Hybrid thermal model of a synchronous reluctance machine

Abstract

This paper presents a hybrid thermal modeling methodology to analyze the temperature performance of radial flux electrical machines. For this purpose, the 2D finite element model of the active part of the machine is coupled with a lumped parameters thermal circuit of the end-winding region. A synchronous reluctance machine is used to validate the proposed approach. The results from the proposed method are compared with the experimental ones, which are obtained from a prototype machine. The computations show that the 2D FE model underestimates the temperature rise in the machine as it does not account for the power losses in the end-windings. The hybrid model accounts for these losses as well as for the heat dissipation in the end-winding region.