Estimation of additional losses due to random contacts at the edges of stator of an electrical machine

Purpose – Punching of the electrical sheets impair the insulation and make random galvanic contacts between the edges of the sheets. The purpose of this paper is to model the random galvanic contacts at the stator edges of 37 kW induction machine and estimate the additional losses due to these contacts. Design/methodology/approach – The presence of the surface current at the edges of sheets causes the discontinuity in the tangential component of the magnetic field. The surface boundary layer model which is based on this concept is implemented to model the galvanic contacts at the edges of the sheets. Finite element analysis based on magnetic vector potential was done and theoretical statistical study of the random conductivity at the stator edge was performed using brute force method. Findings – Finite element analysis validates the interlaminar current when galvanic contacts are present at the edges of electrical sheets. The case studies show that the rotor and stator losses increases with the thickness ...