Determination of thermal performance of small electric motors

Thermal analysis is very important for the design of low cost and long lifetime motors. This paper presents a method to analyze thermal performance of small electric motors. A finite element software is used to evaluate dynamic flux distribution and iron losses inside the motor. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tool is applied to estimate the temperature distribution of the motor. A double chamber calorimeter (DCC) is used to measure the induction motor losses and efficiency. Hot-spot temperatures are also measured using thermocouples. Results of tests and computation on a fractional horsepower induction motor show good agreements between theoretical estimates and measurements.