Thermal optimization of a totally enclosed forced ventilated permanentmagnet traction motor using lumped parameter and partial computational fluid dynamics modeling

Abstract

In this study, we present a thermal optimization method using the overall lumped parameter (LP) and partial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling for a 600-kW permanent magnet traction motor developed for high-speed trains. The motor is totally enclosed forced ventilated to achieve high power density, high efficiency, and low maintenance requirements. Considering the electro-magnetic performance, bogie space, and thermal capacity, we propose a ventilation structure with zigzag plates in sector cross-section. We focus particularly on the ventilation channels and propose an overall LP model for thermal optimization, in which the full consideration of the influence of turbulent flow is given by using a partial CFD model. Given the specific critical parameters from the optimization results, we present a complete 3D CFD model of the whole motor to obtain an accurate temperature distribution and the maximum temperature rises in local points. The benefit of zigzag plates is studied extensively using both the LP and the complete CFD models and the results are verified by equivalent thermal experiments under rated operations. Experimental results indicate that the ventilation structure fulfills the normal operational demands of high-speed trains by improving thermal performance by more than 15%. Additionally, we propose an engineering method to estimate iron loss constraint with the complete CFD model to guide the control system design.