Cooling jacket development for electric motors used in e-aircrafts

Most modern airplanes are powered with IC engines because electrical propulsion was not feasible at the dawn of powered flight. It became viable only recently due to advancements made on electric propulsion systems. Weight and space are key factors for airplanes. Increasing the power density of the engine can enable the design of more efficient and more powerful planes. One way to achieve this is to increase the power level of the electric motor which also increases the power loss. In this case more efficient cooling is needed to remove the excess heat. The aim of this paper is to determine the optimal cooling solution for the stator of a radial flux permanent magnet (PM) electric motor which is installed in an electric airplane. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is used for the comparison of the developed concepts and their sub-concepts. The results are detailed for every initial concept and then the three best designs are chosen for further optimisation. Most modern airplanes are powered with IC engines because electrical propulsion was not feasible at the dawn of powered flight. It became viable only recently due to advancements made on electric propulsion systems. Weight and space are key factors for airplanes. Increasing the power density of the engine can enable the design of more efficient and more powerful planes. One way to achieve this is to increase the power level of the electric motor which also increases the power loss. In this case more efficient cooling is needed to remove the excess heat. The aim of this paper is to determine the optimal cooling solution for the stator of a radial flux permanent magnet (PM) electric motor which is installed in an electric airplane. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is used for the comparison of the developed concepts and their sub-concepts. The results are detailed for every initial concept and then the three best designs are chosen for further optimisation