Thermal Management

Of
Large Industrial Motors

Prepared by:

Danaraj Chandrasegaran KGH070029

Mahyar Silakhori KGH090001

For
Applied Thermodynamics (KXGM 6103)
Dr. Saidur Rahman

October 2009
Contents
1.0 Background .............................................................................................................. 3
2.0 Working Principle.................................................................................................... 7
3.0 Mathematical Models............................................................................................. 10
4.0 Results and Discussion .......................................................................................... 12
5.0 Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 15
6.0 References.............................................................................................................. 16
1.0 Background

An electrical motor uses for several reason such as, electrical energy to product
mechanical energy, usually through the interaction of magnetic field and current-carrying
conductors. The reverse process, producing electrical energy from mechanical energy, is
accomplished by a generator or dynamo. Traction motors used on vehicles often perform
both tasks. Electric motors can be run as generators and vice versa, although this is not
always practical. Electric motors are ubiquitous, being found in applications as diverse as
industrial fans, blowers and pumps, machine tools, household appliances, power tools,
and disk drives. They may be powered by direct current (for example a battery powered
portable device or motor vehicle), or by alternating current from a central electrical
distribution grid. The smallest motors may be found in electric wristwatches. Medium-
size motors of highly standardized dimensions and characteristics provide convenient
mechanical power for industrial uses. The very largest electric motors are used for
propulsion of large ships, and for such purposes as pipeline compressors, with ratings in
the thousands of kilowatts. Electric motors may be classified by the source of electric
power, by their internal construction, and by their application.
The physical principle of production of mechanical force by the interactions of an electric
current and a magnetic field was known as early as 1821. Electric motors of increasing
efficiency were constructed throughout the 19th century, but commercial exploitation of
electric motors on a large scale required efficient electrical generators and electrical
distribution networks.
Unlike internal combustion engines, electrical motors are generally characterized by very
high efficiency. In fact, ongoing engineering efforts have pushed the degree of modern
motors to within a few percentage points of 100, depending on the size of given a motor.
Poor thermodynamic performance is principally the result of exergy losses

Cooling the electric motors is a challenging task. Thermal dissipation becomes a

key consideration in the operation of large motors, since overheating will result in a
decrease of the motor’s lifetime. Having information for the flow and temperature fields
inside the heat exchangers and the temperature distributions of rotor and stator through
experimental testing is expensive and difficult. Therefore, a Computational Fluid
Dynamics (CFD) software package is useful for addressing this type of problems.

The present paper discusses the thermal management system for large industrial
motors. It is divided into three parts discussing the industry practices, thermodynamics
performances analysis and conclusion.

1.1 Large Industrial Motors

Large industrial motors are used for demanding applications in sectors such as
mining and cement, utilities and water works. Each of this type of motor is custom
engineered to suit the applications and fairly involve large capital investments. The
requirements for these motors include:
a) High starting torque,
b) High inertia – low starting current
c) High torque through entire speed range
d) Suitable for starting at weak network
e) Adaptable for variable speed drives

The usual range for large industrial motors as follows:

a) 300 to 12 000 kW at 50 Hz
b) 200 to 9000 HP at 50 Hz
c) Voltage range 380 to 13 800 V

Due to the fact of large power output from large industrial motors, heat
dissipation from this type of equipment is substantial and permits for attention from the
manufacturer themselves. Heat dissipation problems are addressed via a thermal
management system which is integral of the motor.
 Before dwelling further, it is imperative that large industrial motors are described
fairly to have a better overall view and the requirements which surround it. There are
many types of large industrial motors that are available on the market. It varies in terms
of construction, type of starting, insulation class and others. For this paper, the
discussions will be limited to slip ring motor (of air cooled type). A detailed example
from the industry will be discussed in relation to this motor.

Figure 1 : Slip ring motor

1.2 Rotor

There are two types of rotors for induction motors, which are squirrel cage type
and wound type. The most common rotor is a squirrel-cage rotor. It is made up of bars of
either solid copper (most common) or aluminum that span the length of the rotor, and are
connected through a ring at each end. The rotor bars in squirrel-cage induction motors are
not straight, but have some skew to reduce noise and harmonics. A slip ring rotor
replaces the bars of the squirrel-cage rotor with windings that are connected to slip rings.
When these slip rings are shorted, the rotor behaves similarly to a squirrel-cage rotor;
they can also be connected to resistors to produce a high-resistance rotor circuit, which
can be beneficial in starting.
1.3 Stator

The stator consists of wound 'poles' that carry the supply current to induce a
magnetic field that penetrates the rotor. In a very simple motor, there would be a single
projecting piece of the stator (a salient pole) for each pole, with windings around it; in
fact, to optimize the distribution of the magnetic field, the windings are distributed in
many slots located around the stator, but the magnetic field still has the same number of
north-south alternations. The number of 'poles' can vary between motor types but the
poles are always in pairs (i.e. 2, 4, 6, etc.)

1.4 Thermal Management System (Cooling System)

This is discussed in depth in the next section.

2.0 Working Principle

For large motors, a distinct cooling system is required due to the high heat
dissipation from the motors. High heat dissipation is a result from the high voltage and
current consumption of the motors compared to other smaller range motors.
The cooling system utilized for electric motors are defined by EN 60034-6
(European Code). In principle there are three types of cooling systems for large motors:

a) Air-to-air heat exchanger (IC611)

IC611 cooling type represents the established standard in the industry. It mainly
used in cement industry, smelting plants, mills, crushers and fans, where use of water is
avoided. Figure 2 shows the inner workings of it.

Figure 2 : Workings of IC611 Air-to-air heat exchanger

b) Air-to-water heat exchanger (IC81W)

IC81W cooling is not a common system found in the industry and generally more
expensive to construct. It is ideal for power plant, paper and steel industry. Figure X
shows the inner workings of it. The internal air circulation is provided by a shaft mounted
fan or a separate blower. In air-to-air cooled motors, the external cooling air is circulated
by a shaft mounted fan or a separate blower. Figure 3 shows the inner workings of it.

Figure 3 : Workings of IC81W Air-to-water heat exchanger

c) Open circuit ventilation (IC01)

Very few motors use this type of cooling method. However, this type offers the lowest
capital cost for deployment. Figure X shows the inner workings of it.
 Figure 4 : Workings of IC01 Open Circuit Ventilation

The selection of the cooling system is usually driven by cost factor, available
facilities, environmental aspects and maintenance requirements. Disadvantages and
advantages of the different cooling system is shown in Table 1.

Table 1 presents the advantages and disadvantages of different cooling system.

Table 1: Advantages and disadvantages of different cooling system
Cooling type IC611 IC81W IC01
Advantages System is Winding is Winding is
independent from protected against protected against
any cooling water environmental environmental
circuit impact impact
Can withstand Ambient System involves the
polluted temperature has lowest procurement
 environment negligible impact cost

Disadvantages Require regular System involves the Ambient airborne

cleaning effort highest procurement pollutant drawn into
cost motor
A cooling water Require increased
system is required cleaning effort

3.0 Mathematical Models

A typical schematic is shown in Figure 5. This shows the flow paths and component for
the motors with air- to-air heat exchanger(IC611).

Figure 5 : Schematic View of flow paths and components for the motor

Heat dissipation from an electric motor can be calculated as follows, when the driven
machine is outside of the airstreams:
 Hloss = P* [ (1.0- EM)/EM)]* FUM* FLM [1]

where
Hloss = heat loss from motor ( dissipated to the surroundings), W
P = motor power rating, W
EM = motor efficiency, decimal fraction < 1.0
FUM = motor use factor, 1.0 or decimal fraction < 1.0
FLM = motor load factor, 1.0 or decimal fraction < 1.0

The mass flow of air needed for transporting heat from the electric motor can be
expressed as
mair = Hloss / cp (tout - tin) [2]

where
mair = mass flow of air (kg/s)
Hloss = heat loss to the surroundings (W)
cp = specific heat capacity of air (kJ/kg oC) (1.005 kJ/kg oC standard air)
tout = temperature of air out (oC)
tin = temperature of air in (oC)

The volume flow can be calculated by multiplying [2] with the specific volume or
inverted density:
qair = (1 / ρair) mair [3]

where
ρair = density of air at the actual temperature (kg/m3)

3.1 Efficiency of Thermal Management System

Efficiency of the thermal management can be defined same as heat exchanger

efficiency. Heat exchanger efficiency can be expressed as
 ηHX= ( T2 – T1)/( T3 – T1)

where
T1 = Inlet temperature of cold stream
T2 = Outlet temperature of cold stream
T3 = Inlet temperature of hot stream
T4 = Outlet temperature of hot stream

3.2 Second Law Efficiency Analysis

For an adiabatic heat exchanger with two unmixed fluid streams, the exergy
supplied is the decrease in the exergy of hot stream, and the exergy recovered is the
increase in the exergy of the cold stream, provided that the cold stream is not at a lower
temperature than the surroundings. Therefore, The second law efficiency of the heat
exchanger becomes:
ηII= mcold (ψ4 – ψ3)/ mhot(ψ 2– ψ1)

where
mcold = Mass flow rate of cold stream (kg/s)
mhot = Mass flow rate of cold stream (kg/s)
ψ = Stream exergy (kJ/ kg)

4.0 Results and Discussion

4.1 Results
In this section, the performance of the thermal management system will
discussed. Motor data were based from experiments conducted Chih Chung et al. (2009)
as shown in Table 2. Then efficiency of the system is calculated. The results are shown in
Table 3.
 Motor Ratings kW 2350
Motor Efficiency % 97
Use Factor 1.0
Load Factor 1.0
Cold Stream C 28
Temperature In
Cold Stream C 46
Temperature Out
Hot Stream C 91
Temperature In
Hot Stream C 60
Temperature Out
Axial Fan Power kW 2.7
Centrifugal Fan kW 2.7
Power
Table 2: Motor Data

Description Ambient
Temperature (C)
28

ηHX 0.29

ηII 0.92
Table 3: System Efficiencies

There is a noted difference between the two efficiency values. This is due to
exergy loss as the second law efficiency describes the measure of approximation to the
reversible operation .
4.2 Exergy Loss

Exergy loss can be attributed to the followings:

a) Air leakage in motor casing

This can affect on the motor cooling performance. As pointed out by Chih Chung et al
(2009) leakage effect inside the motor decreases the flow rate of the internal air. To
overcome this problem, dimensional changes between the rotor and the axial fan have to
be considered for further improvement of cooling performance.

b) Pressure drop in the streams

Flow through the streams also experiences pressure. Higher pressure drop means more
energy translated to the surroundings. This also contributes to the exergy loss.

c) Fouling of Heat Exchanger

Fouling refers to undesired accumulation of solid material (by-products of the heat
transfer processes) on heat exchanger surfaces which results in additional thermal
resistance to heat transfer, thus reducing performance. The fouling layer also blocks the
flow passage/area and increases surface roughness, thus either reducing the flow rate in
the exchanger or increasing the pressure drop or both
5.0 Conclusion
This paper has presented the various type of thermal management system for large
industrial motors. The thermal performance of a motor with air-to-air heat exchanger has
been assessed here and exergy losses have been pointed out. A further development of
mathematical analysing the dimensions within the thermal management system to
improve the cooling performance of the thermal management is suggested here.
6.0 References
American Society of Heating Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers Inc., 1999,
HVAC Applications Handbook,USA
Cengel, Y. A. & Boles, M. A., 2007, Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach,
McGraw Hill, Singapore
Chih Chung et al, 2009, ‘Experimental and Numerical Investigations of Air Cooling for
Large Scale Motor’. International Journal of Rotating Machinery, vol. 2009, Article ID
612723