Experimental and Numerical Investigations of Air Cooling for a Large-Scale Motor

This article experimentally and numerically investigates the thermal performance of a 2350-kW completely enclosed motor, which is cooled through an air-to-air heat exchanger. The air in the heat exchanger includes external and internal flow paths. The external air driven by the rotation of the centr...

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Main Authors: Chih-Chung Chang, Chiao-Hung Cheng, Ming-Tsun Ke, Sih-Li Chen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2009-01-01
Series:International Journal of Rotating Machinery
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2009/612723
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author Chih-Chung Chang
Chiao-Hung Cheng
Ming-Tsun Ke
Sih-Li Chen
author_facet Chih-Chung Chang
Chiao-Hung Cheng
Ming-Tsun Ke
Sih-Li Chen
author_sort Chih-Chung Chang
collection DOAJ
description This article experimentally and numerically investigates the thermal performance of a 2350-kW completely enclosed motor, which is cooled through an air-to-air heat exchanger. The air in the heat exchanger includes external and internal flow paths. The external air driven by the rotation of the centrifugal fan goes through the heat exchanger mounted on the top of the frame. The internal air absorbs heat released from the stator and the rotor and then transfers the heat to the heat exchanger through the motion of two axial fans and the rotor. Several test rigs have been set up to measure the performance of the fan and the motor. The Fluent software package is adopted to analyze the complicated thermal-fluid interactions among the centrifugal fan, two axial fans, heat exchanger, stator, and rotor. The measured data, including the fan performance curves and the temperature profiles of the heat exchanger and the stator, show good agreement with the simulated results. The numerical calculations also show that the nonuniform external flow distribution through the heat exchanger and the air leakage between the axial fan and the rotor reduces the cooling ability of the motor. A detailed discussion is also included to improve the motor cooling performance.
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institution Kabale University
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language English
publishDate 2009-01-01
publisher Wiley
record_format Article
series International Journal of Rotating Machinery
spelling doaj-art-caabc9d4a9484890b5bc2c25f6cd0b7c2025-08-20T03:24:06ZengWileyInternational Journal of Rotating Machinery1023-621X1542-30342009-01-01200910.1155/2009/612723612723Experimental and Numerical Investigations of Air Cooling for a Large-Scale MotorChih-Chung Chang0Chiao-Hung Cheng1Ming-Tsun Ke2Sih-Li Chen3Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 106, TaiwanDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 106, TaiwanDepartment of Energy and Refrigerating Air-Conditioning Engineering, National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei 106, TaiwanDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 106, TaiwanThis article experimentally and numerically investigates the thermal performance of a 2350-kW completely enclosed motor, which is cooled through an air-to-air heat exchanger. The air in the heat exchanger includes external and internal flow paths. The external air driven by the rotation of the centrifugal fan goes through the heat exchanger mounted on the top of the frame. The internal air absorbs heat released from the stator and the rotor and then transfers the heat to the heat exchanger through the motion of two axial fans and the rotor. Several test rigs have been set up to measure the performance of the fan and the motor. The Fluent software package is adopted to analyze the complicated thermal-fluid interactions among the centrifugal fan, two axial fans, heat exchanger, stator, and rotor. The measured data, including the fan performance curves and the temperature profiles of the heat exchanger and the stator, show good agreement with the simulated results. The numerical calculations also show that the nonuniform external flow distribution through the heat exchanger and the air leakage between the axial fan and the rotor reduces the cooling ability of the motor. A detailed discussion is also included to improve the motor cooling performance.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2009/612723
spellingShingle Chih-Chung Chang
Chiao-Hung Cheng
Ming-Tsun Ke
Sih-Li Chen
Experimental and Numerical Investigations of Air Cooling for a Large-Scale Motor
International Journal of Rotating Machinery
title Experimental and Numerical Investigations of Air Cooling for a Large-Scale Motor
title_full Experimental and Numerical Investigations of Air Cooling for a Large-Scale Motor
title_fullStr Experimental and Numerical Investigations of Air Cooling for a Large-Scale Motor
title_full_unstemmed Experimental and Numerical Investigations of Air Cooling for a Large-Scale Motor
title_short Experimental and Numerical Investigations of Air Cooling for a Large-Scale Motor
title_sort experimental and numerical investigations of air cooling for a large scale motor
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2009/612723
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