Authors:

Lindsay Kathryn Sutherl

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About Paper:

The rise in electric motors, driven by the electric vehicle and renewable energy industries, demands effective thermal management solutions for their safe and reliable performance. Minimizing the thermal resistance of the stator-winding assemblies of motors is crucial for efficient heat dissipation. Slot liners are electrically insulating sheets that separate current-carrying copper wires from the motor's metallic stator to prevent shorting. This study experimentally examines the impact of slot liner compression and wire geometry on the winding-slot liner-stator thermal resistance by utilizing commercial slot liners like Nomex® and TufQuin®. Stator-winding assemblies are constructed by stacking a copper piece with wire-shaped ridges, a slot liner, a stator, and a reference material. The copper side is heated, and the reference material side is cooled, inducing a temperature gradient. Different experiments are performed with varying compression strains in the slot liner and wire geometries. The resulting two-dimensional, steady-state temperature maps are captured using infrared (IR) microscopy. These maps are then analyzed in MATLAB to calculate the total thermal resistance across the stator-winding assembly. Results indicate that the total thermal resistance of the assembly decreases with increased slot liner compression and decreased inter-wire spacing. This research provides insight into how compression and geometric factors can affect total thermal resistance. By changing the packaging of wires to decrease inter-wire spacing and using flexible slot liners, the total thermal resistance in the stator-winding assembly can be reduced, enhancing the thermal management of electric motors. Keywords: Electric Motors; Slot Liner; Thermal Resistance; IR Microscopy; Wire Packaging

Source:

Purdue University / 2024

Topics:

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Co-authors:

Lindsay Kathryn Sutherl