Thermal - Transient

1. Positioning and objective

The aim of “Characterization – Thermal – Motor & Generator – Transient” test is to evaluate the impact of electromagnetic performance on thermal behavior of the machine in a transient mode.

A thermal working point defined by a speed and a set of losses can be considered to compute the temperature charts and the main thermal parameters. The inputs describing the thermal working point can be set manually or imported from electromagnetic tests that were previously solved.

In addition to that, a maximum evaluation duration and a time step are added as inputs to set the transient mode.

This test helps to answer the following questions:
  • Can the machine operate at the targeted working point without any overheating? Yes / No
  • Can the different kinds of proposed cooling help to reach good performance? Yes / No
  • How long does it take to reach the thermal steady state and what are the thermal time constants of the machine?

The following table helps to classify the test “Characterization – Thermal – Motor & Generator – Steady state”.

Family Characterization
Package Thermal
Convention Motor & Generator
Test Transient
Positioning of the test “Characterization – Thermal – Motor & Generator – Transient”

2. User inputs

The main inputs are the losses to be considered for evaluating the corresponding thermal behavior of the machine, the speed, a maximum evaluation duration and a time step.

3. Main outputs

Here are the main results available:

  • Temperature charts versus time – radial and axial view
  • Main temperature curve versus time and final temperature table
  • Heat capacity and time constant table


Illustration of results