Standing
Undergraduate
Type of Proposal
Oral Presentation
Faculty
Faculty of Engineering
Faculty Sponsor
CHARGE Labs
Proposal
Electric Vehicles (EVs) are currently growing as the leading viable, efficient and consumer focused vehicle. Although with electric vehicles, the fear of range coverage on a single charge, longer charging times and lack of easy availability of charging stations looming over potential customers can slow and even halt wide spread adoption of EVs in the global market. In order to meet this demand, a higher efficient powertrain is required accompanied by an increase in operational time. However, the extended use of a motor will cause a larger generation of heat inside the motor, which requires detailed thermal management. In order to efficiently extend the EV range, better cooling techniques for traction motors are mandatory. From literature review, air cooling was found inefficient and ineffective, while liquid cooling is the primary cooling method for traction motors as it provides proper thermal management [1-3]. Therefore, this research will be based on a 2-step methodology. Firstly, Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is used to determine the highest concentration of heat for a prototyped induction motor traction motor. Secondly, Computational Fluid Analysis (CFD) will be implemented to determine the cooling results of a variation of liquid cooling options to identify and determine the most efficient cooling method for the prototype traction motor. The preliminary results have indicated the inflexion of heat in specific areas of the motor’s rotor and stator. Using CFD analysis while changing the coolants properties, fluid path and flow speed, expected efficiency improvements can be estimated at 6.9% in some cases [4]. Through this investigation, an efficient cooling system for the prototype motor can be implemented, and should advance all motors of an identical drive system, thereby improving the EV motor’s efficiency.
Grand Challenges
Sustainable Industry
An Introduction to the Importance and Implementations of Liquid Cooling in Electric Motors
Electric Vehicles (EVs) are currently growing as the leading viable, efficient and consumer focused vehicle. Although with electric vehicles, the fear of range coverage on a single charge, longer charging times and lack of easy availability of charging stations looming over potential customers can slow and even halt wide spread adoption of EVs in the global market. In order to meet this demand, a higher efficient powertrain is required accompanied by an increase in operational time. However, the extended use of a motor will cause a larger generation of heat inside the motor, which requires detailed thermal management. In order to efficiently extend the EV range, better cooling techniques for traction motors are mandatory. From literature review, air cooling was found inefficient and ineffective, while liquid cooling is the primary cooling method for traction motors as it provides proper thermal management [1-3]. Therefore, this research will be based on a 2-step methodology. Firstly, Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is used to determine the highest concentration of heat for a prototyped induction motor traction motor. Secondly, Computational Fluid Analysis (CFD) will be implemented to determine the cooling results of a variation of liquid cooling options to identify and determine the most efficient cooling method for the prototype traction motor. The preliminary results have indicated the inflexion of heat in specific areas of the motor’s rotor and stator. Using CFD analysis while changing the coolants properties, fluid path and flow speed, expected efficiency improvements can be estimated at 6.9% in some cases [4]. Through this investigation, an efficient cooling system for the prototype motor can be implemented, and should advance all motors of an identical drive system, thereby improving the EV motor’s efficiency.