Special Session 6

SS06.  High Torque Density Flux-Modulated Electric Machines and Drives for Transportation Electrification

Abstract

Flux-modulated electric machines, leveraging magnetic field modulation effect to harness harmonic components in the air-gap magnetic field, are emerging as pivotal solutions for the direct-drive high-performance electrical machine system in the field of electrified transportation. However, the underlying principles of flux-modulated electric machines warrant further investigation, and there remains substantial opportunities existing for performance optimization in areas such as power factor improvement, iron losses reduction, mitigation of magnetic saturation effects, thermal management strategies etc. This special session aims to gather pioneering contributions on topological configurations, analysis of modulation mechanisms, optimization strategies and methodologies, innovative control strategies, and noise, vibration, harshness (NVH) analysis of flux-modulated electric machines, addressing key challenges in transportation electrification. Key focus areas encompass magnetic field enhancement techniques, operational methodologies, and energy conversion efficiency considerations. The scope of this special session includes, but is not limited to:

1. Analysis, design and optimization methods for flux-modulated electric machines

2. Advanced control strategies for flux-modulated electric machines

3. Cooling and thermal management for flux-modulated electric machines

4. Condition monitoring and fault diagnosis for flux-modulated electric machines

5. Analysis and optimization methods of NVH characteristics and performance of flux-modulated electric machines

Biography

Shuangxia Niu received the B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in electrical engineering from Tianjin University, China, in 2002 and 2005, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree from The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, in 2009. She is currently working as Professor with the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong. Her research interests include the Electric Vehicle Technologies, Renewable Energy Systems, Machines and Drives, Power Electronics technology, Applied Electromagnetic, Numerical Method and Optimization.

Prof. Niu is a Senior Member of the IEEE, a member of IEEE Vehicular Technology Society (VTS) and the key member of the Hong Kong Chapter of IEEE VTS. She was also honored the IEEE Vehicular Technology Society (VTS) Distinguished Lecturer in 2022. She serves as Reviewer for over 20 international journals. She serves as Associate Editor of the IEEE Journal of Emerging and Selected Topics in Power Electronics (JESTPE), IEEE Journal of Transactions on Industrial Electronics (TIE) and IEEE Access. She has published 2 book chapters and over 180 technical papers in international journals. She received numerous scholastic honors and awards, including the Best Paper Award at the 22nd international conference on Electrical Machines and Systems (ICEMS, 2019) and Faculty Research Grant Achievement Award for 2017 and 2020.

Liang Xu received the B.Sc. degree in electrical engineering and automation from Soochow University, Suzhou, China, in 2011, the M.Sc degree in power electronics and power drives from Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China, in 2014, and the Ph.D. degree in control science and engineering from Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China, in 2017. Since 2017, he has been with Jiangsu University, where he is currently an Associate Professor in the School of Electrical Information Engineering. From 2021 to 2023, he served as a Postdoctoral Fellow with the department of Electrical Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University under Hong Kong Scholars Program. His areas of interest include electrical machines and drives.

Xiaohui Huang obtained his B.Sc. degree in mathematics and applied mathematics from Nanyue College of Hengyang Normal University, Hengyang, China, in 2013, the M.Sc. degree in electrical engineering from Xiangtan University, Xiangtan, China, in 2019, and the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from Hunan University, Changsha, in 2024. Since 2025, he has been a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China. His research focuses on motor system cooling, with a specific emphasis on the use of advanced cooling materials and methods to cool motors and motor drivers efficiently, thus boosting the motor's thermal reliability and power density.

Litao Dai (Member, IEEE) obtained his B.Sc. degree in mathematics from Harbin University of Commerce, Harbin, China, in 2015, and his Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from Hunan University, Changsha, China, in 2023. Since 2023, he has been a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China. His research focuses on permanent magnet (PM) machines used in high-power density and high-quality electric drive applications, with a specific emphasis on investigating spatial and temporal harmonic effects in PM machines, covering machine performance aspects such as harmonic torque, torque ripple, cogging torque, harmonic loss, and vibration noise.

Zhenghao Li received the B.Sc. degree in electrical engineering from South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China, in 2016, the M.Sc. degree in electrical engineering from University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China, in 2019 and the Ph.D. degree from Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, in 2023. He is currently working as postdoctoral researcher in Hong Kong Polytechnic University. His research interests include Reluctance Linear Machines and Drives.