Decoupled Thermal-Insulation System for High Specific Power Electrical Machine in Aviation Using Additive Manufacturing

In aviation electrification, insulation design is critical, as partial discharge (PD) occurs at lower voltages with increasing altitude. However, most designs face a trade-off: increasing insulation thickness to mitigate PD severely compromises the thermal performance of the electrical machine. To address this challenge, the proposed design showcases a topology in which the insulation system is significantly decoupled from the thermal management system (TMS). This is achieved by employing additively manufactured (AM) winding and integrated heat pipes (HP). The paper focuses on presenting the main novelty of the concept, which is proven by finite element analysis (FEA) and experimental results. Additionally, this study reviews conventional thermal solution topologies and discusses the impact of the increasing insulation thickness on the thermal performance of the conventionally available cooling solutions.