Thermal Analysis for Designing Wind Turbines based on RF-PMSGs

In this paper is developed the analytical thermal model of a radial flux permanent magnet synchronous generator (RF-PMSG) for applications in variable speed direct-drive low-power wind turbines. The thermal model is solved through a lumped parameter thermal network to estimate the temperature distributions and heat fluxes for the widest operating range of the RF-PMSG. The lumped parameter thermal model is made by thermal resistances for conduction, radiation and convection. The proposed thermal model is fully coupled with the electromagnetic solution of a flexible analytical design methodology of RF-PMSG’s and its algorithmic solution is coded in Matlab. The thermal analysis is an essential requirement for enhancing the design performance of radial flux permanent magnet synchronous generators. Finally, it is analyzed the impact of the thermal model on the performance of a 10-kW RF-PMSG for its widest steady-state operation range.