Two-Piece End Winding Support for Fracture-Resistant Rotors
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional end winding supports in electric machines experience high stress levels, leading to fractures, and increasing material strength either results in high costs or non-conductive supports that fail to meet functional requirements.
Innovation Solution
The end winding support is designed with a two-piece configuration, where a first part with an elongate body and a second part are press-fitted together, featuring grooves and recesses to secure a busbar and containment band, reducing stress concentrations and facilitating lubricant flow.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If material strength of the end winding support is increased to prevent fractures, then reliability is improved, but cost increases or electrical non-conductivity is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The end winding support is divided into two separate parts: a first part that contacts the conductive winding and a second part that provides structural support. This segmentation allows each part to be optimized independently - the first part can be made from electrically non-conductive material while the second part can use higher strength material, thus preventing fractures without uniformly increasing cost across the entire support structure.
2Reliability
If material strength of the end winding support is increased to prevent fractures, then reliability is improved, but electrical non-conductivity may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the support into two parts with different material properties, the first part maintains electrical non-conductivity to prevent unwanted electrical contact with the conductive winding, while the second part provides the necessary mechanical strength for fracture resistance. This resolves the contradiction between reliability and electrical non-conductivity.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the end winding support are assigned different material qualities - the first part uses electrically non-conductive material where electrical isolation is critical, while the second part uses high-strength material where mechanical support is critical. This local differentiation simultaneously achieves both electrical non-conductivity and fracture resistance.
Data Source
AI summary
An end winding support of a rotor of an electric machine is provided. The end winding support includes a first part and a second part. The first part includes an elongate body about which a conductive winding is wound. The elongate body has a surface defining a first groove. The second part is attached to the first part. The second part includes a body which extends outwardly from the elongate body and which has a surface defining a second groove corresponding to the first groove.