Design and Electromagnetic Analysis of a Rare-Earth-Free Five-Phase 20-Slot/18-Pole Self-Excited Brushless Synchronous Machine

Wound-rotor synchronous machines (WRSMs) offer a promising, magnet-free alternative for safety-critical transportation sectors like electric vehicles (EVs) and marine propulsion. While multiphase structures enhance fault tolerance in these applications, conventional WRSMs still suffer from reliance on maintenance-prone slip rings and brushes. Brushless multiphase self-excitation presents a compelling solution, but it introduces a critical design challenge: ensuring decoupled control between the torque-producing (αβ) and magnetizing (xy) subspaces to prevent severe performance degradation. To address this cross-coupling issue, this paper proposes a 20-slot/18-pole five-phase architecture. By exploiting distinct spatial harmonics, the stator generates two independently controlled magnetic fields with a dedicated rotor harmonic winding. An integrated diode rectifier then seamlessly converts the induced AC voltages into the required DC field excitation. Extensive finite-element analysis (FEA) using ANSYS Maxwell is conducted to validate the design and rigorously evaluate subspace cross-coupling. Simulation results confirm that the proposed machine meets design specifications, demonstrating stable self-excited operation, acceptable efficiency, and representative fault-tolerant operation under a single open-phase condition, thereby confirming the electromagnetic feasibility of the proposed topology as a promising magnet-free candidate for future alternatives to PMSM-based traction solutions.