A methodological approach to virtual prototype development using strip wound inductor subassemblies

In the design of AC electrical machines it is useful to have accurate predictions of machine thermal behaviour and AC loss distributions early in the design cycle. This is often obtained by costly and time consuming iterative prototyping of machines and subassemblies. By using a Virtual Prototyping method the iterative prototyping may be significantly reduced, and real-world AC loss distributions may be computed in 3D. The Virtual Prototyping method described herein has been developed in previous work but has not yet produced an AC loss distribution accurately matching an experimental assembly under test. This paper sets out a highly structured route towards creating an initial stage Virtual Prototype, with geometrically well defined models and assemblies, whose solutions are guided by verified analytical models, such that an accurate AC loss distribution can be computed.