NUMERICAL ANALYSIS AND EXPERI- MENT OF UNSTEADY THERMAL FIELD OF ROTOR PLATE FOR EDDY CURRENT RETARDER

The physical model based on heat transfer theory and virtual boundary method for analyzing unsteady thermal field of rotor plate for eddy current retarder used in automobile is established and boundary conditions are also defined. The finite element governing equation is derived by Galerkin method. The time differential item is discrete based on Galerkin format that is stable at any condition. And a new style of varying time step method is used in iteration process. The thermal field on the rotor plate at the radial and axle directions is analyzed and varying temperature at appointed points on two side-surfaces is measured. The testing and analytical data are uniform approximately. Finite element method can be used for estimating thermal field of the rotor plate at initial design stage of eddy current retarder.