Heat Pipe Cooled Induction Motor

The feasibility of employing heat pipe cooling in an A-C Induction Motor has been demonstrated with the successful analysis, design and construction of an experimental motor. The heat pipes were integrally designed into both the rotor and stator of the motor allowing the heat absorbing section (evaporator) of the heat pipes to be placed as close as possible to the points of heat generation. The experimental portion of this effort demonstrated the thermal effectiveness of this configuration as well as supplying verification of a prior thermal analysis of this type of motor. The overall performance indicated the motor is applicable for adjustable speed operation at constant torque through an seven-to-one speed range as well as producing information on the operating characteristics under varying load and frequency conditions.