Experimental validation of a thermal model for high speed switched reluctance machines for traction application

This article presents the experimental validation of a novel cooling concept applied to a high speed switched reluctance machine topology for traction applications. By circulating the coolant in between the coils and the stator poles the winding and the stator iron are virtually thermally decoupled. A number of test motorettes are used to demonstrate the potential of the cooling concept at current density values of up to 27 A/mm2 continuously. The measurements are also used to validate a thermal model of the machine and further improvements of both the model and the experimental setup are proposed.