Thermal Management of a Racing E- Machine

The aim of this paper is to present a study regarding the thermal management of a high performance electrical machine designed for motorsport application. The electrical machine under examination is a radial flux permanent magnet machine able to run up to 12000rpm and equipped with three different cooling systems: housing cooling jacket, direct slot cooling and liquid-cooled rotor. The thermal behaviour of the machine is studied considering the electrical machine involved in a real race drive cycle like Le Mans circuit. The machine losses, during the race, are calculated with electromagnetic simulations, whose results are then used for the thermal study of the machine behaviour, with the aim of optimising its cooling systems. Special attention is given to the high frequency losses occurring in the winding.