Development of comprehensive and interactive training programme for thermal design of electric motors

The rate at which the world transitions to greener technologies determines the success of limiting climate change to a reversible level. Electric motors form a pivotal part of green technologies, providing electric alternates to the fossil-fuel burning status-quo. Designing effective cooling systems for electric motors is essential to ensure reliable operation. As power density increases, so does the amount of heat that requires dissipating. Detailed thermal design is crucial for electric motors to meet these ambitious performance goals.

The need for specialist thermal engineering skills in this sector is increasing, and currently, the demand for this skill outstrips supply. As a result, many motor developers rely on engineers without formal thermal engineering training to undertake this aspect of the design.

This project addresses the talent shortage in two ways:

1\. Provide engaging, hands-on training to engineers in the workforce, equipping them with knowledge and tools for performing thermal analysis

2\. Improve the quality of thermal engineering education at teaching institutions for the next generation of engineers entering the workforce

This project continues work from a successful and informative feasibility study, which provided detail of the current landscape of demand and availability of training in this field as well as developing the foundations of a training course that meets customers' needs. Within this project, a full training program will be developed on the thermal management of electric motors. This will be delivered to upskill engineers in the industry, as well to undergraduate and postgraduate students, the engineers of the future.

Electrical Cooling Solutions, the lead project partner, are experts in thermal engineering for electric drives and are developing a web-based simulation platform called Cohere for designing thermal management systems for motors. Cohere will be used to demonstrate simulated examples of thermal management strategies as part of the innovative training materials developed through this project. The project will partner with the University of Nottingham, which has significant experience in delivering teaching and training of electric motor designs.

The project will deliver a first-of-its-kind comprehensive thermal engineering education tool, targeted at electric motor developers and teaching institutions.