Thermal Compact Model Applied to Driving Cycle Simulations of Electrical Machines

Thermal simulations are often performed using finite element analysis (FEA) or lumped parameter thermal networks (LPTN). While the latter one often lacks on accuracy, the use of FEA is limited due to the high computational effort. In order to combine the advantages of both methods, a thermal compact model (TCM) is proposed in this work. This model is parametrized by performing few thermal steady-state FEA simulations. After parametrization, the model is as fast as a LPTN. Therefore, this type of model can also be used for computationally intensive driving cycle simulations and even an efficient coupling with electromagnetic models is possible. The advantage compared to LPTN is that no specific heat flux path has to be assumed. Furthermore, distributed internal heat sources can be properly taken into account. Hotspot temperatures can also be easily determined in a post-processing step.