Estimation of Iron Losses in Induction Motors: Calculation Method, Results, and Analysis

This paper intends to develop a more accurate approach for determining the no-load iron losses in pulse width modulation (PWM) inverter fed induction motors. The proposed method is validated by means of a prototype motor with a plastic rotor cage. The iron losses have been computed by the time-stepping finite element method, both with sinusoidal and PWM supply. The iron losses have then been estimated by adding up the contribution generated by orthogonal components of the flux density, as if the iron losses generated by these components were independent phenomena. The rotational hysteresis losses, as well as excess ones, have been calculated applying a correction factor based on experimental data. These factors are a function of the peak flux density and ellipticity of the B vector loci. Experimental validations are provided for several frequency and magnetic saturation values. In addition, this paper demonstrates the necessity to consider the harmonics initial phase in order to increase the accuracy in the iron loss prediction.