“The more number of physics simulations, the closer the model will be to real-world application,” was the key message given by Rahul Bhat, application engineer, Comsol. Bhat was speaking at a webinar on the theme of ‘Improving Electric Motor Designs using Multiphysics Simulations,” held on October 5 and moderated by Autocar Professional’s Nilesh Wadhwa.

The webinar was an attempt to understand and share how OEMs, suppliers and start-ups can benefit from Comsol’s multiphysics simulation technologies. Bhat’s presentation gave an brief insight on how to model permanent magnet motors, brushless DC motors and induction motors.

It was also about combining different physical effects to model phenomena such as rotor-induced NVH, structural integrity of the motor, power losses in the form of heat dissipation; examining and optimising parameters influencing motor efficiency performance such as cogging and rotor torque, air gap MMF, and iron electromagnetic losses; and finally how simulation can help engineers design high-performance motors through multivariable optimisation in a time- and cost-efficient manner.

Comsol's fully integrated software suite allows users to to get as close as possible to the final design prior to the physical testing by understanding the different parameters that influence the motors. With a huge library at the user’s disposal, incorporating various parts for coils and magnetic cores makes it easy for even beginners to create their own designs.

When it comes to an EV, it is imperative that engineers focus on performance, heat dissipation and energy losses. In an interesting aspect for the virtual audience, Bhat not only gave an insightful presentation but also presented a walkthrough demonstration of how engineers can use the Comsol software.

The webinar saw a plethora of questions being directed at Bhat, who diligently answered all of them.