Effect of skew, pole count and slot count on
brushless motor radial force, cogging torque and
back EMF
D.C. Hanselman
Indexing terms: Brushless motors, Permanent magnet motors, Cogging torque
Abstract: Permanent magnet brushless motors are
increasingly being used in high performance
applications. In many of these applications the
acoustic noise and torque ripple characteristics of
the motor are of primary concern. Because of this
concern, it is important to understand the
influence of the motor geometrical parameters of
skew amount, pole count and slot count on the
resulting motor characteristics of radial force,
cogging torque and back EMF. While these
relationships are understood intuitively and have
been explored experimentally and predicted
numerically, they have not been confirmed
analytically for motors having any combination
of skew amount, pole count and slot count. The
paper fills this void by exploring these
relationships analytically using a Fourier series.
The influence of skew amount, pole count and
slot count on motor radial force, cogging torque
and back EMF are shown to confirm prior
experimental and numerical results. More
importantly, the derived analytical results provide
valuable insight into the implications of common
motor design choices.
List of principal symbols
R(.)= radial force
T(.) = cogging torque
@(.) = magnetic flux
E(.) = back EMF
N, = number of magnet poles on the rotor surface
N, = number of slots
8 = mechanical position, e.g. 8 = 0 to 8 = 2 x is one
shaft revolution
w = d8/dt, mechanical angular velocity
0, = 2x/Nm1angular pole pitch
6, = 2x/N,., angular slot pitch
a = normalised skew amount, e.g. a = 1 is a one-
slot pitch skew
0IEE, 1997
IEE Proceedings online no. 19971205
Paper first received 27th August 1996 and in revised form 13th February
1997
The author is at 5708 Barrows Hall, University of Maine, Orono, ME
04469-5708, USA
IEE Proc-Electr. Power Appl., Vol. 144, No. 5. September 1997
L, = motor stack length
Nt = number of turns per coil.
1 Introduction
Permanent magnet brushless motors are increasingly
being used in high performance applications. In many
of these applications the acoustic noise and torque rip-
ple characteristics of the motor are of primary concern.
As a result, a great deal of study has been devoted to
identifying the sources, characteristics and minimisa-
tion of acoustic noise [l-61 and torque ripple[7-181
While these works provide extremely valuable insight,
none of them identifies the underlying fundamental
influence of skew amount, pole count and slot count
on the forces that create acoustic noise and torque rip-
ple. For example, in [l-31 finite element analysis is used
to study the influence of rotor geometry and magnet
properties that lead to minimal stator force variations.
In [4-61 stator structural resonances and modal shapes
are studied to determine how rotor-stator force distri-
butions create vibration in the stator.
Cogging torque and mutual torque ripple constitute
the two primary sources of torque ripple. Of these, cog-
ging torque is created by stator slots interacting with
the rotor magnetic field, while mutual torque ripple is
created by a mismatch between excitation current and
the shape of the motor back EMF. Therefore, minimis-
ing torque ripple requires that the cogging torque and
motor back EMF be studied. Based on this under-
standing, torque ripple has been studied from a variety
of viewpoints. For example, the use o f stator excitation
currents to cancel cogging torque is discussed in [7, 81.
Using predicted magnetic field distributions work in [9-
1I ] shows the influence of geometric dimensions such
as magnet width and slot opening on cogging torque
production. In addition, techniques are developed in
[ 12-14] to predict cogging torque based on descriptions
of the motor magnetic field distribution.
Rather than repeat the analyses illustrated by these
and other references, this work starts with the assump-
tion that the radial and tangential forces acting on the
stator repeat from tooth to tooth as demonstrated in
[2]. Then, using a Fourier series description of per-
tooth quantities, the net radial force, cogging torque
and back EMF of a complete motor are found by
superimposing the contributb,ns from all teeth. By fol-
lowing this unique approach, the key influences of
skew amount, pole count and slot count on net radial
force, cogging torque and back EMF are identified and
analysed. Moreover, an approximation of the magnetic
325
field distribution in the motor is not required because
this work identifies and analyses the invariant relation-
ships that are not a function of any particular magnetic
field distribution. For example, [13-161 state or show
that a one-slot pitch skew eliminates cogging torque no
matter what the field distribution is.
The goal of this paper is to provide an analytical
basis for facts and observations that have been shown
experimentally in the past but have not been described
analytically in a rigorous fashion. Examples include: (a)
that a one-slot pitch skew eliminates cogging torque
[13-161; (6) that the rotor can experience a net radial
force if the number of slots is odd [17]; and (e) that
skewing decreases the harmonic content of the back
EMF [7].
After making assumptions in the following Section,
the influence of skew on per-tooth quantities is identi-
fied. Then the net radial force, cogging torque and
back EMF are in turn found and analysed. Finally,
conclusions are drawn.
2 Fundamental assumptions and concepts
To facilitate the analysis conducted here, the following
assumptions are made:
The motor is constructed with an airgap where flux
flows radially from the rotor to the stator.
* The rotor surface and inside stator bore are circular
and concentrically centred.
* Stator slots and teeth are uniformly shaped and uni-
formly distributed about the inside stator bore.
Rotor magnetic poles are uniformly shaped and dis-
tributed around the circumference of the rotor and
each provides an identical magnetic field distribution.
* End effects are negligible and the magnetic field dis-
tribution due to the rotor magnets contains no axial
component.
* Skewing varies linearly along the axial dimension of
the motor.
* The stator teeth are rigid. Radial and tangential
forces experienced by the teeth cause negligible defor-
mation and no change in the magnetic field distribution
within the motor.
There is no stator current excitation.
No assumption about rotor construction is made here.
The rotor may have surface mounted magnets of any
common shape, or it may have buried magnets. This
work starts with the assumption that the radial force,
cogging torque and flux associated with a radial cross-
section of a single tooth can be written in terms of a
Fourier series. The analysis conducted here deals with
Fourier series in a general sense. As a result, computed
Fourier series coefficients based on computed magnetic
field distributions are not required, but could be used if
the characteristics of a specific motor geometry are
desired.
Consider the unskewed rotor-stator structure shown
in Fig. 1. In the Figure, y signifies the displacement
between the centre of a tooth and the centre of a mag-
net face. Using the Figure it is easily shown that the
radial force on a stator tooth is periodic with period y
= 2n or one pole pitch Om = 2nlN, in the mechanical
position, where N, is the number of magnet poles fac-
ing the airgap around the rotor. At point (i) in the Fig-
ure, the stator tooth is centred over a rotor magnet in
326
the aligned position where maximum radial force is
exerted on the tooth. At point (ii), the unaligned posi-
tion, minimum radial force is exerted. Similar to point
(i), point (iii) once again exhibits maximum radial
force, although the direction of flux flow is opposite
that at point (i). Based on this insight, the radial force
on a single tooth is an even function of y and can be
written as the Fourier series
00
R(r) = CRncos(nr) (1)
n=O
II
1 (I1 1 (Ill)
radial
Fig. 1 Simple rotor-stator sketch
(i) y = 0 (ii) y = n (iii) y = 2 ~ c
- tangentiai
Referring again to Fig. 1, the cogging torque experi-
enced by the tooth is also periodic with period y = 2n.
At points (i) and (iii) the cogging torque is zero because
the tooth is aligned with magnetic poles on the rotor.
Zero cogging also appears at point (ii) since the tooth
is balanced at the unaligned position. Between points
(i) and (ii) cogging is negative since the tooth will try to
return to point (i). Similarly, between points (ii) and
(iii) cogging is positive since the tooth will try to move
to point (iii). Based on this description, the cogging
torque on a single tooth is an odd function of y and
can be written as the Fourier series
00
n= I
Referring to Fig. 1 yet again, the flux passing through
a single tooth is periodic with period y = 4x, or two
pole pitches 0 = 28, At point (i) the flux is maximum
in the upward direction. At point (iii) the flux is maxi-
mum in a downward direction, and at point (ii) the flux
is zero. Given this description, the tooth flux can be
written as
(3)
n=l
In summary, the radial force, cogging torque and flux
of a single stator tooth can all be written in terms of
Fourier series. In the following Section these results
will be extended to the skewed case.
3 The effect of skew
Eqns. 1-3 describe an unskewed motor. In the skewed
case these equations must be modified to take into
account the linearly varying phase shift as a function of
axial distance. To illustrate this, let eqns. 1-3 be
described by the general Fourier series
00
A, cos(n$) Bnsin(n$) + (4)
n=O
IEE Proc -Electr Power A p p l , Vol 144 No 5, September 1997
Then divide eqn. 4 by the stack length L,$,to normalise
it per unit axial length and let it describe a radial cross-
section of the motor at its axial midpoint where z = 0.
As a result z = *L,/2 are the axial ends of the motor.
Using these ideas, eqn. 4 becomes
At other points along the axial length of the motor, the
Eqn. 8 describes the radial force between the tooth
labelled 0 and the rotor. The net radial force on the
rotor is the vector sum of that between all teeth and
the rotor. Because of the assumed symmetry, the radial
force between the kth tooth and the rotor has the same
shape as that of tooth 0, but is offset in phase by its
spatial distance from tooth 0. That is, the radial force
between the kth tooth and the rotor can be written as
M

radial force, cogging torque and flux have the same

shape as eqn. 5 , but are shifted in phase by the amount n=O
of skew at any given point Assuming that the total k = 0 , 1 , * .. , N , - 1
skew is a, in q co-ordinates, eqn. 5 can be rewritten for
any point z as

The total force, torque or flux on a single tooth is

given by the integration of this expression along the
axial motor length,

F ( $ ) = J.Lsz f(dI,x)dz
-L,/2

n=O

where sinc(x) = sin(x)lx. This expression is remarkably

simple. It shows that skewing amplitude modulates the
original Fourier series (eqn. 4) by a sinc function. In
other words, the original Fourier series is lowpass fil-
tered by a sinc function frequency response. This fact
appears in [15, 161, but was never identified as being
significant. As shown later, the sinc function plays a
key role in this analysis.
Using eqn. 7, eqns. 1-3 can be rewritten to include
skew and in terms of mechanical position 6 as
00
hg.2 4-pole, 12-slot motor cross section
where 6, = 2 d N , is the angular slot pitch. Eqn. 13 gives
the magnitude of the radial force. The corresponding
angle is simply k0,. Knowing the magnitude and angle
of all radial force components, the net radial force on
the rotor in the x-direction is given by the vector sum
N,-1

k=O
00

(9) = R,S,X, cos(nN,O) (14)

n=O
n=O
w
where
+(e) = +ns,,2cos(nN,O/2) (10)
N,-I
n= 1
where X, = co~(nN,kO,) cos(kO,) (15)
k O
S, = sinc(nNmaOS/2) (11) In a similar manner the y-direction net radial force is
in which 6: = 2 d N , is the angular slot pitch, N, is the N,-1
number of slots and a is the normalised skew, e.g. a =
1 is a one-slot pitch skew over the axial motor length.
Before considering eqns. 8-10, it is convenient to k 0
00
identify the zeros of eqn. 11, as any harmonics that fall
on the zeros are eliminated. For the above, these zeros = R,S,Y, sin(nNm8) (16)
occur at n=O

nN,a where
g -- N,-1
NS
when 4 is an integer Y, = sin(nNmkO,) sin(k0,) (17)
lC=O

4 Radial force From eqns. 14 and 16 it is clear that the net radial
force components are closely related to the radial force
Consider the motor cross-section shown in Fig. 2. per tooth Fourier series (eqn. 8). Summing over all
IEE Proc -Electr. Power Appl., Vol. 144, No. 5. September 1997 321
teeth adds another amplitude modulation term, eqns.
15 and 17, respectively, for the x- and y-directions.
Using eqns, 14 and 16 along with eqns. 11, 12, 15
and 17, it is possible to determine the conditions under
which the net radial force on the rotor is zero. R, rep-
resents the Fourier series coefficients describing the
attraction between a single tooth and the rotor. Assum-
ing that these coefficients are predetermined, the net
ce is zero if S, is zero for all n 2 1, if X , and
Y, are zero for all values of n, or if the products X,S,
and Y,S, are zer all n> 2 1. Using eqn. 12, the
first of these con s does not occur in a practical
motor since it would require that N, alN, be an inte-
ger, For example, to satisfy this constraint in a motor
having a one-slot skew the number of magnet
poles N , must be some of the number of slots
N,. Therefore, the on1 provided by skewing
alone is the inherent attenuation provided by the sinc
function frequency response.
Of the two other possible constraints, it is possible
for X , and Y, to be zero for all n. These two expres-
sions are zero whenever there is symmetry between the
net poles and the stator teeth. Stated mathe-
there is zero net radial force on the rotor
gcd(fl?n,Ns) > 1 (18)
where gcd(.;) is the greatest common divisor of its
arguments. In particul hen gcd(NmtN,)= p and p >
harmonic is equal to 10, not 8. As a final point, it is
true in general that the sum of the two numbers
describing the alternating differences between indices
equals the number of slots, i.e. 7 + 8 = 15, 13 + 20 =
33 and 7 + 20 = 27, respectively, for the examples cited
above.
For convenience, let q+ and q- be the sets of all n
that satisfy eqn. 19 with a plus and minus sign, respec-
tively. Similarly, let q be the set of all n that satisfy
eqn. 19. Evaluating eqns. 15 and 17 at the points in q
gives the amplitude modulation factors
yn = { N- Ns /s2/ 2 for n E r-
for n E r+ (20)
and
X , = N s / 2 for n E T,I (21)
These expressions show that when a net radial force
harmonic appears, one-half of the teeth effectively con-
tribute their per-tooth force harmonic to the amplitude
of the net radial force harmonic in eqns. 14 and 16.
5 Cogging torque
Consider the motor cross-section shown in Fig. 2
again. Eqn. 9 describes the cogging torque experienced
by the tooth labelled 0. As before, the cogging torque
experienced by the kth tooth is
00

1, there is periodicity
around the rotor peri
repeats every 360lp degre s
For example, in the 4-po e,
12-slot topology illustrated in Fig. 2, gcd(4, 12) = 4,
1" ~ ~ ( =0 ) T,S, sin[nN,(Q
n=O
k = 0,1, . . . , Ns - 1 (22)
- M,)]

that there is periodicity every 36014 = 90

The net cogging torque is the algebraic sum over all
et poles is always even, teeth,
whenever the number of N,-l 00

slots is even, as eqn. 18 is always satisfied in this case. T,,~(o)= T ~ ( o=) C ~ , ~ , ~ , s i n ( n i \ ; , ~ )

On the other hand, when the number of slots is odd, k=O n=O
the rotor experiences a net radial force whenever (23)
eqn. 18 is violated. For example, in a d-poie, 15-slot where
15) = 1 and a net radial force appears.
N, -1
hand, in a 6-pole, 21-slot motor, gcd(6,
21) = 3 and zero net radial force appears.
In those cases where a net radial force appears, it is k=O
cia1 to know the har ic indices that con Using eqns. 23 and 24 along with eqns. 11 and 12, it is
to the force since these indices indicate the relative possible to investigate how the cogging torque of
speed at which the net radial force rotates with the individual teeth contributes to the net cogging torque
rotor. Moreover, because the harmonic amplitudes of experienced by the rotor. Because net cogging torque is
00th functions s frequency increases and an algebraic sum, the per-tooth harmonics that appear
lowpass filtering, higher in the net cogging torque satisfy the simple relationship
indices correspond fer amplitude forces. The
harmonics that contribute to net radial force satisfy gcd(n",Ns) = Ns (25)
Moreover, once the lowest n that satisfies eqn. 25 is
found, the remainder are simply multiples of it; all
other harmonics are zero. For example, in the 4-pole,
12-slot case shown in Fig. 2, n E (3, 6, 9, ... >.For this
o not exist for all vahes case, the first contributing harmonic at n = 3
they equally spaced. For example, in a +pole, 15-slot corresponds to a frequency at nNm/2 = 6 times the
fundamental electrical frequency, which agrees with
11, 19, 26, ... >, intuition since there are six slots per electrical period.
alternates between 7 and In the 6-p0le, 21-slot motor that was shown earlier to
motor, the harmonics that have zero net radial force, the harmonic indices that
23, 43, 56, 76, create net cogging torque are n E (7, 14, 21, ... }, while
indices alternates the cogging torque harmonic indices for the 4-pole, 15-
examples, the first CO harmonic is equal to slot motor that exhibits net radial force are n E { 15, 30,
N,. However, this is s true. For an 8-pole, 45, ...}.
27-slot motor, the harm at satisfy eqn. 19 are y1 Motors having an integral slot pitch, i.e. NJN, = p ,
E (10, 17, 37, 44, ).._$, where the first contributing where p is an integer, have a first cogging torque
328 IEE Proc -Electr Power Appl, Vol 144 No 5 September 1997
harmonic index of p, which is the worst case (e.g. for EMF generated by this coil is
N , = 4, N, = 12, p = 3). C)n the other hand, motors
having a fractional slot pitch, where N, and N, share
no common factor, have a first cogging torque
harmonic index of IVY,which is the best case (e.g. for where Q(B) is given in eqn. 10 and w = dO/dt. The back
N , = 4, N, = 15, p = 15). When N , and N, share a EMF generated by coils around other teeth are
common factor, i.e. when gcd(N,,N,) = p and p > 1, expressed similarly given the flux in the kth tooth
there is periodicity that repeats every 360/p degrees
around the airgap and the first cogging torque
harmonic index appears at N,/p, which lies between the n=l
best and worst cases (e.g. for N, = 6, N,, = 21, p = 3). k = 0,1, ...,Ns - 1 (291
For this reason, 3-phase motors having 64 magnet Substituting eqn. 29 into eqn. 28 gives the back EMF
poles, e.g. 6, 12, 18, ... magnet poles, tend to have more generated by a coil around the kth tooth
significant cogging torques than motors with other
magnet pole counts.
A comparison of eqn. 18 with eqn. 25 shows that, if
N, and N , share a common factor p > 1, the motor
exhibits zero net radial force but has a first cogging k = 0,1, . . . ,N, - 1 (30)
torque harmonic index of NJp. However, if N, and N, Since any general coil can be decomposed into a
do not share a common factor, the motor exhibits sequence of single-tooth coils [18], eqn. 30 can be used
nonzero net radial force but has a first cogging torque to find the back EMF of any coil by summing over the
harmonic index of N,. Thus, a motor having zero net teeth enclosed by the coil, i.e.
radial force inherently exhibits cogging torque at a
lower frequency than one exhibiting nonzero net radial
force. There simply is no way to juggle the pole and kK
slot counts to eliminate net radial force and minimise
the cogging torque. These facts have been demon-
strated numerically in [17]. - n=l
A comparison of eqn. 12 with eqn. 25 shows how (31)
skew influences net cogging torque. For example, when where K is the set of teeth enclosed by the coil. The
there is a one-slot skew the zeros of the sinc function, influence of skew is readily apparent in this expresdion.
eqn. 12, become those integers 4 satisfying S,, = sinc(nN, ~ 0 4 4lowpass
) filters the back EMF; no
matter how the coil is wound. Thus, there is no way to
eliminate the impact of skew on the back EMF by
choosing a particular winding arrangement.
When eqn. 25 is satisfied, eqn. 26 is also. Thus, the net The zeros of Snn appear at
cogging torque harmonics that exist according to
eqn. 25 appear at the zeros of the sinc function, and all
cogging torque harmonics are cancelled, thereby
confirming the fact that cogging torque is ideally
eliminated by a one-slot pitch skew.
Based on the above reasoning, it can be shown that a
skew of llp of a slot pitch, where p is an integer,
cancels the pth net cogging torque harmonic and every
pth one thereafter that exists by eqn. 25. So, for
example, if the 4-pole, 12-slot case shown in Fig. 2
having cogging torque harmonic indices of n E (3, 6, 9,
... } is skewed by 1/2 slot pitch, the harmonics at (6,
12, ... } are cancelled by the skew, but those at (3, 9,
...} remain with the third harmonic attenuated by
sinc(d2) = 2/z = 0.64. Thus the only way to eliminate
the first and usually largest contributing harmonic to
the cogging torque is by using a one-slot pitch skew.
Finally, for those indices where eqn. 25 is satisfied,
the amplitude modulation factor @( 0) becomes Fig.3 Trapezoidalbuck EMF against skew amount

@(e)
= N, (27)
which implies that when a per-tooth cogging torque
harmonic contributes to a net cogging torque
harmonic, all N, teeth contribute equally.
6 BackEMF
Back EMF is generated by the rate of change c f flux
linkage in a coil with respect to time. In the simplest
case, a coil of Nt turns appears around one tooth. For
example, consider a coil around tooth 0 in Fig. 2 where
the turns travel into slot 0 and out of slot 1. The back
IEE Pro?.-Electr. Power A p p l , Vol. 144, No 5, September 1997
when q is an integer. Therefore, for the motor shown in
Fig. 2, with N, = 4, N, = 12 and an a = 1 slot pitch
skew, all multiples of the 6th harmonic are cancelled.
When there is an a = 1/2 slot pitch skew, all multiples
of the 12th harmonic are cancelled. To further illustrate
the impact of skew, consider the motor shown in
Fig. 2 with a full pitch coil of Nt turns going into slot 0
and out of slot 3. Using the assumption that the back
EMF of this coil is trapezoidal without skew, Fig. 3
shows the back EMF filtering provided by skew
amounts of 0, 1/2, 1 and 2 slot pitches. Clearly the
329
skew smoothes the corners of the trapezoid, leading to
mutual torque ripple when driven by conventional
rectangular pulse currents.
Finally, let the bandwidth of the sinc function be
defined by its first zero, i.e. when q = 1 in eqn. 32.
Then the first harmonic to appear at or beyond the
bandwidth is
n = - 2Ns (33)
a magnetic force harmonics, IEEE Trans., 1989, MAG-25, (4), pp.
To minimise the back EMF filtering provided by the
sinc function, n in eqn. 33 should be as large as
possible. Clearly this can be accomplished by
minimising the skew amount a, or by increasing the
number of slots relative to the number of magnet poles
NJN,. This last relationship promotes motor
construction having multiple slots per pole per phase.
7 concsusions
The above analysis has shown the fundamental
influence of skew amount, pole count and slot count
on radial force, cogging torque and back EMF. While
these relationships have been known qualitatively in
the past, this work provides an analytical foundation
for them that in turn allows further insight to be
gained. The analysis was conducted assuming that the
motor was mechanically and magnetically symmetric.
As a result, a real motor will have net radial force,
cogging torque and back EMF harmonics not
predicted above. However, their amplitude will be
small relative to those predicted above if the motor is
constructed with the precision common to high
performance motor manufacturing. The predicted
harmonic content of the net radial force was shown to
have a noninteger harmonic relationship to the per-
tooth harmonics, whereas the harmonic content of the
cogging torque has a simple harmonic relationship to
its per-tooth harmonics. Furthermore, it was shown
that having an odd slot count reduces cogging torque
by increasing the frequency at which they appear, but
often leads to the appearance of net radial force. While
the analysis conducted here was not based on the
predicted magnetic field distribution in a motor, such
data could certainly be used. In fact, since the analysis
presented here relies only on the magnetic field of a
single unskewed tooth, only a small fraction of a motor
cross-section need be modelled. Moreover, only two
dimensional modelling is needed since the three
dimensional effects of skew are taken into account in
330
the analysis. These two features significantly simplify
the process of collecting data to be analysed.
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