Vibration Analysis of a PMSM through FEM Multiphysics Simulation with Experimental Validation

Vibratory characterization of electrical machines is an important task that should be performed early in the design stages. Treat it as an afterthought may lead to high vibration and noise levels incompatible with the application requirements.In this paper, multiphysics FEM simulation is used to model a PMSM (Permanent Magnet Synchronous Machine) from both, the magnetic and vibratory point of view.A 2D magnetic simulation is carried out to get the excitation forces over the stator. In parallel, a 3D modal simulation will reproduce an Experimental Modal Analysis (EMA), identifying machine's vibration modes. Finally, the Maxwell forces obtained by the magnetic simulation will be used as input to run an Operation Modal Analysis (OMA) which output is the vibration levels in the machine's housing.Magnetic, EMA and OMA simulations has been validated through prototype testing. A detailed comparison between simulation results and experiments is presented.