In this paper, the use of conical induction machines is proposed for an in-wheel traction application. Such machines offer a rotational movement combined with a translational motion of the rotor. The horizontal movement is essential when active engagement and disengagement of the motor from the wheel without any extra mechanical component is required. This paper first investigates the basic concepts of how the conical machine functions and then proposes a mission strategy for a relevant traction application. A detailed description of the full scheme is given. In order to achieve the required performance, an innovative control method for both degrees of freedom of the machine (i.e. torque production and axial movement) is proposed and validated against a small-scale demonstrator of the whole system.

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-This paper is concerned with the use of conical induction machines. Such machines are extremely valuable when apart from the rotational torque output, an axial translation of the rotor is also required. The inherent attraction between the stator and rotor of any machine, combined with the geometry of a conical machine will provide the required axial movement. However, when applied to aerospace applications, where reliability is very important, then full monitoring of the axial position is required. In this paper, an innovative approach aimed at monitoring and controlling the axial translation of a conical induction machine is proposed and investigated. In order to increase the system reliability and also decrease component count, as demanded by the application, the methodology is a sensor-less technique, based on an innovative variant of the highfrequency injection approach. In this paper, the technique has been fully investigated and experimentally validated on a purposely-built, instrumented test-rig.Index Terms--conical motor; sliding rotor; high voltage signal injection; in-wheel actuator.