Design of a Five-Phase Brushless DC Motor for a Safety Critical Aerospace Application

This paper describes a five-phase brushless dc (BLDC) motor designed for an electrohydrostatic actuation system (EHA) suited to the thin and optimized wings. The foundation of the design is a motor with fault tolerance and high reliability, compact structure, and low weight. The motor power rating is 12 kW at 12 000 rpm, and a “wet” form of construction is used where hydraulic oil is present in the motor to reduce the number of oil seals of the EHA for enhanced reliability and lifetime. The losses and thermal behavior are evaluated for an optimized design. Fault tolerance for BLDC motors is discussed. A five-phase motor has been manufactured, and test results are presented to validate the design.