Design for Recycling: Prototyping a Rib-less Interior Permanent Magnet Rotor with Enhanced Disassembly

Abstract

This paper presents a new interior permanent magnet (IPM) rotor structure developed in accordance with the requirements of the “Design for Recycling” strategy, enabling enhanced disassembly and material recovery at the end of life (EoL). Conventional IPM rotors pose serious recycling challenges due to the PMs being embedded deep within a rigid laminated core, retained with strong adhesives and supported by iron ribs. Recovering the material often involves cutting or shredding the rotor, which contaminates both the rare-earth magnet material and the silicon steel, hindering material recycling. In contrast, the proposed IPM rotor adopts a segmented structure that eliminates iron ribs and adhesives, relying solely on mechanical fastening to facilitate non-destructive disassembly. To provide a comprehensive investigation, a detailed electromagnetic comparison with a conventional IPM rotor is performed to evaluate key performance metrics. Mechanical stress analysis is also carried out to verify structural integrity. Finally, a prototype is manufactured and tested, confirming its ease of assembly and disassembly, and verifying the simulated electromagnetic performance.