Thermal analysis of permanent magnet synchronous linear motor accounting for three-phase current unbalance

Three-phase current unbalance is a common winding fault of the motor, which will bring local overheating, cause security risks and economic losses, accurate temperature rise calculation and thermal flux characteristics analysis of the motor working in three-phase current unbalance are necessary and challenging. However, little research has been conducted on the thermal characteristics and analysis methods for the permanent magnet synchronous linear motor (PMSLM) working in three-phase current unbalance. To address this problem, a multilayer composite flat wall model contained heat source of the primary is proposed firstly to analysis the heat transfer characteristics of the PMSLM caused by three-phase current unbalance qualitatively. Then, the heat transfer and temperature distribution characteristics of the PMSLM are obtained by calculating the fluid-thermal coupling model of the PMSLM directly. What's more, the effect of current grade on heat transfer is analyzed by comparing the heat transfer characteristics of the PMSLM working in four different three-phase current balance cases. Finally, the qualitative analysis and fluid-thermal analysis results are verified experimentally with a PMSLM adopting four different three-phase current unbalance conditions. Thermal analysis of the PMSLM working in three-phase current unbalance makes it is possible to prevent local heat accumulation and avoid unexpected interruptions for the redundant motor system and the fault tolerant motor system.