Optimal Design of Cost-effective E-Machines for Traction: A Case Study of 150kW V-shaped PMSM

With the increasing cost of raw materials used in electric machines, designing cost-effective machines has become a necessity for the industry. In this paper, we present a strategy that involves the use of aggressive cooling techniques and the reduction of costly rare earth materials. The V-shaped PMSM, widely used in electric vehicles, is selected for this study. Two solutions are proposed: a) a machine with water-jacket cooling and NdFeB magnets (with Dysprosium), and b) a machine with slot pipe cooling and Dysprosium-free NdFeB magnets. Both machines are optimized based on electric vehicle specifications, with cost, losses, and volume considered as objectives. The optimization results reveal that solution (b) achieves a power density of 46 kW/L and up to 40% reduction in the machine's raw materials cost compared to solution (a).