Improved iron loss modelling approach for advanced electrical steels operating at high frequencies and high inductions in automotive machines

ArcelorMittal recently developed a specific new range of electrical steel grades for automotive applications, as an answer to the specific requirements for electrical traction machines (requirements such as excellent efficiency over a wide speed range, high power density, high reliability and robustness). These electrical steel grades are optimised over a wide frequency range to achieve the specific material property compromise of magnetic, electric, mechanical and thermal performance. Moreover, to maximise the potential of these advanced electrical steel grades, careful machine design is needed: when optimising the machine's power density for instance, it's crucial not to over-dimension the machine, neither in magnetic nor in mechanical aspects of the electrical steel laminations. Therefore more precise modelling tools are becoming more essential: ArcelorMittal developed an improved approach for the iron loss modelling of machines based on a better model description and appropriate material characterisation of the relevant phenomena influencing the machine's iron losses (such as lamination punching and pressing of the stacks). Furthermore, ArcelorMittal has also in-house advanced mechanical characterisation tools such as fatigue testing on electrical steels, for tighter mechanical machine design. When such advanced magnetic and mechanical design tools are used, on the optimised electrical steel grades of the ArcelorMittal iCARe
^TM
offer for automotive applications, the maximum potential of these electrical steels can be exploited.