SPMMs and Enclosures Steady Heat Transfer Modeling Utilizing a 3-D Finite Element Partitioning Technique

Instead of using a single, complete, finite-element (FE) model of a synchronous permanent magnet machine (SPMM) and it's enclosure for the purpose of carrying out a detailed thermal analysis, it is shown in this paper that analogous results can be obtained by partitioning the FE model into two domains i.e., the electric machine active part and its enclosure. The aforementioned procedure is not quite straightforward, as it requires the application of a surface heat source on the area in contact with the electrical machine, in order to excite thermally the enclosure. Then, the thermal analysis of the electrical machine follows by constraining the nodal temperature distribution of the area in thermal contact with the enclosure. There are important advantages over the conventional modeling approach. The computational cost of the FE analysis is significantly reduced due to the reduction of the mesh sizes and the inherent nonlinear computational cost of the FE method in conjunction with the number of nodes of the FE mesh. In addition, the design procedure of the FE model is simplified and expedited, whereas the graphics post-processing is easier and yields useful visual results.