An Optimization Method for Cooling System Design of Traction Motors

This paper presents an optimization method for traction motor cooling system. The proposed method is generic and can cover a wide range of cooling systems used in e-mobility, railway, marine and aerospace applications. The optimization procedure utilizes both numerical and analytical modeling methods to estimate accurately thermal and cooling parameters in motor critical parts. Analytical approaches, in combination with numerical ones, enable accurate estimation of the motor cooling condition while keeping the computation time within a reasonable range. CFD calculations provide boundary conditions and heat transfer evaluation of the airflow inside the motor for developed finite element and lumped approach models where the most temperature sensitive parts are located. Several thermal and flow measurements are carried out on a 245 kW open self-ventilated induction motor to evaluate accuracy of different components of the optimization procedure. A good agreement between the thermal model, CFD calculation and experimental results is achieved.