Thermal Analysis of a Small,Totally Enclosed,Fan-Cooled Induction Motor

Abstract

Improving cooling performance is a key factor when developing induction motors in smaller sizes with larger capacities and higher rotational speeds. Doing so, however, requires thermal analysis to discover the major parameters in the cooling design. This study investigates temperature distributions and heat transfer rates in a small, totally enclosed, fan-cooled induction motor with both numerical and experimental methods. Parametric studies show that (1) the frame is of the utmost importance in the design and (2) that cooling the motor close to stator coils is the most effective method for cooling. Quantitative analyses show the relationship between the size of the motor and the rise in coil temperature.

The results from transient and steady-state experiments using a real motor show that (1) the hottest spot is in the rotor surface, and (2) the load-side surface has a higher temperature than that of the fan-side. The hottest spot in the stator coils is the outer surface of the load-side endwinding. The coil temperature is also significantly affected by the attached components of the frame, as well as the contact state between the stator iron and the frame. It is recommended that the current outer fan be redesigned to improve cooling performance.     

Simulation analysis of cooling methods of an on‐board organic Rankine cycle exhaust heat recovery system

Energy saving and emission reduction of engines were taken seriously, especially for vehicular diesel engines. Exhaust heat recovery based on organic Rankine cycle (ORC) system has been considered as an effective approach for improving engine fuel economy. This article presents the investigation of water or air cooling method for an ORC exhaust heat recovery system on a heavy‐duty truck through simulations. The models of the truck engine and the ORC system were developed in GT suite, and the integration system model was developed in the Simulink environment. The validity of the models was verified experimentally. The performance of the vehicular engine with ORC system using water or air cooling method was comparatively analyzed. The simulation results indicated that the water cooling method is more suitable for the vehicular ORC system than air cooling method. The relation between benefit and penalty of the ORC system and cooling system was discussed. The operating condition of the cooling system was confirmed having significant effects on the combined system performance, especially the fan speed. The performance improvement of the engine with the use of ORC system was further evaluated under different engine operating conditions and ambient temperatures. Lower ambient temperature had positive effects on the engine fuel economy. The mass flow rate of exhaust gas for heat recovery should be regulated for better performance under high ambient temperature.     

变容量家庭能源中心单独制热水模式的实验研究

提出了可全年供应空调和热水需要的变容量家庭能源中心系统,并提出单独制热水模式下的性能系数计算方法。通过对该模式瞬时动态特性的研究,指出变容量压缩机可以有效地保证机组的安全可靠运行。实验研究了单独制热水模式在不同环境温度、不同压缩机负荷条件下的性能。结果表明,在同一压缩机负荷条件下,热水性能系数均随环境温度的升高而升高,与传统热泵热水器的变化趋势相同。而压缩机负荷变化对机组热水性能系数的影响在不同的环境温度下呈现不同的规律,因此,可根据不同的环境温度优化控制压缩机负荷,以提高制热水效率,节约能源。     

Performance improvement of a pulse tube cryocooler with a single compressor through cascade utilization of cold energy

The high-frequency pulse tube cryocooler (HPTC) has been attracting increasing and widespread attention in the field of cryogenic technology because of its compact structure, low vibration, and reliable operation. The gas-coupled HPTC, driven by a single compressor, is currently the simplest and most compact structure. For HPTCs operating below 20 K, in order to obtain the mW cooling capacity, hundreds or even thousands of watts of electrical power are consumed, where radiation heat leakage accounts for a large proportion of their cooling capacity. In this paper, based on SAGE10, a HPTC heat radiation calculation model was first established to study the effects of radiation heat leakage on apparent performance parameters (such as temperature and cooling capacity), and internal parameters (such as enthalpy flow and gas distribution) of the gas-coupled HPTC. An active thermal insulation method of cascade utilization of the cold energy of the system was proposed for the gas-coupled HPTC. Numerical simulations indicate that the reduction of external radiation heat leakage cannot only directly increase the net cooling power, but also decrease the internal gross losses and increase the mass and acoustic power in the lower-temperature section, which further enhances the refrigeration performance. The numerical calculation results were verified by experiments, and the test results showed that the no-load temperature of the developed cryocooler prototype decreased from 15.1 K to 6.4 K, and the relative Carnot efficiency at 15.5 K increased from 0.029% to 0.996% when substituting the proposed active method for the traditional passive method with multi-layer thermal insulation materials.     

Theoretical Investigation on Thermal Performance of New Structure Closed Wet Cooling Tower

Thermal performance of closed wet cooling tower (CWCT) with packing is analyzed using experiments and numerical simulations. The effect of cooling water flow direction on the performance is discussed. The results show that the packing plays an important role in improving the cooling effect of the CWCT. Under the same operating conditions, the cooling water outlet temperature of CWCT with packing is lower than that of CWCT without packing between 0.6°C and 1.5°C the cooling efficiency of CWCT with packing is higher than that of CWCT without packing between 6.0% and 14.8%. The concurrent cooling water flow direction results in more uniform temperature differences between cooling water and the spray water, which can benefit the cooling water outlet temperature 0.3–0.7°C and the cooling efficiency 3.0–9.5%.     

推广变频调速节能产品的障碍与对策

电机被广泛地用于拖动风扇、泵、鼓风机、空气压缩机、制冷压缩机、传送装置和其他类型设备,其年耗电量超过6000亿kWh。据初步统计分析,目前各类电机的效率约比国外低3～5个百分点,风机和泵的效率要比发达国家低2～5个百分点,整体在用的电机拖动系统运行效率比国外低20%左右。由此可见,电机系统节能是目前中国节能市场上最具商业潜力的领域,变频调速技术以其具有调速速率高、范围大、调节精度高、启动能耗小等优点,得到世界各国学术界和工业界的公认。但是,目前加速推广这项技术还存在着价格高、技术较复杂及对电网污染等问题。本文就这些问题进行了初步分析并提出了相关对策建议。     

农业机械发动机冷却系统柔性导风罩的试验研究

对传统发动机冷却系统导风罩进行了改进，对其在发动机室内的布局进行了设计。对柔性导风罩的冷却性能进行了理论分析，并在498柴油机上进行了试验研究。分析了传统导风罩与柔性导风罩的径向间隙对发动机冷却风扇容积效率的影响，散热器进出口处的冷却水温度变化情况等。试验表明：这种柔性导风罩可提高风扇的容积效率，减少风扇的驱动功率，降低燃油消耗。     

冷却塔内小型混流式水轮机的设计及数值模拟

为减少冷却塔内小型混流式水轮机生产工艺过程的复杂性和较高的制造成本,以水动风机冷却塔内流量为3 000 t/h的小型混流式水轮机为研究对象进行结构设计。通过CFD对设计后的水轮机模型进行全流道三维定常湍流数值模拟,数值模拟中采用单方程Spalart-Allmars湍流模型,假定水流为不可压缩流体,不考虑能量方程,仅将质量守恒和动量守恒作为控制方程。结果表明,所设计的小型混流式水轮机整体流态较好,水力性能稳定,在设计转速149 r/min时,流量和出力均达到了驱动冷却塔内风机的要求,且水轮机效率较高。     

Research on performance of liquid drive fan cooling system for hydrogen fuel cell forklift

Due to the large energy consumption as well as poor controllability and other problems, the traditional cooling system has not been able to adapt to the development needs of construction machinery with the continuous upgrading of emission regulations. This paper introduces a hydraulic driven fan cooling system based on pilot operated electro-hydraulic proportional valve. In order to make the whole machine quickly reach the temperature required in the best working condition when the construction machinery starts working, controlling the fan at a lower speed can reduce the heat dissipation and save energy. The electronic control system will adjust the motor speed in time when the temperature of the fluid rises, and control the temperature in the best temperature range required. A one-dimensional simulation model of this stepless speed control system is established to predict the parameter sensitivity of the electro-hydraulic proportional valve and the dynamic performance of the system. The simulation shows that the fan speed of the system can reach the required speed in only 5s at the extreme high temperature of 40 °C; the fan input power of the system accounts for 65% of the system input power at ?30 °C and reaches 80% at 40 °C. Three-dimensional simulation shows that the fan-front temperature-controlled cooling system for forklift truck has high heat dissipation efficiency and can be applied to other heavy machinery products.     

集中式循环冷却水系统能量分析

针对火电厂、石化等大型及特大型企业的冷却水用水量消耗巨大的问题,分析了集中式循环冷却水系统的能量。为提高循环冷却水系统内的能量利用效率,在现阶段循环冷却水系统流行的两种设计方法即按水泵扬程最小化和按基建投资最优的基础上,提出了利用水动风机冷却塔和生态小水电两种冗余能量回收改造法;为便于直观比较各设计方法的节能效果,提出了冗余能量系数λ,提供了一种工业循环冷却水系统设计方法的选择标准。     

Computational analysis of temperature rise phenomena in electric induction motors

In developing electric machines in general, and induction motors in particular, temperature limits is a key factor affecting the efficiency of the overall design. Since conventional loading of induction motors is often expensive, the estimation of temperature rise by tools of mathematical modelling and computational experiments becomes increasingly important. In the present paper we develop and validate experimentally a model accounting for losses and describing thermal phenomena in induction motors. The developed model has been implemented in FEMLAB, and has been applied to predict temperature rise in totally enclosed fan-cooled induction motors. Comparisons with experimental results obtained with a 1.5 kW standard squirrel-cage induction motor show the effectiveness of the developed model in predicting temperature rise for a range of operating conditions, in particular for different frequencies and voltages. Finally, a SIMULINK-based control loop has been developed by using the thermal model as an input.     

Performance of an experimental ground-coupled heat pump system for heating,cooling and domestic hot-water operation

The ground-coupled heat pump (GCHP) system is a type of renewable energy technology providing space heating and cooling as well as domestic hot water. However, experimental studies on GCHP systems are still insufficient. This paper first presents an energy-operational optimisation device for a GCHP system involving insertion of a buffer tank between the heat pump unit and fan coil units and consumer supply using quantitative adjustment with a variable speed circulating pump. Then, the experimental measurements are used to test the performance of the GCHP system in different operating modes. The main performance parameters (energy efficiency and CO₂ emissions) are obtained for one month of operation using both classical and optimised adjustment of the GCHP system, and a comparative analysis of these performances is performed. In addition, using TRNSYS (Transient Systems Simulation) software, two simulation models of thermal energy consumption in heating, cooling and domestic hot-water operation are developed. Finally, the simulations obtained using TRNSYS are analysed and compared to experimental data, resulting in good agreement and thus the simulation models are validated.     

Empirical model for the quantitative prediction of losses of radial fans based on CFD calculations

In a classical layout process of a fan the quantity of losses is estimated as a sum and expressed in the overall efficiency rate η. However the characteristic of the pressure rise, the losses and the efficiency rate beside the design point is not known. Against this background a numerical model was developed to calculate quantitative values of occurring losses at radial fan impellers at an early stage in the design process. It allows to estimate the pressure rise and efficiency rate of a given fan geometry at and beside the design point. The physics of losses are described in literature, but obtaining quantitative values is still a challenge. As common in hydraulic theory the losses are calculated with analytic formulas supported by coefficients and efficiency rates, which have to be determined empirically. This paper shows the method how to determine the coefficients for a given radial fan. Therefore a representative radial fan with backward curved blades was designed in reference to classical design guidelines. Performance measuring was done conform to ISO 5801. The flow was calculated at 8 different operation points using CFD methods. The RANS equations are solved by using the SST-k-omega turbulence model. The flow domain consists of one blade section including inlet channel and outflow chamber. Spatial discretization is done by a block-structured mesh of approx. 1.8 million cells. Performance data show a very good agreement between measurement and calculation.     

A novel approach to the data center hybrid cooling design with containment

Hybrid cooling solutions, which consist of the installation of heat exchangers near IT equipment, aim to eliminate hot spots in data centers containing high-density computer cabinets. In addition, cold aisle containment is often used to reduce hot air recirculation to improve energy efficiency. However, the viability and efficiency of each hybrid cooling strategy with or without containment depend on the IT load and equipment arrangement, and no formal procedure exists for selecting the most efficient strategy for a given application. Therefore, this study provides a computational approach for ranking the performance of different cooling strategies based on their capacity and cooling efficiency. The results of analyses indicate that applying containment is beneficial in (1) lowering the maximum temperature of the air entering the racks as airflow rates are increased, and (2) increasing the uniformity of rack inlet temperatures. However, applying containment also requires additional mechanical work by the computer room air handler (CRAH) fan, which may raise the data center power usage effectiveness (PUE). Application of the computational approach discussed here highlights the use of hybrid cooling to lower PUE by reducing the CRAH fan power.     

Thermally activated building systems (TABS): Energy efficiency as a function of control strategy,hydronic circuit topology and (cold) generation system

By integrating the building structure as thermal energy storage into the building services concept, thermally activated building systems (TABS) have proven to be economically viable for the heating and cooling of buildings. Having already developed an integrated design method and various control concepts in the past, in the present paper the impact of different aspects of TABS regarding the energetic performance of such systems is analyzed. Based on a simulation case study for a typical Central European office building, the following conclusions can be drawn. The energy efficiency of TABS is significantly influenced by the hydronic circuit topology used. With separate zone return pipes energy savings of approximately 15–25 kW h/m² a, or 20–30% of heating as well as cooling demand, can be achieved, compared to common zone return pipes, where energy losses occur due to mixing of return water. A strong impact on energy efficiency can also be observed for the control strategy. Thus, by intermittent operation of the system using pulse width modulation control (PWM), the electricity demand for the water circulation pumps can be reduced by more than 50% compared to continuous operation. Concerning cold generation for TABS, it is shown that free cooling with a wet cooling tower is most efficient, if the cold source is the outside air. Variants with mechanical chillers exhibit 30–50% higher electricity demands for cold generation and distribution, even though their runtimes are much shorter compared to the cooling tower runtimes. In conclusion, the results show that significant energy savings can be achieved using adapted system topologies and applying appropriate control solutions for TABS.     

Low exergy (LowEx) heating and cooling systems for sustainable buildings and societies

Heating, cooling and lighting appliances in buildings account for more than one third of the world's primary energy demand and there are great potentials, which can be obtained through better applications of the energy use in buildings. In this regard, the building sector has a high potential for improving the quality match between energy supply and demand because high temperature sources are used to meet low-temperature heating needs. Low exergy (or LowEx) systems are defined as heating or cooling systems that allow the use of low valued energy, which is delivered by sustainable energy sources (i.e., through heat pumps, solar collectors, either separate or linked to waste heat, energy storage) as the energy source. These systems practically provide heating and cooling energy at a temperature close to room temperature while the so-called LowEx approach, which has been and still being successfully used in sustainable buildings design.The present study comprehensively reviews the studies conducted on LowEx heating and cooling systems for establishing the sustainable buildings. In this context, an introductory information is given first. Next, energy utilization and demand in buildings are summarized while various exergy definitions and sustainability aspects along with dead (reference) state are described. LowEx heating and cooling systems are then introduced. After that, LowEx relations used to estimate energy and exergy demand in buildings and key parameters for performance assessment and comparison purposes are presented. Finally, LowEx studies and applications conducted are reviewed while the last section concludes. The exergy efficiency values of the LowEx heating and cooling systems for buildings are obtained to range from 0.40% to 25.3% while those for greenhouses vary between 0.11% and 11.5%. The majority of analyses and assessments of LowEx systems are based on heating of buildings.     

现代发动机冷却系统的发展趋势

传统发动机冷却系统由于自身的被动性影响，其工作性能受到限制。在部分负荷时会造成功率损失，而汽车在此工况下行驶的时间最长。介绍一些先进冷却系统的设计和工作特点，这些系统既能起到保护发动机的作用，又能改善燃油效率和降低排放污染物。     

Techno-economic performance analysis of solar cooling systems

Vapour absorption cooling systems, powered by solar thermal energy, are now commercially manufactured in sizes ranging from 1.5 to over 20 RT (one refrigeration ton = 3.51 kW of cooling). The needed thermal energy at appropriate temperature potential can either be provided by solar thermal collectors or else from a solar pond. The paper gives the assessment criteria and results for technical and economic evaluation of the performance of absorption chiller using a solar pond. These results, based on Kuwait's environmental data and costs, have been compared with three alternate cooling systems, namely:

• 1 Solar thermal collector absorption cooling system.
• 2 Solar photovoltaic cooling system.
• 3 Standard vapour compression cooling system.

The criteria, used for performance evaluation of the solar cooling systems on a technical basis, consists of assessing the extent to which such systems can make a positive contribution in a conserving fossil fuel. This is done by first estimating the total electrical energy needed by the standard system (defined in para. 3 above) to produce one unit of cooling output. Solar cooling systems are then analysed and compared with a standard system to establish their electrical energy saving or generation capability, after accounting for the parasitic electrical energy used in pump/fan motors and equivalent energy needed for the production of soft water (used-up in the cooling tower) from seawater desalination. The economic analysis considers the cost and life of subsystems and that of the electrical and water desalination plants to arrive at the unit cooling cost. The unit cooling is defined as the ratio of amortized capital investments plus operation and maintenance costs over the year and the total yearly cooling production by the system. The results show that the solar pond absorption cooling system is the closest competitor to the conventional cooling system.     

Heat transfer and performance characteristics of axial cooling fans with downstream guide vanes

This study examines experimentally the effect of stators on the performance and heat transfer characteristics of small axial cooling fans. A single fan impeller, followed by nine stator blades in the case of a complete stage, was used for all the experimental configurations. Performance measurements were carried out in a constant speed stage performance test rig while the transient liquid crystal technique was used for the heat transfer measurements. Full surface heat transfer coefficient distributions were obtained by recording the temperature history of liquid crystals on a target plate. The experimental data indicated that the results are highly affected by the flow conditions at the fan outlet. Stators can be beneficial in terms of pressure drop and efficiency, and thus more economical operation, as well as, in the local heat transfer distribution at the wake of the stator blades if the fan is installed very close to the cooling object. However, as the separation distance increases, enhanced heat transfer rate in the order of 25% is observed in the case of the fan impeller.     

Performance evaluation and comparison of multistage indirect evaporative cooling systems in two operation modes

The evaporative cooling technique is an efficient approach for cooling application. This study aims to establish a performance evaluation method to advance the appropriate design for multistage indirect evaporative cooling systems. A mathematical formulation has been developed for the indirect evaporative cooler (IEC). After the validation, the mathematical model was used to analyze the evaluation criteria by considering the simultaneous influence of the cooling effectiveness, the pressure drop, and the cooling capacity of the multistage IEC operating in two modes. The Mode-1 IEC is a conventional counterflow unit, while the Mode-2 IEC employs a regenerative M-cycle arrangement. The IECs are operated in a tandem arrangement. The multistage system is capable of improving the cooling performance and reducing the outlet air temperature. In addition, the multistage system displays a higher pressure drop resulting in a lager consumption of fan power. The analysis of performance evaluation criteria indicates that the appropriate maximum stage is suggested to be three-stage and two-stage for the Mode-1 and the Mode-2 IEC, respectively.