Transient thermal exchange analysis of an external rotor hub motor for electrified defense vehicles applications based on FVM and TNM

This article investigates the transient temperature distribution law of a 75 kW external rotor hub motor for electrified defense vehicles (EDVs) using the finite volume method (FVM) and the thermal network method (TNM). Based on thermal exchange and fluid flow theories, both a transient fluid-solid coupled thermal exchange model and a lumped parameter thermal network model (LPTNM) with transient thermal capacity parameters are established. An iterative algorithm for the heat transfer coefficient is proposed to improve the accuracy of LPTNM. Compared with existing methods, this algorithm exhibits higher accuracy and stronger practicality. In addition, an experimental platform of the hub motor temperature rise is built for measuring the end winding temperature. The calculated results are in good agreement with the experimental results, verifying the rationality of the 3-D transient fluid-solid coupled thermal exchange model and the LPTNM. The axial parallel water channel structure was adopted to improve the cooling performance of the end winding, taking into account the structural characteristics and assembly mode of the hub motor. This article provides theoretical references for the transient thermal analysis and cooling structure design of the EDV hub motor.