Finite element approach to iron and stray loss-at-source computation in salient pole alternators

A method for calculating iron losses in the stator and rotor cores of a salient pole alternator is described. Finite-element techniques are used for the computation of the electromagnetic field. The time variation of the flux density in each mesh element is obtained by time stepping. Fourier analysis is used to deduce the appropriate harmonic content. The composite loss per unit axial length associated with each element can then be utilized either as a loss-at-source component for accurate thermal modeling or, by single summation, for calculation of total iron loss