Deep Learning-Based Prediction of Key Performance Indicators for Electrical Machines

The design of an electrical machine can be quantified and evaluated by Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) such as maximum torque, critical field strength, costs of active parts, sound power, etc. Generally, cross-domain tool-chains are used to optimize all the KPIs from different domains (multi-objective optimization) by varying the given input parameters in the largest possible design space. This optimization process involves magneto-static finite element simulation to obtain these decisive KPIs. It makes the whole process a vehemently time-consuming computational task that counts on the availability of resources with the involvement of high computational cost. In this paper, a data-aided, deep learning-based meta-model is employed to predict the KPIs of an electrical machine quickly and with high accuracy to accelerate the full optimization process and reduce its computational costs. The focus is on analyzing various forms of input data that serve as a geometry representation of the machine. Namely, these are the cross-section image of the electrical machine that allows a very general description of the geometry relating to different topologies and the classical way of scalar geometry parameterizations. The impact of the resolution of the image is studied in detail. The results show a high prediction accuracy and proof that deep learning-based meta-models are able to minimize the optimization time. The results also indicate that the prediction quality of an image-based approach can be made comparable to the classical way based on scalar parameters.