Global fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics analysis of an open air-cooled drive motor for drilling application

Abstract

The stator winding temperature rise of variable frequency induction motor (VFIM) with high current density may be too high during operation, which properly causes motor breakdowns. Therefore, it is essential to conduct thermal management for VFIM. In this paper, a 600kW VFIM with the open air-cooling is studied at the point of thermal. A compact cooling improvement structure, axial ventilation guide vane, is proposed to strengthen the heat dissipation capacity of the motor. The global numerical model based on the multi-physics bidirectional coupling method is established to provide a comprehensive understanding of fluid-thermal characteristics in the motor. Based on simulation results, the cooling improvement is analyzed and discussed from multiple perspectives, such as temperature, flow, vortex, etc. It is concluded that the proposed structure can reduce the maximum and average temperature rise of the stator winding by 1.4K and 0.7K, respectively. Moreover, the effect of installation location on the cooling effect is investigated. When the proposed structure is installed on both sides, the overall heat dissipation power rises to 42299.7W. The experiment was also conducted to verify the simulation results. The relative error between simulation results and experimental data is 4.4%.