Winding Material Effect on High Speed Brushless Permanent Magnet Machines

Winding losses in Brushless Permanent Magnet (BPM) machines are typically, one of the largest loss contributions, especially in high speed applications such as e-chargers, compressors and traction. For this purpose, it is crucial to predict and take into account also the AC winding loss component, in order to reduce the total amount of stator winding losses. In this paper, a comparative study of aluminum and copper windings is conducted with the aim of mitigating the effect of the winding losses. The study is carried out considering two high speed machines. The first one is the main motor of an electric powertrain, developed for a fully electric motorsport application, whereas the second one is a high-speed turbocharger for an electric vehicle power boost application.