Performance Evaluation of Bridge-Configured Winding for Transverse Force Generation in Three-Phase Electric Machines

Rotor eccentricity in electrical machines causes unbalanced magnetic pull (UMP), leading to vibrations, noise, and mechanical wear. A bridge-configured winding (BCW) arrangement can generate transverse forces in the rotor, which can be controlled to counteract eccentricity. However, conventional three-phase windings are ineffective in BCW machines because they cancel out the necessary $p \pm 1$ pole flux components, preventing proper force generation. This paper examines these limitations and compares two BCW configurations: Unshifted BridgeConfigured Winding (UBCW) and Shifted Bridge-Configured Winding (SBCW). Finite Element Method (FEM) simulations show that while both configurations enable transverse force generation, UBCW leads to a torque reduction to 19.35 Nm, whereas SBCW improves torque output to 25.65 Nm while maintaining eccentricity control. The results highlight the tradeoff between force production and torque performance, helping to guide the selection of suitable winding configurations for BCW machines.