Analysis of Rotor Core Lamination Effects on the Performance of Axial Flux Motors

This paper presents a quantitative investigation into the influence of rotor core lamination orientation on the electromagnetic performance of axial-flux motors (AFMs). Two rotor configurations—radially laminated and axially laminated—are designed with an identical stacking factor (0.95), material, and rotor-yoke thickness to ensure a fair comparison. The impact of lamination orientation is examined in terms of flux-distribution patterns, rotor-core eddy-current losses, and output characteristics, thereby providing a direct assessment of its role in key loss mechanisms and performance metrics relevant to AFM rotor manufacturing. Transient finite-element simulations are conducted using ANSYS Electronics Desktop 2024 R2. The results offer design guidelines for AFM rotor cores that explicitly account for lamination-orientation–dependent electromagnetic behavior while balancing manufacturability and performance.