Comparison of Aluminium and Copper Conductors in Hairpin Winding Design for High Power Density Traction Motors

Petrelli, G.; Cui, M.; Zou, T.; Sala, G.; La Rocca, A.; Barater, D.; Franceschini, G.; Gerada, D.; Degano, M.; Gerada, C.

Abstract

Hairpin windings are becoming current/next generation solutions for traction motors of electric vehicles due to inherently reduced DC power losses and improved heat dissipation capability compared with random windings. Copper-based conductor has been widely accepted as default option for hairpin windings. Meanwhile, aluminum remains a popular conductor material based on its light-weight characteristic and flexibility in manufacturing. In this paper, both copper and aluminum conductors will be evaluated based on specific hairpin winding layout applied in design of a 150kW, 18000rpm traction motor. Influences of conductor sizes on machine performance and power losses will be investigated for these two winding materials by 2D FEA of parametrized machine topology. It is interesting to find that by bringing this "old-fashioned" comparison back to stage, aluminum conductor might be promising candidate for hairpin windings due to reduced AC losses, easier preforming and welding process and much reduced raw material costs

Citation

Petrelli, G., Cui, M., Zou, T., Sala, G., La Rocca, A., Barater, D., …Gerada, C. (2022). Comparison of Aluminium and Copper Conductors in Hairpin Winding Design for High Power Density Traction Motors. In 2022 International Conference on Electrical Machines (ICEM) (1635-1641). https://doi.org/10.1109/icem51905.2022.9910796

• Presentation Conference Type: Edited Proceedings
• Conference Name: International Conference on Electrical Machines (ICEM 2022)
• Start Date: Sep 5, 2022
• End Date: Sep 8, 2022
• Acceptance Date: Jun 7, 2022
• Online Publication Date: Oct 13, 2022
• Publication Date: 2022
• Deposit Date: Jun 18, 2023
• Pages: 1635-1641
• Series Title: International Conference on Electrical Machines (ICEM)
• Series ISSN: 2381-4802
• Book Title: 2022 International Conference on Electrical Machines (ICEM)
• ISBN: 9781665414333
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/icem51905.2022.9910796
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/12888316
• Publisher URL: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9910796