Design and Evaluation of a Houseless High-Performance Machine with Thermoset Molded Internal Cooling

Abstract

In the project GehMo a motor concept with an internal cooling concept, based on a concentrated winding, was developed. The key elements of the development are presented in this paper. The focus points of the motor development were put on simple manufacturing and exploiting all advantages of the internal cooling concept. Simulative structural investigations proved that the stator could act as a load-bearing element and therefore no housing is necessary to ensure the functionality of the motor. This approach reduces the number of parts and reduces the weight. Through optimization by computational fluid dynamics simulation, the pressure loss of the internal cooling channels is brought to a level similar to that of a conventional external cooling sleeve, despite the smaller cross-section of the internal cooling channels. The production of the plastic overmolding of the stator was carried out on an injection molding machine. Its design and detailed technical solutions are presented in this paper. First prototypes of the motor were produced. The quality of the prototypes is analyzed, and the manufacturing process is evaluated.