An Efficient and Automated Design Strategy for Multiphysics E-Motor Development

Standard design processes for e-motors foresee siloed development of different attributes depending on nature and type of requirements. Thus, electromagnetic, thermal, mechanical and NVH attributes are developed individually which leads to unfavorable compromises and/or late costly firefighting. Mercedes-AMG GmbH are developing high-performance e-motors that deliver maximum performance under severe driving conditions. This requires high attention to durability and thermal effects and although serving high-performance cars, the motors must fulfill highest NVH standards. Altair Engineering has introduced Simulation-Driven Design (SDD) to support holistic, multiphysics development of e-motors. SDD processes are introduced to enhance classical development by accounting for essential development requirements simultaneously using optimization and by continuously providing a maximum of information to support the design process. This paper introduces a pilot application of a unique, highly automatic, multiphysics design process for e-motors, based on a current e-motor program at AMG. The process is developed to consider essential development requirements including electromagnetics and thermal requirements, NVH, stress and durability. It accommodates for DOE, multi-objective optimization and design exploration methods to be used to explore and find feasible motor designs. The paper will show how the strategy adds efficiency to the e-motor development process and how it can impact the total costs of development. The uniqueness of this development lies in the automation of the multiphysics design process and the creation of an environment to democratize multiphysics design optimization within the e-motor design departments.