Reliability-Oriented Design of Electrical Machines: The Design Process for Machines' Insulation Systems MUST Evolve

Abstract

As the world of transportation keeps moving toward greater electrification, the main design objectives in terms of power density and efficiency of system components are becoming increasingly important. Meanwhile, transportation applications are also very safety critical. The extra stresses being seen by important components, such as electrical machines (EMs) and their insulation systems, to achieve the required performances, are accelerating the degradation of components, making them less reliable and shorting their lives. In general, lifetime consumption and degradation of components, such as for insulation systems of EMs, is still assessed through statistical methods (i.e., recording the number of imposed cycles until failure of a built prototype). This is a very timeconsuming and expensive process. In the mobile applications, such assessments can be the major bottleneck in the development timeline of an electrical product, especially for certification.