Open AccessThermal analysis of fault‐tolerant electrical machines for more electric aircraft applications
Author(s) -
Madonna Vincenzo,
Giangrande Paolo,
Gerada Chris,
Galea Michael
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
the journal of engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2051-3305
DOI - 10.1049/joe.2018.0040
Subject(s) - aerospace , fault tolerance , thermal , finite element method , fault (geology) , computer science , fault tree analysis , electric machine , reliability engineering , control engineering , mechanical engineering , engineering , aerospace engineering , structural engineering , stator , physics , seismology , geology , meteorology
For safety critical applications, electrical machines need to satisfy several constraints, in order to be considered fault‐tolerant. In fact, if specific design choices and appropriate control strategies are adopted, fault‐tolerant machines can operate safely even in faulty conditions. However, particular care must be taken for avoiding uncontrolled thermal overload, which can cause severe failures. This study describes the thermal modelling of a three‐phase, synchronous machine for aerospace applications, analysing the machine's thermal behaviour under open‐circuit fault conditions. A particular winding's layout is chosen with the purpose of satisfying fault‐tolerance constraints. The winding temperature is evaluated by using a simplified thermal model, which was experimentally validated. Copper and iron losses, necessary for the thermal simulations, are calculated analytically and through electromagnetic finite element analysis, respectively. Finally, an aerospace study case is presented and the machine's thermal behaviour is analysed during both healthy and open‐circuit conditions.