Thought Leadership

Simulation for electric motor design and system integration

In this webinar, we are privileged to learn from Paul Weal, Portfolio Development Executive for Simcenter, who has over 30 years of experience focusing on applying computer modeling and simulation towards the product development of industrial machines. Paul discusses using simulation to look at the performance of a motor so that you can optimize the design and show how that motor integrates within a system to look at system-level performance, hence finding the trade-off in the motor performance.

Paul Weal
Paul Weal, Portfolio Development Executive for Simcenter

 >Listen to the webinar.

Simulation trend promotes better efficiency and operational performance

Machinery manufacturing is becoming more complex as increased integration with software and electrical systems of machines combine with the manufacturing environment. Intelligent Performance Engineering solutions assist in automating the processes of sharing information between design teams, analysts, production test teams and service engineers, allowing evaluation of capabilities and limitations of product variations efficiently for machine manufacturers.

Electrification is happening everywhere in all industries, with electric motors playing a strong role. The next generation of motors is being challenged (from an engineering perspective) to create high efficiency with better operational performance and cost, thus a significant product differentiator. Within the electrification of systems, there is a broad application space to address speed, torque ranges, stop/start cycles and continuous operations. 

One of the driving differentiators is better efficiency by making parts smaller to reduce material cost and higher power densities for more robust products throughout the lifecycle and manufacturing process. Subsequently, Siemens is on a mission to fulfill its portfolio with tools and capabilities for electrification, using them for various electrical devices, motors, batteries and power circuits to control these devices.

Using Simcenter for motor design and performance

System simulation is often used in the early stages or concept of a design – focusing on physics versus geometry. As a design progresses, the geometry is available to leverage finite element analysis and competition-fluid dynamics. At a later stage, it’s essential to validate and integrate the systems to perform Software-in-the-Loop (SIL), Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) and Model-in-the-Loop (MIL). The combination of Simcenter provides the ability to address the following challenges: 

  • Electric machine pre sizing and detail design
  • Functional system validation
  • Virtual proof of concept
  • Controller calibration and optimization
  • Continuous e-motor operation
  • Model reduction for real-time simulation

Leveraging models into system-level simulation ensures proper motor sizing, overall energy efficiencies, control strategies and control precision testing. Additionally, it drives the models with intelligent design exploration methods for better and faster designs.

Also, the benefits of using finite element simulation for electric motor design presents system simulation approaches that allow fast and accurate transient analysis for system-level performance. 

Learn how to drive design decisions with simulation – optimizing motor design, assessing electric motor performance, and impacting system performance and detecting system integration issues early in the process. Simcenter, a simulation portfolio of Siemens, addresses the electric motor design and system analysis.

Software meeting customer demands

Siemens Digital Industries Software drives the transformation to enable a digital enterprise where engineering, manufacturing and electronics design meet tomorrow.

Xcelerator, the comprehensive and integrated portfolio of software and services from Siemens Digital Industries Software, helps companies of all sizes create and leverage a complete digital twin that provides organizations with new insights, opportunities, and automation levels to drive innovation.

For more information on Siemens Digital Industries Software products and services, visit siemens.com/software or follow us on LinkedInTwitterFacebook and Instagram.

Siemens Digital Industries Software – where today meets tomorrow.

Related links:
Listen to first podcast on Intelligent Performance Engineering.

About the expert:
Paul Weal, Portfolio Development Executive for Simcenter, has over 30 years’ experience focusing on the application of computer modeling and simulation towards the product development of Industrial Machines. He is highly proficient in Product Lifecycle Management performance engineering, model-based systems engineering and finite element analysis. He has a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale.

Bill Butcher

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This article first appeared on the Siemens Digital Industries Software blog at https://blogs.stage.sw.siemens.com/thought-leadership/2021/06/24/simulation-for-electric-motor-design-and-system-integration/