Experimental Testing and Dynamic Modelling of a Planetary Magnetic Gearbox Prototype

This thesis studies the prototype of a coaxial Planetary Magnetic Gearbox (PMG) developed at Politecnico di Torino, combining experimental tests with the development of a dynamic Simulink model to perform simulation analysis. The PMG consists of two pairs of magnetic wheels acting as the sun and the ring of an epicyclic gear, and a set of ferromagnetic poles, acting as the planets, that can shift between the two wheels passing through a neutral position. After introducing the main advantages of magnetic gears technology, comparing it to their mechanical counterparts, the focus shifts to the description of the working principles of the PMG and its dynamic modelling. Experimental tests were conducted on the PMG prototype adopting a new methodology to improve the accuracy of the acquisitions in different operating conditions, and the application of a corrective coefficient was introduced to account for the residual magnetic losses in neutral tests. The dynamic model of the prototype was designed to replicate its architecture and behaviour, with the integration of torque maps derived from both experimental and FEM analysis. The model demonstrated high predictive accuracy with average total efficiency errors below 0.5% across all testing scenarios. These results validate the model as an accurate representation of the prototype allowing for further future analysis.