Multi-discipline simulation of axial flux motors for next-generation EVs

March 2024 IT in Manufacturing

Siemens Digital Industries Software’s Simcenter E-Machine Design software helps electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers and their associated supply chains to predict the performance of e-machines accurately, including axial flux electric drive units. The new solution from the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio of industry software brings together electromagnetic and thermal simulation, helping reduce reliance on physical prototyping, and enabling the EV industry to accelerate innovation.

“The electric vehicle industry is facing challenges from many directions, including supply chain issues, the ability to scale, and the pursuit of innovation driven by increasingly demanding customers,” said senior vice president, Jean-Claude Ercolanelli. “By adopting cutting-edge simulation capabilities to develop new products and technologies in shorter timescales than ever achieved, the EV industry can focus on delivering the innovation required to stay relevant in a rapidly changing market.”

Axial flux motors can positively impact the EV range due to their increased power density; but engineers adopting them face more challenging heat dissipation requirements due to their compact size and complexity, and difficulties in accommodating the required air gap. The complex nature of these motors is challenging engineers, and many are turning to advanced simulation to help reduce development costs and time.

Delivered as part of the latest updates to the Simcenter software, the new Simcenter E-Machine Design solution allows engineers to use parameterised templates and analytical modelling in the early stages of development. They can then continue working on their design in 3D with full Finite Element Analysis (FEA) simulations when more complex investigations are required, such as advanced thermal interactions.

Simcenter now also includes a simplified electric vehicle powertrain development process, from motor design to noise, vibration and harshness (NVH). Electromagnetic loads from the new Simcenter E-Machine Design software are easily transferred to Simcenter 3D software for further acoustics and mechanical motion performance analysis.

The new smart virtual sensing capability empowers test engineers to simulate the unmeasurable. The new tool integrates simulation with physical testing to enable physical test teams to position virtual sensors in critical areas where physical sensors cannot be placed due to location or the complex geometry. This enables measurement of the unmeasurable by using a reduced order model featuring virtual sensors that run in real time alongside a physical test. It combines data from physical strain gauges with a reduced order model to compute operational loading conditions. This enables engineers to calculate results at the ‘unreachable’ critically located virtual sensor.

Design space exploration is also now fully integrated into Simcenter 3D, enabling the automation of design parameter modification, updating the simulation model, reviewing results, and iterating to explore design tradeoffs or achieve an optimal result. The associative integration of CAD geometry, simulation modelling and automation allows the creation of hundreds of runs without user intervention, helping designers and engineers explore more possibilities for their products.

For more information contact Siemens South Africa, cbcqueries.za@siemens.com, www.siemens.co.za

Credit(s)

Siemens South Africa

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