Materials for lightweight electric motors – a review

Solomon, Darius Gnanaraj; Gundabattini, Edison; Singh, Rohan

doi:10.1088/1757-899x/906/1/012020

Cited by 7 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…These materials encompass a wide range of components, from static elements like housings and bearings to active electromagnetic components like laminations, conductors, and permanent magnets. The optimization of these materials is integral to achieving the desired balance between machine performance and manufacturing costs [2][3][4][5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Material Tradeoff of Rotor Architecture for Lightweight Low-Loss Cost-Effective Sustainable Electric Drivetrains

Selema

2023

Sustainability

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The art of the successful design of high-speed electrical machines comes with many challenges in the mass, size, reliability, and energy efficiency. Material engineering of electrical machines has been identified as a key solution for higher power dense electric drivetrains. One of the main challenges at high speed is the eddy-current losses in the active electromagnetic parts, especially magnetic materials and permanent magnets (PMs). This study is devoted to the selection of PM rotor materials using multidisciplinary design optimization for a high-speed electric drivetrain. Beside AC loss minimization, more disciplines are considered, such as the minimization of weight, and cost. Different laminations are investigated with different magnetic properties as well as cost. Additionally, different PMs are optimized considering low-cost ferrite and high-coercivity permanent magnets (HCPMs). Moreover, the optimal materials are identified which have the best balance between loss, weight, cost, ripples. Finally, different rotor designs are prototyped, assembled, and tested using the same stator configuration. Also, the best rotor design is selected, and the electromagnetic performance is measured and compared with conventional designs. The optimal design results in 8% extra torque with at least 20% weight reduction.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Material Tradeoff of Rotor Architecture for Lightweight Low-Loss Cost-Effective Sustainable Electric Drivetrains

Selema

2023

Sustainability

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“…The performance of the motor can also be improved by changing the material used for casing the stator and rotor [22,39]. Aluminum 61% IACS was used to make the housing of a motor and for the rotor bars and end ring instead of cold-rolled steel.…”

Section: Experimental Analysis Of the Stator Of An Induction Motormentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermal Analysis and Cooling Strategies of High-Efficiency Three-Phase Squirrel-Cage Induction Motors—A Review

Konda,

Ponnaganti,

Reddy

et al. 2024

Computation

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In recent times, there has been an increased demand for electric vehicles. In this context, the energy management of the electric motor, which are an important constituent of electric vehicles, plays a pivotal role. A lot of research has been conducted on the optimization of heat flow through electric motors, thus reducing the wastage of energy via heat. Futuristic power sources may increasingly rely on cutting-edge innovations like energy harvesting and self-powered induction motors. In this context, effective thermal management techniques are discussed in this paper. Importance was given to the potential energy losses, hotspots, the influence of overheating on the motor efficiency, different cooling strategies, certain experimental approaches, and power control techniques. Two types of thermal analysis computation methods, namely the lumped-parameter circuit method (LPCM) and the finite element method (FEM), are discussed. Also, this paper reviews different cooling strategies. The experimental research showed that the efficiency was greater by 11% with the copper rotor compared to the aluminum rotor. Each rotor type was reviewed based on the temperature rise and efficiency at higher temperatures. The water-cooling method reduced the working temperatures by 39.49% at the end windings, 41.67% at the side windings, and by a huge margin of 56.95% at the yoke of the induction motor compared to the air-cooling method; hence, the water-cooling method is better. Lastly, modern cooling strategies are proposed to provide an effective thermal management solution for squirrel-cage induction motors.

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“…In terms of motor lightweight methods, the utilization of lightweight materials is one of the most direct and commonly adopted approaches, which has been implemented in both motor active and passive parts [10]. Various lightweight materials have been explored in electrical machines with significantly reduced motor weight and enhanced power density, including composite materials, aluminum windings, soft magnetic composite, and superconducting materials [30].…”

Section: Application Of Lightweight Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…According to the definition of motor power density, there are two potential avenues for enhancing motor power density: firstly, by augmenting its output capacity through improving its cooling efficiency [6][7][8]; and secondly, by reducing the weight or volume of the motor. Compared to the previous method, lightweight design has emerged as a critical technique for achieving high specific power targets, which has gained significant attention and has undergone extensive investigations [9,10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several approaches have been employed with favorable outcomes in the pursuit of achieving lightweight motor construction [11][12][13]. As depicted in Figure 1, typical methods for motor lightweight design can be classified into two categories: the utilization of lightweight materials [10] and the implementation of structural lightweight design [14,15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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State-of-the-Art Lightweight Implementation Methods in Electrical Machines

Zhao,

Li,

Zhang

et al. 2024

Machines

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The demand for high-power density motors has been increasing due to their remarkable output capability and compact construction. To achieve a significant improvement in motor power density, lightweight design methods have been recognized as an effective enabler. Therefore, extensive investigations have been conducted to reduce motor mass and achieve lightweight configurations through the exploration of lightweight materials, structures and manufacturing techniques. This article provides a comprehensive review and summary of state-of-the-art lightweight implementation methods for electrical machines, including the utilization of lightweight materials, structural lightweight design, and incorporation of advanced manufacturing technologies, such as additive manufacturing techniques. The advantages and limitations of each approach are also discussed in this paper. Furthermore, some comments and forecasts on potential future methodologies for motor lightweighting are also provided.

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Materials for lightweight electric motors – a review

Cited by 7 publications

References 21 publications

Material Tradeoff of Rotor Architecture for Lightweight Low-Loss Cost-Effective Sustainable Electric Drivetrains

Material Tradeoff of Rotor Architecture for Lightweight Low-Loss Cost-Effective Sustainable Electric Drivetrains

Thermal Analysis and Cooling Strategies of High-Efficiency Three-Phase Squirrel-Cage Induction Motors—A Review

State-of-the-Art Lightweight Implementation Methods in Electrical Machines

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