Optimal Electromagnetic-Thermo-Mechanical Integrated Design Candidate Search and Selection for Surface-Mount Permanent-Magnet Machines Considering Load Profiles

Most existing design and optimization methods treat the electromagnetic, thermal, and mechanical designs separately. As a result, the effects of power supply, machine control, load profile, thermal effects, and materials are not fully integrated and accounted for, which often leads to over- or underdesign. This paper proposes an innovative and computationally efficient approach which integrates the electromagnetic and thermo-mechanical design for surface mount permanent magnet machines. Particle swarm optimization is part of this integrated process to efficiently find design candidates which optimize certain requirements, such as weight, efficiency, etc. The effects of power supplies, machine controls, load profiles, thermal effects, and materials can thus all be considered systematically in the proposed multiphysics design approach. This results in a multiphysics design tool that can rapidly locate an optimal design candidate for further consideration.