A Study on Thermal Effects of Different Potting Strategies in Traction Motors

Thermal effects of different potting strategies are studied in this paper. In the first motor, winding is impregnated traditionally with a standard epoxy-based material and then potted using a thermally conductive epoxy. In the motor with global potting, a single material and process is used to enhance heat transfer from the copper conductors in the winding to the housing where the cooling ducts are located. The potted motors are then compared to a reference motor without potting and traditionally impregnated using standard resins. Moreover, influences of traction motor designs on thermal effects of potting are studied and presented in this paper. Finally, steady-state and transient thermal measurements are done and a comparative investigation is performed on the built prototypes.