A Combined Thermal Analysis of an Integrated Six-Phase Motor Drive System

This paper presents a combined thermal model for analyzing the thermal behavior of a six-phase modular integrated motor drive system (IMDS). The proposed thermal model is established based on the thermal resistance network (TRN) considering the physical integration of the motor and its drive. The temperatures of the key components, such as the motor winding, magnet and the drive power modules, can be predicted simultaneously by the proposed thermal model. It shows the integration results in a serious thermal coupling between the motor and drive, and has to be carefully dealt with at the design stage to avoid the possible derating or overheating. An IMDS prototype have been built. DC tests on the motor have been implemented to validate the motor TRN at present.