E-motors and e-axles design by simulation

Market requirements and the need for reduced emissions are pushing the demand for hybrid and electric traction both in the transportation and in the off-highway sectors. Over the next years e-drive units and e-axles will continue to evolve to meet industry specific requirements like increase in power density, efficiency improvement, weight and cost reduction, reliability.
One key-factor for the development of e-axles is the thermal management. The e-motor temperature strongly affects both the efficiency and life of the system and, with the increasing power density, external water-cooling is not effective. For this reason, internal oil jet cooling concepts are already used by several players in order to cool down the components more efficiently. Moreover, the growing integration of the e-motor and transmission units allows for the use of the transmission fluid as the coolant in the e-motor. The development of this type of integrated cooling and lubrication system is still very dynamic with multiple players exploring its potential and limits.
In this frame, with new concepts to be designed and compared, the adoption of simulation techniques since the early stages of the development process is crucial to drive the design of the e-motor cooling system and to optimize the lubrication of the e-axles.