Manufacturing Effects on Iron Losses in Electrical Machines

Sammanfattning: In this master thesis, the magnetic properties of SiFe laminations after cutting and welding are studied. The permeability and the iron loss density are investigated since they are critical characteristics for the performance of electrical machines. The magnetic measurements are conducted on an Epstein frame for sinusoidal variations of the magnetic ux density at frequencies of 50, 100 and 200 Hz, according to IEC 404-2. Mechanical cutting with guillotine and cutting by means of ber and CO2 laser are performed. The inuence of the ber laser settings is also investigated. Especially the assisting gas pressure and the power, speed and frequency of the laser beam are considered. In order to increase the cutting e ect, the specimens include Epstein strips with 1, 2 and 3 additional cutting edges along their length. It is found that mechanical cutting degrades the magnetic properties of the material less than laser cutting. For 1.8% Si laminations, mechanical cutting causes up to 35% higher iron loss density and 63% lower permeability, compared to standard Epstein strips (30 mm wide). The corresponding degradation for laser cut laminations is 65% iron loss density increase and 65% permeability drop. Material of lower thickness but with the same Si-content shows lower magnetic deterioration. Additionally, laser cutting with high-power/high-speed characteristics leads to the best magnetic characteristics among 15 laser settings. High speed settings have positive impact on productivity, since the cutting time decreases. The inuence of welding is investigated by means of Epstein measurements. The test specimens include strips with 1, 3, 5 and 10 welding points. Experiments show an iron loss increase up to 50% with a corresponding 62% reduction in the permeability. A model that incorporates the cutting e ect is developed and implemented in a FEMbased motor design software. Simulations are made for a reference induction motor. The results indicate a 30% increase in the iron losses compared to a model that does not consider the cutting e ect. In case of laser cut core laminations, this increase reaches 50%. The degradation prole considers also the deteriorated magnetizing properties. This leads to increased nominal current up to 1.7% for mechanically cut laminations and 3.4% for laser cut la