎣ ⎦ ⎣ ⎦ ⎣ Ld 0 ⎦ ⎣ iq ⎦ ⎣ ⎦ (8)
where Rs i is the voltage drop due to the winding resistance, dt →
i is
→d i
known as rotational EMF due to the variation of inductance, L dt is
known as the transformer EMF due to the variation of armature
→
current, dψ f is known as the back EMF due to the relative motion of
dt
excitation flux and windings. The back EMF vector can be obtained by
differentiate the flux linkage vector:

→f ⎡ sin(θ ) ⎤
→ dψ ⎢ ⎥
e =− = ωψf ⎢ sin(θ − 2π /3)⎥
dt
⎣ sin(θ + 2π /3)⎦ (6)
whereω is the angular frequency. The electromagnetic torque is resulted
by the rotational EMF and back EMF, and can be expressed as:

1 →T ⎛ dL→ → →f ⎞
dψ
T= i ⎜ dt i + ⎟
ω ⎝ dt ⎠

⎡ sin(θ ) ⎤
→
1 →T dL → →T ⎢ ⎥
= ω
i dt i − i ψf ⎢ sin(θ − 2π /3)⎥
⎣ sin(θ + 2π /3)⎦ (7)
where the first item is the reluctance torque component due to the Fig. 2. Equivalent circuit model. (a) D-axis equivalent circuit. (b) q-axis equivalent
variations of inductances, which is zero in machines with symmetrical circuit.

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Q. Wang, S. Niu
where for EEMs:
ψf = keIe
for HEMs:
ψf = keIe + ψPM
for MMs:
ψf = ψPM
The meaning of the symbols are as follows:
id ,iq d- and q-axis components of the armature current;.
ud ,uq d- and q-axis components of the terminal voltage;.
Ld ,Lq d- and q-axis components of the synchronous.
inductance.
Ie the excitation current;.
ke the excitation coil–armature winding mutual.
inductance;.
ψf the total excitation flux linkage;.
ψPM PM flux linkage;.
One can find that for EEMs, flux regulating is achieved by
controlling the excitation currents. It should be noted that PMs with
high coercivities and linear BH loops are used in HEMs, ψPM is a fixed
item and flux regulating is also achieved by controlling the excitation
currents. For MMs, ψPM can be adjusted by current pulses since PMs
with low coercive force and nonlinear BH loops are used. Based on the
location of excitation sources, each group can be further classified into
several subgroups. EEMs can be divided into wound rotor synchronous
machines (WRSMs)with the field windings wound on the rotor teeth,
DC excited claw-pole machines (DC-CPMs)with field windings circum-
ferentially located on claw-pole rotor, and DC excited variable reluc-
tance machines (DC-VRMs) with the field windings on the stator.
HEMs can also be divided into three subgroups, which are the rotor-
PM stator-field-winding HEMs (RPM-SFW-HEMs) which have the
PMs located on the rotor while the field windings located on the stator,
the rotor-PM rotor-field-winding HEMs (RPM-RFW-HEMs) which
have both PMs and field windings on the rotor, and the stator-PM
stator-field-winding HEMs (SPM-SFW-HEMs) which have both PMs
and field windings on the stator. MMs can be divided into the AC pulse
regulated MMs (APR-MMs) in which the PMs are located on the rotor
and the magnetizing/demagnetizing is achieved by applying AC current
pulse, and DC pulse regulated MMs (DPR-MMs) in which the PMs are
located on the stator and the magnetizing/demagnetizing is realized by
applying DC current pulse. The detailed classification of flux-control-
lable machines is shown in Fig. 3.
3. Electrically excited machines
Although permanent magnet (PM) machines usually have high
torque density and high efficiency, they are not always preferable
Fig. 3. Classification of flux-controllable machines.
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 68 (2017) 475–491
choices especially when wide constant power speed range (CPSR) are
needed due to their fixed PM excitations. Other drawbacks such as
(9)
weak mechanical strength and low heat resistance of PM materials also
limit the usage of PM machines. EEMs can well solve the aforemen-
tioned problems. The air-gap flux can be regulated readily by adjusting
(10)
the excitation current, and hence guarantee wide CPSR. Moreover,
since the rare-earth magnets are only owned by a small part of
countries and sale at a high price, EEMs are becoming increasingly
(11)
attractive and show good potential in certain applications.
3.1. Wound rotor synchronous machines
Traditional WRSMs have been used in applications like EV
propulsion [7,8]for many decades. Despite the price advantage over
PM machines, WRSMs can achieve wider CPSR due to their flexible
flux controllability by simply adjusting the excitation current. A WRSM
is proposed for EV traction which owns high overload capability at low
speed and wide speed range at constant power [9].
One of the main drawbacks of traditional WRSMs is their bad
thermal conditions. The temperature distributions in both WRSMs and
PM machines are calculated and compared using the same cooling
condition in [10]. The results show that WRSMs have higher winding
temperatures than PM machines, especially the field winding tempera-
ture. This is because the field windings of WRSMs will produce
continuous excitation loss, and rotor cooling is more difficult than
stator cooling. Hence in real applications, WRSMs are more likely to
compromise the torque density to meet the thermal constrains. Other
comparisons between WRSMs and PM machines are reported in
[11,12]. To provide sufficient flux intensity, the WRSMs should also
employ enough field windings on the rotor. A spoke type of winding is
proposed to maximize the copper area [7]. which results in a
considerable higher rotor copper losses than the stator copper losses
and reduced efficiency. In [13], various operational envelops and
efficiency maps of a WRS machine are calculated and analyzed. It
shows that the copper and iron losses in the high-speed region are
much higher than the losses at low speed.
Besides the high copper loss, reduced efficiency and difficult rotor
cooling, the WRSMs also require slip rings or brushes as the excitation
coils are located on the rotor, which will further reduce the machine
efficiency and stability. Therefore, moving field excitation to the stator
where cooling can be more effective, and the use of slip rings can be
eliminated, is a more reasonable design choice.
3.2. DC excited claw-pole machines
The claw-pole machines are widely used as generators in vehicles.
Generally, DC excited claw-pole machines (DC-CPM) contain three
parts, the claw-pole rotor, the field coil and the stator, as shown in
Fig. 4. The magnetic flux produced by the field coils will pass through
the rotor yoke, rotor claw-pole, the air-gap between the rotor and
stator, the stator, then back to the air-gap between the rotor and stator,
the adjacent rotor claw-pole and close at the rotor yoke. The prominent
merits of DC-CPM are the low cost and easy manufacture since the
claw-pole rotors are made by mold, which have great advantage over
the laminated structure when produced in large scale. However, since
the pole shape is not symmetrical along rotor axis, 3-D flux distribution
is produced in the machines which requires 3-D magnetic field analysis
[14,15]. FEMs are more effective due to the special shape of claws, high
saturation and the effects of flux leakage. Different magnetic materials
are investigated to improve the performances of DC-CPMs [16–18].
The results show that using novel soft magnetic composite (SMC)
materials like AFK502 which are more effective in terms of magnetic
loss, permeability and magnetic saturation can reduce the machine
dimensions and improve the power density. As the excitation coils are
circumferentially located on the rotor in DC-CPMs, brushes or slip
rings are inevitably needed. The excitation current is also limited due to
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Q. Wang, S. Niu
Fig. 4. Configuration of DC-CPM [14].
the magnetic saturation, which reduces the torque density of DC-CPMs.
Therefore, claw-pole machines with PM excitations and hybrid excita-
tions when field adjustment is needed are widely investigated [19–23],
which will be further discussed in Section 4.
3.3. DC excited variable reluctance machines
DC-VRM is a novel machine concept which moves the excitation
coils to the stator. A robust rotor structure similar to that of switched
reluctance machine (SRM) is applicable for DC-VRM. Slip rings are not
needed and the cooling efficiency is improved as the excitation coils are
employed on the stator. The same as other EEMs, DC-VRMs can online
adjust the air-gap flux simply by controlling the DC excitation currents.
Fig. 5 shows one typical DC-VRM configuration with 6/4 stator/
rotor poles, which was first proposed in [24] and also referred as
doubly fed doubly salient machine (DFDSM) in the later research [25–
29]. The original intension of this DFDSM is to deal with the current
commutation and energy circulation problems of SRM [24]. Compared
with SRMs, the output power of this DFDSM can increase 11% in the
constant torque operation region and increase from 14–20% in the
constant power operating region without a marked reduction in the
efficiency. The CPSR can also be significantly extended by simply
tuning the field current [28]. In [30], a nonlinear magnetic circuit
modeling method is proposed with consideration of magnetic satura-
tion as well as the interaction between field and armature currents. In
[29], a 12/8 stator/rotor pole DFDSM is designed for wind power
generation. Through online tuning of the field current, constant output
DC voltage can be obtained over a wide wind speed range, and the
machine efficiency can also be optimized. However, since the flux paths
for different phases are not identical, the DFDSM exhibits non-
Fig. 5. The structure and winding connection of 6/4 DFDSM [24].
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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 68 (2017) 475–491
Fig. 6. Configuration of a novel DFDSM excited by sinusoidal excitation with DC bias
[31].
sinusoidal and asymmetric back-EMF, which results in more complex
control strategy and poor usage of DC-link voltage as well as high
torque ripple at low speeds [30]. A novel DFDSM is proposed as shown
in Fig. 6 [31], which is excited by bipolar sinusoidal excitation with DC
bias. Since the field winding in this novel DFDSM is identically located
for each phase, symmetric flux distribution can be achieved, and the
current requirement for the field winding is reduced due to the short
flux path. On the other hand, the symmetric flux distribution can also
help to produce identical back-EMF for all phases, which can reduce
the torque ripple as well as the vibration and acoustic noise. Compared
with traditional SPMs with bipolar sinusoidal excitation, the novel
DFDSM can achieve much higher torque density. The back-EMF can
also be regulated through field current adjustment [32]. Another
feature for this novel DFDSM is the feasible choice of odd rotor poles.
The stator/rotor pole combinations are no longer restricted by
Nr = Ns ± 2k for doubly salient machines or SRMs [33]. which means
for a 6-pole stator, 5-pole and 7- pole rotor are also appropriate. The
selection of the rotor pole number can be expressed as:
Nr ≠ kNph (where k is a integer) (12)
in which Nph refers to the phase number. The even and 3rd order
harmonics can be cancelled in a 6/5 stator/rotor pole DFDSM, which
can greatly reduce the torque ripple [34].
Another famous DC-VRM is the DC excited flux switching machine
(DC-FSM). Fig. 7 shows the structure and working principle of a typical
DC-FSM with toroidal DC field windings [35], which just replace the
PMs in flux switching PM machines with toroidal DC field windings.
From Fig. 4(b), we can see that the polarity of stator flux-linkage
changes with the change of rotor position, which is referred as “flux
switching” and will result in a bipolar flux linkage. Therefore, the DC-
FSM can operate in all the four quadrants of the energy-conversion
plane like the FSPMM [36]. However, for the DC-FSM shown in Fig. 7,
the excitation field generated by the DC conductors close to the outer
surface will not goes through the rotor but outside of the rotor instead.
DC-FSM topology with wound field excitation is proposed in [37], in
which the slot area for the field conductors is enlarged to increase the
main flux and the DC conductors close to the stator outer surface are
removed. The energy conversion process in the DC-FSM and control
schemes are investigated in [38] and [39], respectively. The analytical
field prediction of DC-FSM in both open-circuit condition and load
operation are reported in [40] and [41], respectively. Comparison
studies of DC-FSMs with different pole numbers under the constraint
of the same copper loss are conducted in [42,43], and the copper loss of
DC-FSMs can be expressed as
PCu = Ia2Ra + If 2 Rf (13)
whereIa is the rms armature current, Ra is the total armature winding
Q. Wang, S. Niu
Fig. 7. Configuration and working principle of DC-FSM with toroidal field windings
[35]. (a). Configuration. (b). Working principle.
resistance, If is the field current, and Rf is the total field winding
resistance. The results illustrate that as the increasing of the stator
poles, the flux leakage increases, which will reduce the torque density.
Halving the number of stator slots and rotor poles can be an effective
method to increase the machine’s torque density. A 12slot-10pole DC-
FSM is designed for HEVs in [44], the torque and power factor versus
excitation current density characteristics at various armature current
densities are plotted in Fig. 8. One can find that the increasing in the
armature current density will increase torque but reduce power factor.
However, with the increasing in excitation current density, the power
Fig. 8. (Left)Torque versus excitation current density at various armature current densities, (Right)Power factor versus excitation current density at various armature current densities
[44].
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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 68 (2017) 475–491
Fig. 9. Torque and power versus speed characteristics [44].
factor can be improved and kept constant even if the armature current
density is very high. The torque and power versus speed curves of the
designed motor is plotted in Fig. 9, and the results show that the
designed machine can operate over wide speed and torque range.
DC-FSMs with segment rotors are reported in [45,46], which own
similar torque capability with traditional SRMs but with additional flux
regulating capability. Even rotor poles is regarded as the best choice as
suggested in [46]. DC-FSM with armature windings and field windings
separately wound in double stators is studied as well [47]. It can
achieve larger torque density due to larger slot area and non-over-
lapping windings.
Vernier structures with DC excitations on the stator are also studied
by researchers. One possible configuration is given in Fig. 10. The
magnetic vibration and noise are analyzed in [48]. When high-
temperature superconductor (HTS) is used in the field winding, the
machine performances can be greatly improved [25]. The design
procedure and numerical model of vernier machine with stator DC
excitation is presented in [49]. The power factor of stator DC excited
vernier machine is analyzed both theoretically and with finite element
analysis (FEA) [50]. Other configurations like axial flux doubly salient
machine as shown in Fig. 11 and flux-controllable linear variable
reluctance machine in Fig. 12 are also reported in literatures [51,52].
Since DC-CPMs have low torque densities and used in limited
applications, mainly used as generators in vehicles, WRSMs and DC-
VRMs are more popular. Table 1 shows some key design parameters
and performance figures of a WRSM and a DC-VRM, which are
investigated in [7]and [44], respectively. We can find that both the
WRSMs and the DC-VRMs can be designed with high output torque to
meet the requirements of electric vehicle propulsion. Since the WRSM
Q. Wang, S. Niu Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 68 (2017) 475–491

Fig. 10. Configuration of a stator DC-excited vernier machine [48].

employs field windings on the rotor, brushes or slip rings are inevitably
needed, which will reduce the reliability. The DC-VRM is brushless and
the rotor only have salient poles, which is robust and can be used in
high speed applications. Moreover, the DC-VRM can be easily cooled
since both the field windings and the armature windings are located on
the stator.

4. Hybrid excited machines

HEMs are those which employ both a primary PM excitation and a

secondary field coil excitation source. For traditional PM machines,
Fig. 11. Configuration of a axial flux doubly salient machine [51]. high torque density and high efficiency can be achieved with the use of
high performance PM materials. But the air-gap flux cannot be directly
regulated due to the fixed PM excitations, which limits their usage
when wide CPSR are needed. The machine efficiency is also reduced
when the machines work at flux weakening condition, since a negative
D-axis current needs to be generated by controlling the armature
winding current to weaken the PM excitation. While for EEMs, the
air-gap flux can be feasibly regulated simply by controlling the
excitation currents. However, the torque density and efficiency of
EEMs are relatively lower than PM machines. In addition, thermal
problems also exist since the continuous excitation will bring additional
copper loss and will reduce the power density. HEMs can well solve the
aforementioned problems, and can be regarded as combinations of PM
machines and EEMs. Good flux regulating capability can be achieved
while high torque density and high efficiency can still be maintained.
Therefore, HEMs have good potential to be used in applications where
high torque density and high efficiency as well as wide CPSR are
needed.
Many HEM topologies have been reported in existing literatures.
Generally, there are two clarification methods for HEMs: (1)
Concerning the magnetic circuits of the two excitation sources, HEMs
can be grouped as series HEMs, in which the flux lines excited by the
Fig. 12. Configuration of flux-controllable linear variable reluctance machine [52].(a) 2-
field coils pass through the PMs, and parallel HEMs, in which the flux
Dtopology. (b) 3-D topology. lines of field coils don’t pass through the PMs. (2) According to the
location of excitation sources, HEMs can be grouped into three
Table 1 categories, those are RPM-SFW-HEMs with PMs on the rotor while
Comparison between WRSM and DC-VRM. field coils on the stator, RPM-RFW-HEMs which have both PMs and
field coils on the rotor, and SPM-SFW-HEMs which have both PMs and
Items WRSM[7] DC-VRM[44] field coils on the stator. In this paper, the second one is used to group
Stator outer diameter[mm] 269 264 the HEMs.
Stator inner diameter[mm] 169.5 198
Air-gap length[mm] 0.73 0.8 4.1. HEMs with PMs on the rotor while coils on the stator
Axial length[mm] 84 70
Pole number 8 10
Stator slots 48 12
Lots of HEMs belong to this group. By employing PMs on the rotor,
Field current density[A/mm2] 10 21 RPM-SFW-HEMs have good potential to realize high torque density.
Armature current density[A/mm2] 17.3 21 Slip rings or brushes are not needed as the excitation coils are located
Peak torque[Nm] 288 210.4 on the stator.
Reliability Low High
Consequent-pole PM (CPPM) machine [53]is a typical configura-
Cooling Difficult Easy
tion in this category, which is shown in Fig. 13. The rotor of this
machine is divided into two sections, one has partial radially magne-

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Q. Wang, S. Niu Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 68 (2017) 475–491

Fig. 13. Configuration of the CPPM machine [53].

tized surface mounted PMs, while the other has a laminated iron pole.
A circumferential field winding is placed in the middle of the stator to
achieve flux regulation. A wide CPSR can be achieved by controlling the
excitation field current without demagnetization risk for the PM pieces.
However, the power density of this machine is reduced since the
additional DC windings reduce the inner diameter of the stator if the
machine outer diameter is kept unchanged. Moreover, the air-gap
associated to the DC winding section will not participate in the energy
conversion process. CPPM machines with axial flux are also reported in
[54,55]. The efficiency maps of a RPM-SFW-HEM as well as a PM
machine and a EEM with the same maximum performance are shown
in Fig. 14 [56]. One can see that the RPM-SFW-HEM can well combine
the advantages of PM machine and EEMs. Compared with EEMs, the
efficiency of RPM-SFW-HEM is dramatically improved, especially in
the most frequently used operating range, while the speed range is also
significantly expanded when compared with PM machines. Some other
HEMs with PMs on the rotor while field coils on the stator are also
studied. Through employing PMs on the rotor of DC excited vernier
machine shown in Fig. 10, a novel hybrid excited vernier machine can
be resulted [57,58]. This machine can easily achieve high output torque
at low speed operation and good flux weakening capability at high
speed operation.
Claw-pole machines with only field coil excitation have already been
discussed in Section 3-B, which is less attractive due to the low torque
density and low efficiency as well as the utilization of brushes or slip
rings. Hybrid excited claw-pole machines can well solve these pro-
blems. The PMs can be either located inside the rotor [59] or inserted
into the air-gaps between adjacent claws [60]. The flux leakage can be
suppressed when the PMs are sandwiched between adjacent claws, and
hence the corresponding loss is reduced. Modeling and optimization
based on 3-D magnetic equivalent circuit are conducted [22,61]. In
[62,63], a hybrid excited claw-pole machine with PMs surface mounted
on the claws is proposed. Two stators are employed with the rotor
sandwiched between them. The surface of each claw pole is separated
into two sections, one for the PMs and the other is a solid iron pole. The
circumferential excitation field winding is located on the inner stator
while the armature windings housed in the outer stator slots. FEA and
experimental results show that a nearly 60% flux control range can be
achieved at no load condition and 55% when the machine operates at Fig. 14. Efficiency maps in torque/speed plane [56].(a) PM machine. (b) EEM. (c) HEM.

full load.
4.2. HEMs with both PMs and field coils on the rotor
To achieve brushless structures, most HEMs locate the field coils in
the stator. Only few HEMs employ both PM excitation and field coils on
the rotor. Fig. 15 shows the configuration of a RPM-RFW-HEM [64], in
which the rotor is employed with both surface mounted PMs and a
wound field coil. Compared with the aforementioned HEM topologies,
this machine has relatively simple structure. However, undesirable
torque pulsations and vibration may be generated due to the space and
time harmonic components. The use of brush or slip-ring will also
reduce the machine’s reliability. Similar structure is reported in [65],
the rotor pole number can be changed when the direction of DC current
changes. Another RPM-RFW-HEM is reported in [66], in which the
rotor is divided into two parts, one for excitation coils and the other for
PMs. Claw pole HEM with both excitations in the rotor is also studied
in [67].

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Q. Wang, S. Niu Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 68 (2017) 475–491

(HEFSMs). Similar to the rotor PM hybrid excited vernier machines

(RPM-HEVMs), the PMs can also be employed on the stator, which are
named as stator PM HEVMs (SPM-HEVMs).
Fig. 16 shows several HEDSM topologies in which the flux lines of
field windings and PMs are in series. For the machine shown in
Fig. 16(a) [68], the PMs are radially magnetized. As the flux excited by
the field windings would pass through the large reluctance PMs, big DC
exciting power is needed to realize good flux regulation, which would
reduce the machine efficiency and also bring risk of PM demagnetiza-
tion. A new HEDSM employs magnetic bridges as low reluctance paths
for the flux generated by the field windings [69,70], is shown in
Fig. 16(b). The magnetic bridges can greatly reduce the required field
exciting ampere-turns. However, it also belongs to the series HEMs,
and the magnetic saturation has big influence on the reluctance of
magnetic bridges. Another HEDSM which uses air bridges to realize the
same features of the magnetic bridges [71], is shown in Fig. 16(c). The
difference is that the reluctance of air bridges is invariant and will not
Fig. 15. Configuration of hybrid-excited PM machine with both excitation sources on
be influenced by magnet saturation. Comparative study in [72] show
the rotor [64].
that topology in Fig. 16(a) is hard to fabricated due to the separated
stator lamination. And the topology with air bridges in Fig. 16(c) can
4.3. HEMs with both PMs and field coils on the stator
well reduce the risk of demagnetization of PMs.
HEDSMs with parallel excitations are also studied by researchers.
Among all the HEMs, the SPM-SFW-HEMs are the most popular
In [72,73], different types of main poles (MPs) are introduced and
ones because all excitations are located on the stator, a robust rotor
discussed. This kind of machine has good flux regulating ability with
structure can be achieved, which are very suitable for high speed
low field exciting power and comparable power density with the DSPM.
operation. The drawbacks of SPM-SFW-HEMs are the relatively
Another parallel HEDSM with separated stators and rotors is proposed
complicated stator structures and reduced torque density compared
in [74]. The stator is divided into two sections, one for PM excitation
with the rotor PM excited machines. Generally, the SPM-SFW-HEMs
and the other for field winding excitation. The rotor is correspondingly
contain two machine types, namely, hybrid excited doubly salient
divided into two portions as well. This machine can be regarded as a
machines (HEDSMs) and hybrid excited flux switching machines
combination of DSPM and DC excited doubly salient machine. A flux

Fig. 16. Configuration of series HEDSMs. (a) Primary topology [68]. (b) HEDSM with magnetic bridges [69]. (c) HEDSM with air bridges [71].

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Q. Wang, S. Niu Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 68 (2017) 475–491

Fig. 19. Configuration of the PHEFS-E machine [80].

Fig. 17. Configuration of parallel HEDSM PMs located between adjacent stator salient regulating range of 4.54 times can be achieved. Other merits like fast
poles [75]. response and low torque ripple after skewing are also observed.

Fig. 18. Configuration of HEFSMs [76]. (a) PM-Top. (b) PM-Bottom. (c) PM-Middle.

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Q. Wang, S. Niu Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 68 (2017) 475–491

Fig. 20. Comparison of flux regulating ability among SHEFS, PHEFSM-T and PHEFSM-
E [81].

Table 2
Comparison between RPM-SFW-HEM and SPM-SFW-HEM.

Items RPM-SFW- SPM-SFW- Fig. 22. Configuration of a primary APR-MM [83].

HEMs[57] HEMs[82]
are referred as PM-Top, PM-Bottom and PM-Middle topologies in [76]
Stator outer diameter[mm] 210 90
Stator inner diameter[mm] 40 58.5 and shown in Fig. 18(a)-(c), respectively. The PM-Middle topology
Rotor outer diameter[mm] 246 57.5 owns the weakest flux regulation capability since the currents in the
Rotor inner diameter[mm] 211.2 – two slots adjoining each magnet exhibit reversal hybrid excitation
Air-gap length[mm] 0.6 0.5
results. This issue can be efficiently improved by artfully reconnecting
Axial length[mm] 80 25
Rotor pole-pairs 22 11
the field windings [77]. The current direction in one of the slots is
Stator slots 6 12 reversed while the motor structure is kept identical. The improved
Rated torque[Nm] 90 2.5 machine has much better regulating capability of no-load flux and
Torque density[Nm/m3] 23.7 15.7 output torque. Since the flux of PMs and excitation coils are in series,
Reliability High High
the magnetic circuit excited by field windings owns relatively high
Robustness Low High
Magnet temperature rise Medium Low reluctance due to the low permeability of PMs, which limits the flux
regulating capability. Moreover, the PMs also have higher risk of
demagnetization. Iron flux bridges are used to overcome the afore-
mentioned drawbacks [78]. The field excitation can be effectively
increased through adding iron bridges at the outer radius of the
machine, with the tradeoff of slightly reduced torque density. Even
with iron flux bridges, the excitation current utilization ratio is limited
due to the magnetic saturation. The PM flux short-circuit also occurs
which further increase the saturation and reduce the efficiency.
Parallel HEFSM with two-part rotor (PHEFSM-T) is proposed in
[79]. By flexibly allocating the axial length of the two parts, the
required flux adjusting capability and torque density can be achieved.
The excitation current utilization ratio is improved while the excitation
loss is reduced compared with the series HEFSMs. Another PHEFSM
with E-core stator (PHEFSM-E) is reported in [80], whose configura-
tion is given in Fig. 19. Compared with the PHEFSM-T, the PHEFSM-E
has relatively simple structure but low excitation current utilization
ratio since high saturation are observed in the stator yoke, the stator
tooth, the middle tooth of E-core and the rotor tooth caused by the PM
flux [81]. The flux regulation ability among series hybrid excited flux
switching (SHEFS) machine with and without air bridges, PHEFSM-T
and PHEFSM-E is given in Fig. 20. The results show that air bridges
can significantly improve the flux regulating ability of SHEFS machine.
And the PHEFSM-T enjoys the increased flux regulating range.
Fig. 21. Hysteresis model of AlNiCo PM [84]. To achieve brushless structures, RPM-RFW-HEMs are becoming
decreasingly popular for the FWs are located on the rotor. Table 2
Recently, a novel HEDSM with parallel flux path is proposed, in which shows some key design parameters and performance figures of a RPM-
the PMs are located between adjacent salient stator poles, as shown in SFW-HEM investigated in [57] and a SPM-SFW-HEM investigated in
Fig. 17 [75]. Compared with traditional DC excited variable flux [82]. We can find that the RPM-SFW-HEM can achieve higher torque
machine, this hybrid excited machine can achieve 18% higher torque density. The reason behind this is that RPM-SFW-HEM can provide
density for fixed copper loss because of the reduction of magnetic more space for PM arrangement, which can contribute to the torque
saturation in the stator. improvement. In SPM-SFW-HEM, since all the excitations are located
HEFSMs were proposed based on the FSPM machines, by short- on the stator, large PM usage can easily result in magnetic saturation.
ening the length of PMs in an original FSPM machines while introdu- However, the SPM-SFW-HEM has merits of robust rotor structure and
cing an additional set of field windings into the saved place. The PMs low magnet temperature rise since the heat can be easily dissipated
can be located in the top or bottom or middle of the stator slots, which from the stator iron and housing.

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Q. Wang, S. Niu
Fig. 23. Configurations of hybrid excited APR-MMs. (a) Linear type. (b) Y-type. (c) U-type. (d) V-type. (e) W-type. (f) Halbach type.
5. Memory machines
MMs are relatively new machine concepts which were firstly
proposed in [83]. The key is to use PMs with both low coercivities
and nonlinear hysteresis loops, such as AlNiCo PMs. On the one hand,
the nonlinear demagnetization characteristic ensures the recoil line
never superpose on the demagnetization curve. Once the demagnetiza-
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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 68 (2017) 475–491
tion current is applied and then removed when flux weakening is
needed, the working point of AlNiCo PM will move along the recoil line
and settle at a lower magnetization level, which means that the
magnetization level is memorized. Therefore, for MMs, there is no
need to apply continuous excitation current during flux weakening,
only current pulse is needed since the magnetization level of AlNiCo
PM will not change if no other magnetizing/demagnetizing current is
Q. Wang, S. Niu Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 68 (2017) 475–491

B = μ rμ0H − B rk , k = 1, 2, 3... (15)

Line l3:
μ rμ0H m1 + B r1
B= (H − H c)
H m1 − H c (16)
Line l4:
μ rμ0H m1 + B r1
B= (H + H c)
H m1 − H c (17)
where μ0 and μr refer to the vacuum permeability and the relative
permeability of the PM material, respectively. Hm1 is the H value of
saturation point of the major loop, Hc and Brk (k=1, 2, 3…) are the
coercivity and the remanence of kth hysteresis loop, respectively.
Obviously, k=1for major loops, while k > 1for minor loops. Therefore,
to magnetize AlNiCo from the initial operating Point P to the operating
Point Q, a positive magnetic intensity of HB should be applied, the
magnetizing magnetic intensity HB can be solved by solving Eq. (14)
and Eq. (16):
(H m1 − H c) B rQ + H c(μ rμ0H m1 + B r1)
HB =
μ rμ0H c + B r1 (18)
Similarly, during the demagnetizing process, the demagnetizing
magnetic intensity HE can be solved by solving Eq. (14) and Eq. (17):
(H m1 − Hc ) B rR − H c(μ rμ0H m1 + B r1)
HE =
μ rμ0H c + B r1 (19)
According to HB and H E , the magnetizing/demagnetizing currents
can be determined. It must be pointed out that this current is just an
estimated value, since the magnetic circuit is nonlinear. The DC current
needs to be adjusted in real time based on the actual magnetizing/
demagnetizing level. Since the memory machine is not a new topology,
but a new concept using PMs with low coercivity and nonlinear
hysteresis loops as excitation sources. Therefore, it is hard to classify
through machine topology. In this paper, the memory machines are
Fig. 24. Configuration of DPR-MMs. (a) AlNiCo excited [95]. (b) AlNiCo and NdFeB grouped into two categories based on the magnetizing/demagnetizing
excited [99]. method, namely, APR-MMs when the PMs are located on the rotor and
the magnetizing/demagnetizing is achieved by applying AC current
Table 3 pulse, and DPR-MMs when the PMs are located on the stator and the
Comparison between APR-MMs and DPR-MMs. magnetizing/demagnetizing is realized by applying DC current.
Items APR-MMs DPR-MMs
5.1. MMs with AC pulse regulation
PM material AlNiCo AlNiCo
Torque density Medium Medium In APR-MMs, the AlNiCo PMs are located on the rotor, usually with
Efficiency High High
sandwiched structure as shown in Fig. 22 [83,85]. The stator is the
Magnetizing/demagnetizing windings Don’t need Need
Rotor robustness Medium Good same as that of a traditional PM synchronous machine. During flux
Rotor position sensor Yes No weakening operation, a negative D-axis current pulse is generated
Control Difficult Easy through controlling the armature currents. This kind of machine is easy
to fabricate due to the relatively simple structure, but the control
process is complicated. The demagnetization physics are investigated
applied, which will greatly reduce the copper loss and hence improve
using coupled Preisach modeling and FEM [86,87]. APR-MMs with
efficiency.
both AlNiCo and NdFeB are proposed as shown in Fig. 23(a)-(f) [88–
Fig. 21 shows the simplified linear hysteresis model of AlNiCo PM
93]. The high magnetic energy NdFeB PMs are used to increase the air-
[84], in which the major hysteresis loop and all of the minor hysteresis
gap flux density, while the AlNiCo PMs are used for online flux
loops own the same value of coercivity, but with different values of
regulation. Therefore, the machine can enjoy both high output torque
remanence. The operating points of AlNiCo PM is uniquely determined
during low speed operation and good flux weakening capability at
by the intersection of the load line and the recoil line. The OAMP in
constant power region. All the aforementioned MMs use D-axis current
Fig. 21 shows the initial magnetizing stage. The working point will
pulse to realize flux regulation. To produce enough magnetizing/
move along PMBQ and settle at Q during flux strengthening while
demagnetizing current, the armature windings should be able to suffer
move along PNCR and settle at R during flux weakening, through
large current and with sufficient turns. Accurate detection of rotor
applying magnetizing/demagnetizing current pulse, respectively. The
position is also needed to realize efficient flux regulation.
equations of Lines l1 to l4, representing the magnetizing/demagnetizing
processes, can be respectively expressed as:
5.2. MMs with DC pulse regulation
Line l1:

B = μ rμ0H + B rk , k = 1, 2, 3... (14) To achieve the magnetizing/demagnetizing process more easily, the
DPR-MMs were proposed which use DC current pulse to realize
Line l2: magnetizing/demagnetizing. Fig. 24(a) shows a typical structure of

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Q. Wang, S. Niu Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 68 (2017) 475–491

Fig. 25. Configuration of EEM, HEM and MM. (a) EEM. (b) HEM. (c) MM.

Table 4 immune from accidental demagnetization by armature reaction.

Key design parameters. Similar to the APR-MMs, as the AlNiCo PMs own relatively low
magnetic energy than the NdFeB PMs, hybrid DPR-MMs with both
Parameters EEM HEM MM
AlNiCo and NdFeB excitations are proposed in [97–99], as shown in
Stator outer diameter[mm] 128 128 128 Fig. 24(b). The torque density of the proposed machines are improved
Stator inner diameter[mm] 80 80 60 while still maintaining good flux regulating capability. By applying
Air-gap length[mm] 0.6 0.6 0.6
demagnetizing current to certain poles, the flux lines of corresponding
Axial length[mm] 80 80 80
Pole number 8 8 8
poles can be short circuited or even reversed, which can achieve pole-
Stator slots 12 12 12 changing operation [100,101]. This ability can provide torque augment
Turns of field windings 60 40 – by dropping poles when the machine speed approaches to the limit.
Turns of magnetizing windings – – 40 Inspired by the configuration in Fig. 24, a new doubly salient flux-
Turns of armature windings 60 80 40
mnemonic machine is proposed [102,103], which enjoys significantly
PM material – NdFeB AlNiCo
PM volume[m3] – 6.4×10−5 7.5×10−5 expanded CPSR and increased efficiency with online flux control. With
the increasing popularity of magnetic gear, magnetic-geared machines
incorporated into flux-mnemonic concept [84,104,105] are also in-
DPR-MMs, in which the stator is divided into two parts [94–96]. The vestigated by researchers. These machines can enjoy big torque density
AlNiCo PMs and field windings are located in the inner layer stator, due to the magnetic gearing effect. But the mechanical structures are
while the armature windings are housed in the outer layer stator slots. relatively complicated as there usually exist two air-gaps. The compar-
The use of field windings to directly magnetizing/demagnetizing PMs ison between APR-MMs and DPR-MMs are summarized and given in
while eliminating complicated indirect current control in APR-MMs Table 3.
can ensure effective flux regulation. Moreover, the armature windings
and PMs are located in different lays of stator, which make the PMs

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Q. Wang, S. Niu Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 68 (2017) 475–491

chines including an EEM, a HEM and a MM are modeled as shown in

Fig. 25. The rotors of these machines are robust with only salient poles,
brushless structures can be achieved. The key design parameters of the
machines are listed in Table 4. For a fair comparison, the overall
dimensions, rotor pole numbers and stator slot numbers are the same.
Fig. 26(a) shows the standstill torque waveforms. It can be observed
that the HEM can produce the largest output torque because of the
utilization of NdFeB PMs and the flux strengthening effect of field
currents, the MM has the lowest output torque due to AlNiCo PMs have
low magnetic energy density. The torque-speed characteristics and the
efficiency curves are given in Fig. 26(b) and Fig. 26(c), respectively.
One can find that all these three machines have wide speed range due
to their good flux controllability, the flux weakening range of the
designed EEM, HEM and MM are 4.83, 4.83 and 4.25 times respec-
tively. The EEM has the lowest efficiency since the field windings need
continuous excitation over the whole speed range, which will generate
significant copper loss. When the machines run at low speeds, the HEM
has higher efficiency than the MM, because the NdFeB PMs in HEM
have high magnetic energy density, which can improve the efficiency.
When the machines run at high speeds, the MM can achieve higher
efficiency than the HEM, because during the flux weakening of HEM,
continuous flux weakening current need to be applied, which will bring
additional copper losses and reduce the efficiency, while the flux
weakening of MM at high speeds can be realized by applying current
pulses, the generated copper losses are almost negligible.
Comprehensive comparison among the EEM, HEM and MM are given
in Table 5.

7. Summary and future trends

The three major classes of flux controllable machines including

EEMs, HEMs and MMs are reviewed. The features including merits
and drawbacks of each kind of machine are summarized as follows.
Future trends of the flux controllable machines are also discussed in
this section.

7.1. For EEMs

One of the prominent advantages of EEMs is their low cost.

Compared with rare earth PMs, copper windings are much cheaper.
On the other hand, EEMs have wider CPSR due to their flexible
regulation of excitation flux. Compared with negative D-axis current
control in PM machines, directly control the excitation flux in EEMs is
Fig. 26. Electromagnetic performances of simulated machines. (a) Standstill torque. (b)
Torque-speed. (c) Efficiency.
more effective. The CPSR of EEMs can be extended easily. However,
the power density of EEMs is lower than that of PM machines. The
efficiency of EEMs when run at low speeds is also lower than that of PM
Table 5
Performance comparison. machines since EEMs need continuous excitation, which would bring
additional copper losses. Employing excitation field coils on the rotor
Performances EEM HEM MM will inevitably need slip-rings or brushes, which will reduce the
reliability. The heat produced by the excitation coils will also bring
Rated power[W] 2060 2763 1582
Rated speed[rpm] 1200 1200 1200 thermal problems since rotor cooling is more difficult than stator
Rated current[A] 10 10 10 cooling. Therefore, moving excitation coils to the stator is a desirable
Rated torque[Nm] 16.4 22 12.6 choice for EEMs. Without excitation coils in the rotor side, the rotor is
Peak torque[Nm] 26 35 20 more robust and can be used in high speed applications.
Flux weakening range 4.83 4.83 4.25
Efficiency at low speeds Low High Medium
Efficiency at high speeds Low Medium High 7.2. For HEMs
Winding type Brushless Brushless Brushless
Rotor robustness Good Good Good HEMs can be regarded as combinations of EEMs and PM machines.
Cost Low High Medium
Through proper design, HEMs can achieve wide CPSR, high efficiency
Control Easy Easy Easy
in both low speed region and frequently operating region as well as
high speed flux weakening region. Performances including output
6. Simulation and comparison torque and power density are also comparable to the PM machines.
The drawbacks of HEMs are their relatively complicated structures due
The electromagnetic performances of EEMs, HEMs and MMs are to the introduction of an additional excitation source. Among all the
investigated using finite element method (FEM). Three typical ma- HEMs, RPM-RFW-HEMs are the least popular since employing all the
excitation sources on the rotor would bring series thermal problems.

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Q. Wang, S. Niu
Using brushes or slip rings also make RPM-RFW-HEMs less popular.
Therefore, for HEMs, the excitation coils are better to be located in the
stator to achieve brushless structure. As for the PMs, there exist a
compromise between located on the rotor and on the stator. When the
PMs are located on the rotor, namely, the RPM-SFW-HEMs, the
resulted HEMs can achieve high torque density and better flux
regulation since the excitation of PMs and field coils can easily be
designed in parallel. But this kind of HEMs is not suitable for high
speed operation due to the weak mechanical strength of PMs, or need
some additional mechanical protections to achieve high speed opera-
tion. While when the PMs are located on the stator, namely, the SPM-
SFW-HEMs, the rotor is more robust and the machine can be designed
with high speed. However, complicated stator structure is resulted
since both PMs and excitation coils and armature windings are placed
on the stator. Even stator cooling is easier than rotor cooling, thermal
condition of the stator should also be concerned since almost all the
magnetic loads are on the stator. Moreover, doubly salient structure is
used in no matter the HEDSMs and HEFSMs. Torque ripple as well as
vibration and acoustic noise need to be analyzed and optimized.
7.3. For MMs
The most prominent feature of MMs is to use temporary current
pulse to achieve online field adjustment, which can significantly
increase the machine efficiency during flux regulation since the current
pulse will only produce insignificantly small copper losses. To achieve
online magnetization/demagnetization, PMs with low coercivity and
nonlinear demagnetization characteristics, such as AlNiCo PMs, are
preferable choices. The magnetization/demagnetization process can be
realized by applying either AC pulses or DC pulses, corresponding to
the APR-MMs and DPR-MMs, respectively. For APR-MMs, temporary
D-axis current pulses are generated by controlling the armature
currents. The APR-MMs have simple structures, but the control
strategies are relatively complicated since the armature windings need
to produce rotating magnetic fields and D-axis current pulses at the
same time, and the rotor positions also need to be accurately detected.
For DPR-MMs, the magnetization/demagnetization processes are
directly achieved by applying DC current pulses to the field windings,
which are more effective. However, the structures of DPR-MMs are
relatively complicated due to the introduction of additional field
windings. The magnetic circuit should also be properly designed to
avoid accidental PM demagnetization caused by armature reaction. No
matter the APR-MMs or the DPR-MMs, hybrid excitations including
both AlNiCo PMs and NdFeB PMs can be used to balance the output
performances and the flux regulating range.
7.4. Future trends
Among all the flux controllable machines, HEMs are promising
candidates to achieve comprehensive properties. The future works may
focus on the allocation of excitation flux (determine the ratio of PM
excitation to the field coil excitation) with considerations of torque,
power, thermal distribution, efficiency and flux regulation range.
Although the online flux adjustment with negligible copper loss of
MMs is attractive, there are still much works to be done before MMs
become stable and widely applicable. The future works about MMs will
concentrate on solving the key common problems of MMs, which
include establishing precise hysteresis model of AlNiCo PMs, accu-
rately detecting the rotor positions and air-gap flux, as well as the
cooperative control of machine driving and online flux adjusting.
8. Conclusion
This paper has reviewed the latest development of flux controllable
machines, including EEMs, HEMs and MMs, with emphasis on the
novel emerged machine topologies. The operating principles, merits
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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 68 (2017) 475–491
and drawbacks of these machines are discussed and compared. The
features of these three types of machines are summarized. This paper
would be very useful to an electrical machine engineer to get
comprehensive understandings of flux controllable machines.
Acknowledgement
This work was supported by research grants (Project PolyU5388/
13E, and Project152130/14E) of the Research Grants Council in the
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China.
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