Development of an Axial Flux MEMS BLDC Micromotor with Increased Efficiency and Power Density

Abstract

This paper presents a rigorous design and optimization of an axial flux microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) brushless dc (BLDC) micromotor with dual rotor improving both efficiency and power density with an external diameter of only around 10 mm. The stator is made of two layers of windings by MEMS technology. The rotor is developed by film permanent magnets assembled over the rotor yoke. The characteristics of the MEMS micromotor are analyzed and modeled through a 3-D magnetic equivalent circuit (MEC) taking the leakage flux and fringing effect into account. Such a model yields a relatively accurate prediction of the flux in the air gap, back electromotive force (EMF) and electromagnetic torque, whilst being computationally efficient. Based on 3-D MEC model the multi-objective firefly algorithm (MOFA) is developed for the optimal design of this special machine. Both 3-D finite element (FE) simulation and experiments are employed to validate the MEC model and MOFA optimization design.

Keywords

• axial flux
• microelectromechanical system (MEMS)
• efficiency
• power density
• magnetic equivalent circuit (MEC)
• multi-objective firefly algorithm (MOFA)