Accelerating Electric Motor Design and Analysis Using ANSYS

Hara Prasad Sivala,

Application Engineer
Agenda

• Simulation depth
• Idea to operation
• Motor-CAD Demo
• Q&A

© CADFEM 2020
Simulation Depth

Analytical Approach

More Details
Pre-Design

Multiphysics
FEM Simulation Detail Analyses

System
Coupled Analysis Multiphysics

Behaviour Models Design Check

Fatigue & Lifetime ROM, Digital Twin, MOP, …

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From the Idea to the Operation

Design Analysis Operation

Design 2D & 3D Analysis Coupled Analysis System Validation

Efficient Motor Design Toolkit Advanced Magnetics Modelling NVH, Cooling, ... Control logic, software

Concept Design System Validation

3D Physical Validation

Motor-CAD Maxwell 2D & 3D Mechanical &CFD Twin Builder

© CADFEM 2020
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 • Ansys Motor-CAD is the market leading tool
dedicated to the design and analysis of
electric motors.
• Enables rapid and accurate electromagnetic,
thermal and mechanical analysis of an
electric machine across the full operating
envelope.
• Designed and developed in close
collaboration with expert electric machine
designers.
• Embedded engineering expertise.

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Motor-CAD EMAG Module

➢ Combined 2D finite element and

analytical modelling approach.
➢ Calculates electrical &
electromagnetic performance
➢ Template based Geometry
DXF and scriptable geometries,
custom current waveforms, multi-
slice skew.
➢ Meshing, boundary conditions
automatically set-up
➢ Automated winding, Input material
data base.
➢ Skewing, eccentricity.
➢ Sensitivity(Optimization)

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Motor-CAD EMAG Module

➢ Coupled solution with the thermal model

Automatically set-up calculations for
different performance tests
1. Open circuit test
2. Short circuit test
3. Onload test
Torque currents
➢ Calculates torque, power, losses,
voltages, currents, inductances,
flux linkages and forces. BackEMF Cogging Torque
➢ Advanced calculations such a eddy
current in magnets, induction
machine rotor bars & AC winding
losses

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Motor-CAD Thermal Module
➢ Industry standard tool for thermal
analysis of electric machines with over
20 years of inbuilt experience.
➢ Calculates temperature of the motor
componentsin steady-state and transient
operating conditions.
➢ Detailed visualisation and calculation of
the slot cross section
➢ CFD, FEA and empirical correlations
behind all calculations.

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Thermal Module - Cooling types
TENV: Totally enclosed non-ventilated
‒ Natural convection from housing
TEFC: Totally enclosed fan cooled Fan cooled machine with
cowling
‒ Forced convection from housing
• Through Ventilation
• TE with Internal Circulating Air
‒ Internal air circulating path
‒ Water jacket as heat exchanger
• Open end-shield cooling Water jacket with
axial channels
• Water Jackets
‒ Axial or circumferential
• Submersible cooling
• Wet Rotor & Wet Stator cooling
• Spray Cooling Through ventilation
with radial ducts
‒ e.g. Oil spray cooing of end windings
• Direct conductor cooling
‒ e.g. Slot ducts with oil
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Motor-CAD Thermal Analysis types

➢ Motor-CAD’s integrated FEA thermal

solver allows fast calibration of the
winding thermal resistance network and
improved visualization of the winding
hotspot location.
➢ Motor-CAD can calculate the steady-
state or transient thermal performance
➢ Even long and complex transients only
take a few seconds to calculate – very
useful for traction motor drive cycle
analysis

© CADFEM 2020
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Example Therm

Task: Find the optimal amount of fins to

minimize the average temperature of the
winding.
132

The loss in this example is fixed 131.5

𝑃𝐶𝑢 = 500𝑊 131

130.5

Temperature [C]
130

129.5

129

128.5

128

127.5
5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Number Fins
Each design takes less than 2 seconds Temperature
⇒Total computation time: <1min

© CADFEM 2020
Motor-CAD LAB Module

➢ Facilitates very fast and accurate calculation of the motor electromagnetic

and thermal performance over the full torque/speed envelope by use of
intelligent loss algorithms.
➢ Suited to applications such as traction applications that have complex duty
cycle loads.

Temperature v Time for a particular

Efficiency map with drive cycle overlaid Loss v Time calculated from
drive cycle
efficiency map to be input into
thermal model

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© CADFEM 2020
Motor-CAD LAB outcomes

➢ Efficiency & loss maps

➢ Peak torque/speed curves
➢ Continuous torque/speed curves
➢ Duty cycle analysis
➢ Open & short circuit tests
➢ Automatically applies maximum
torque/amp control strategies to
replicate performance of machine.

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Example Therm & Lab

What is the optimal amount of fins, to

minimize the average temperature of the Last Duty Cycle
winding – after 3 cycles US06? 176

• 3 cycles equal 30 min real time. 174

• Input is the loss in each timestep: 172

Temperature [C]
170

168

166

164

162

160
Therm takes ~75s for each design to solve. 1 51 101 151 201 251 301 351 401 451 501 551
Total computation time: <20 minutes timestep [sec]

In the graph you can see the last cycle of 5 10 14 20

the designs with 5/10/14/20 fins.

© CADFEM 2020
Motor-CAD Mechanical Module

➢ FE solution based
➢ Very fast – solves within a couple of
seconds
➢ Template or DXF import options available
➢ Enables engineers to consider Magnetic
and Mechanical performance trade-off in
design optimization.

© CADFEM 2020
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Featured Motor Types
Radial view Axial view 3D view Motor type (Abbreviation) EMag Therm Lab Mech

Brushless
Permanent Magnet BPM BPM BPM BPM
(BPM)

BPM Outer Rotor

BPM BPM BPM BPM
(BPMOR)

Permanent Magnet DC
PMDC PMDC -- PMDC
(PMDC)

Synchrous
Wound Field SYNC SYNC SYNC SYNC
(SYNC)

Induction Machine
IM IM IM IM
(IM)

Single Phase Induction

IM1PH IM1PH -- IM1PH
(IM1PH)

Switched Reluctance
Machine SRM SRM -- SRM
(SRM)

Claw Pole Machine

-- CLAW -- --
(CLAW)

Synchronous
Reluctance Machine BPM BPM BPM BPM
(SYNCREL)

Wound Field Commutated

(WFC) -- PMDC -- --
(universal motor)

© CADFEM 2020
 Data Evaluation
Emag: Therm:

Simulation time
less then a minute
Simulation time
few seconds

Mech:
Lab:

Simulation time
few minutes Simulation time
few secs

© CADFEM 2020
EMAG validation

➢ We can validate the electromagnetic

calculation by comparing the calculated
and measured efficiency maps.
➢ Excellent match in this case

© CADFEM 2020 CADFEM ANSYS Forum 2019 Ticino 25

CADFEM
Simulation is more than Software

Hara prasad sivala

prasad.s@cadfem.in
+ 04049481019/8555837574

CADFEM India @cadfem_in

@cadfem.in cadfem.in/blog

cadfem.in

CADFEM ANSYS Forum 2019 Ticino 29