Identifying AC Loss Distributions in Electrical Machines through Experimentally Informed Virtual Prototyping

A Virtual Prototype (VP) of a machine subassembly is developed, creating a tool to compute key thermal parameters in electrical machines and calculate 3D distributions of their AC losses with minimal experimental outlay. The VP uses a numerical model for computations and a Particle Swarm to manage the calibration procedure. A machine sub-assembly is manufactured for experimental calibration of the VP, representative of an electrical machine stator segment. The open slot design uses multi-stranded, compressed, aluminium coils. The VP operation and solution methodology is presented and results are shown for the AC loss distribution. Analysis of these results indicates their convergence to a non-global minimum in the underlying objective function; at present the VP does not accurately describe the physical system. Considerable discussion of the potential causes is included, which informs the subsequent direction for the VP's continued development.