The Effect of Fins Design on the Thermal Characteristics of Electric Motors for Electric Vehicles

The increasing public demand for electric vehicles also impacts the demand for electric motors. The prominent problem electric motors faces are excess heat when operating because it affects the age and performance of the electric motor. Installing fins on the electric motor housing is one way to reduce heat on the electric motor. In this study, a comparison of the six-fin design was carried out, and the effect on the thermal characteristics of the electric motor was examined. Fins are mounted radially and axially. The six types of fin designs studied are radial fins-round, radial fins-square, radial fins-servo, axial fins-round, axial fins-square, and axial fins-servo. The research uses the lumped circuit models method, and the software used is Motor-CAD. The type of electric motor being studied is a brushless permanent magnet machine (BPM) with an internal rotor. The study's findings indicate that the fin's performance in cooling the electric motor depends on its area. The lower temperatures in the axial fins-servo and radial fins-square compared to other fin designs are due to the broader area of the axial fins-servo and radial fins-square compared to the others. Axially mounted fins provide better cooling than radially mounted fins. For example, the winding temperature on the axial fins-servo is 140.54°C, and the winding temperature on the radial fins-square is 140.86°C even though the area of the axial fins-servo is 22.7% smaller than the area of the radial fins-servo.