A Hybrid Methodology for Analyzing the Performance of Induction Motors with Efficiency Improvement by Specific Commercial Measures

Chengliu Ai, Christopher H.T. Lee, James L. Kirtley, Yuanfeng Huang, Haifeng Wang and Zhiwei Zhang
Additional contact information
Chengliu Ai: Institute of Electrical Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
Christopher H.T. Lee: School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798, Singapore
James L. Kirtley: Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
Yuanfeng Huang: Institute of Electrical Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
Haifeng Wang: Institute of Electrical Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
Zhiwei Zhang: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA

Energies, 2019, vol. 12, issue 23, 1-24

Abstract: This paper presents a hybrid methodology to analyze the commercial measures of changing stator windings and adjusting air gap length to upgrade efficiency of typical three-phase direct-on-line induction motors with die-cast copper rotor (DCR). The calculation is carried out through combining the time-stepping and time-harmonic finite element analysis (FEA) and the circuit equivalent circuit model. Typical full-load performance of stator windings with different air gap lengths are computed by MATLAB invoking the 2D transient and eddy current field analysis in ANSYS/MAXWELL. Then, MATLAB scripts about post-processing of the FEA results are used to obtain the full-load running performance including the loss distribution and circulating current. The MATLAB scripts of circuit model built based on the FEA results is used to compare the overload and starting performance. After that, four stators with the four windings and three DCRs with different air gap of an 11 kW motor are fabricated and tested to validate the calculations. By comparing results from both calculations and measurements, it is shown that the factors of stator windings and air gap length can effectively improve the efficiency of the 11 kW DCR induction motor without the addition of extra materials. The motor with the 11/12 pitch Y-Δ series winding and 0.6 mm air gap has the best performance, in terms of efficiency, overloading capability and starting performance. Its efficiency can increase from 90% to the highest 92.35% by sole adjustment of stator winding and air gap length.

Keywords: air gap length; die-cast copper rotor; energy efficiency; induction motors; stator windings; loss analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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